Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score 8/15
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: Since Fredi Gonzalez made the decision to move Jason Heyward back to the leadoff spot, the Braves are 1-1…though they played one of the best teams in baseball. You can’t help but notice Emilio Bonifacio continuing to get on base. He only had one hit Thursday but just to have your center fielder on base every now and then feels good. Freddie Freeman is starting to heat up and is inching closer to a .300 batting average in 2014…hopefully he can push his teammates to get hot with him.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .269 | .354 | .387 | .741 |
| Emilio Bonifacio CF-LF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .276 | .315 | .359 | .674 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .294 | .381 | .487 | .868 |
| Justin Upton LF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .281 | .358 | .505 | .862 |
| B.J. Upton PR-CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .209 | .279 | .333 | .612 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .271 | .294 | .374 | .669 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .279 | .359 | .352 | .711 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .251 | .299 | .341 | .639 |
| Gerald Laird C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .219 | .296 | .281 | .577 |
| Evan Gattis PH-C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .275 | .328 | .505 | .833 |
| Aaron Harang P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .068 | .089 | .068 | .157 |
| David Hale P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .063 | .059 | .063 | .121 |
| Ramiro Pena PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .221 | .291 | .320 | .611 |
| James Russell P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Anthony Varvaro P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .193 | .230 | .286 | .516 |
| Team Totals | 36 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 40 | .306 | .375 | .389 | .764 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Harang, L (9-7) | 4.1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.51 |
| David Hale | 2.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.07 |
| James Russell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.82 |
| Luis Avilan | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.04 |
| Anthony Varvaro | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.91 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6.00 |
Gordon sets table, Dodgers take 3 of 4 from reeling Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: From Fredi’s words he seems pretty jealous of the Dodgers leadoff man, Dee Gordon. Gordon did almost everything on Thursday and really hurt the Braves. Read the below quote by Mattingly…I’m not sure if he’s calling out the Atlanta Braves but his words speak right to us. Mainly because we struggle with this. But also once we get runners on, we can’t get them in.
"“Dee Gordon BEAT us,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s probably your most traditional leadoff hitter I’ve seen in a long time.”Gordon had plenty of HELP. Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez, who followed Gordon in the batting ORDER, each also had three hits. Gonzalez drove in three runs.“When your guys up top get on, it just changes the game,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, who said Gordon “was setting the tone, GETTING on and stealing bases.”"
Braves recall LHP Luis Avilan
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: In 2013, Luis Avilan was one of the most reliable relief pitchers for Fredi Gonzalez. He had a 5-0 record in 2013 with a 1.52 ERA in 75 games pitched. But then 2014 rolled in…Avilan struggled early in the season and the troubles never stopped. He was sent down to the Gwinnett Braves to try to find his confidence. He didn’t pitch well there either but Fredi thought his last few outings were “solid” so the Braves brought him back up on Thursday.
"Avilan, who began the season as one of Atlanta’s top setup relievers, is with the team for Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Avilan was 3-1 with a 4.85 ERA in 47 games when he was optioned to Gwinnett on July 19. He says he focused on his curveball and change-up at Gwinnett.Avilan joins James Russell as left-handers in the Braves’ bullpen."