Atlanta Braves Battered, Frenchy-Fried: Fall to Phils 5-2.
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Just for reference purposes:
- Jason Heyward and the Cardinals will be at Turner Field for the last series of the year: October 2-4.
- Justin Upton and the Padres will be in town for 4 games: June 8-11.
I say this because it seems that even our poorer-hitting former Atlanta Braves seem to be feasting at the venue. Last week, Dan Uggla turned tables on Turner with a 5-for-12 series, including two triples and his first home run in a year.
Tonight it was Jeff Francoeur‘s turn: 4 hits in 5 trips, 2 RBI, and just a homer short of a cycle. Both players managed to lift their anemic averages above the Mendosa Line. Unbelieveable.
Master Harang
Aaron Harang (34) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Even Aaron Harang seemed to be an unstoppable force – here on ‘Star Wars Day’ – continuing to throw reliable innings without seeming to break a sweat in the process. Tonight it was 6 innings for 5 hits, a lone earned run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. His ERA? 2.35. The Braves’ hitters have no answer for him.
Still, there was A New Hope that starter Alex Wood might be able to piggyback off of Julio Teheran‘s stellar effort yesterday… but that was dashed early as the Phils struck for 3 first inning runs – all after 2 were already out.
Wood continued to labor into the 5th inning with lots of pitches, but lots of base-runners: 9 hits and 2 walks. At least the bullpen – all 5 members that saw mound time tonight – limited the walks to just 1. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop Frenchy and his onslaught. Wood gave up just those 3, but the bullpen was touched for 2 more.
Punchless
It mattered little, though, as the Braves offense failed to muster anything from their opportunities. They were 2-10 with runners in scoring position. One of these hits was a nubbed infield hit in the 9th that plated the 2nd run. Jonny Gomes thought he’d bought one in the 6th that could have changed things down the stretch. With one on and two outs, he was robbed by Odubel Herrera at the center field wall with a crazy catch that had ‘double’ written all over it.
But 9 runners left on base and that RISP hit-rate told the story: not enough offense, and way too much Francoeur.
Not the Wood We Were Looking For
So the big question remains: what’s wrong with Alex Wood? His ERA is “only” 4.32, but his 1-2 record and failure to go past the fifth inning continues to be troublesome. So far, he’s only had one truly “good” outing (April 24 at Philly). There might be some comfort that he fought through the rest of the night after that disastrous 1st inning, but there’s too few opportunities for error, and that head start was enough for Philadelphia.
Regardless of the reason that Alex doesn’t really look like Alex, the Braves were unable to keep up tonight, and lose by a 5-2 count.
Game 2 in the series is at 7:10 EDT on Tuesday night.