Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score The Disappointments Continue
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Braves offense came out to play on Sunday, especially against Mets starter Dillon Gee. Gee gave up eight runs to the Braves in the first four innings. Check out the Braves first seven batters in the lineup, their batting averages are something to be happy about! Try not to look past the “batting” box score because it just gets ugly after that. Pitching, pitching, pitching….the Braves have little. Can you pitch??
Braves lose 10-8
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Peterson 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .285 | .356 | .382 |
| Cameron Maybin CF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .301 | .371 | .415 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .306 | .376 | .533 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .300 | .394 | .367 |
| Juan Uribe 3B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .264 | .320 | .364 |
| Kelly Johnson LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .281 | .330 | .510 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .270 | .328 | .377 |
| Christian Bethancourt C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .208 | .231 | .297 |
| Mike Foltynewicz P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .100 | .095 | .150 |
| Brandon Cunniff P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| David Aardsma P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Todd Cunningham PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .239 | .299 | .296 |
| Dana Eveland P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Team Totals | 40 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 43 | .350 | .395 | .500 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Foltynewicz | 4.1 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5.19 |
| Brandon Cunniff | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4.68 |
| Luis Avilan, BS (2), L (2-2) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.91 |
| David Aardsma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dana Eveland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 10.12 |
Mets hit 4 HRs, rally from 5 runs down to beat Braves 10-8
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves took a horrible loss on Sunday afternoon (all losses are bad, but this one stung worse) when the New York Mets scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the Braves 10-8. Atlanta had two huge leads and lost both of them on Sunday, they were leading 5-1 and 8-3 and both evaporated quickly. Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz only lasted 4.1 innings and only threw 75 pitches. Fredi Gonzalez saw enough out of him and decided to trust his bullpen (not the best idea). After scoring so many runs in recent games, the Braves pitching continues to let them down. After the game, Gonzalez met with reports and David O’Brien tweeted out that “That was as down as I’ve seen Fredi Gonzalez after any game. He sounded exasperated.”
"Kelly Johnson had three hits and two RBIs, and Juan Uribe also got three hits. But rookie starter Mike Foltynewicz failed to make it through five innings after he was handed leads of 5-1 and 8-3.”I just didn’t have it today,” Foltynewicz said. ”It’s not a question of confidence. I know how good I am and what I’m capable of. I just have to keep attacking, and work my way through it.”After he was pulled, the latest meltdown by a struggling bullpen left the Braves with their 10th loss in 14 games at Citi Field.Atlanta lost for the fourth time this year when scoring at least eight runs. New York had not won when allowing eight or more since beating San Diego 9-8 on Aug. 8, 2011. That was the longest current drought in the majors.”Couldn’t stop them from scoring,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said."
Gonzalez likens Braves’ bullpen struggles to Groundhog Day
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The bullpen woes continues and their is nothing to stop the leak…they are drowning. The Braves are known for having a great pitching staff and staying in games because of their defense. For years it’s been a struggling for more hits, more base runners, more OFFENSE! Now, the coin has flipped and we can’t get anyone out. Many fans are blaming Fredi Gonzalez for this, but truthfully I don’t. He’s putting the guys that he has on the mound and they aren’t helping him. Folks forget how many relief pitchers we traded in the offseason – it wasn’t just Craig Kimbrel…remember Chasen Shreve and David Carpenter trade? What about the David Hale and Gus Schlosser? What about the relief pitchers who are suspended or are injured?
"The Atlanta Braves have had a rough time coming away with wins in games in which they lead in the late innings, and manager Fredi Gonzalez is getting all too accustomed to the bullpen’s futility.“It happens around the same point in the game, too,” Gonzalez said after the Braves squandered a late 4-1 lead Thursday to the Padres. “It’s like Groundhog Day.”"