Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Chris Johnson
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves took down the NL West divisional leaders on Monday as they scored early and kept the lead. The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning when Nick Markakis hit his first home run of the season and his first as an Atlanta Brave. Matt Wisler pitched great until the 5th inning when he gave up a two-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez and four runs in the inning. Jim Johnson came in to pitch the 9th inning…he didn’t have the best inning, but got out of it with the save. For a full game recap check out Alan’s post.
Braves win 7-5
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Peterson 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .252 | .330 | .353 |
| Cameron Maybin CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .284 | .350 | .405 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .289 | .375 | .361 |
| A.J. Pierzynski C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .280 | .316 | .432 |
| Juan Uribe 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .268 | .325 | .404 |
| Joey Terdoslavich 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .167 | .194 | .300 |
| Eury Perez LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .284 | .342 | .343 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .257 | .321 | .341 |
| Matt Wisler P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .100 | .182 | .100 |
| Pedro Ciriaco PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .274 | .276 | .381 |
| Jason Frasor P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Andrew McKirahan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Arodys Vizcaino P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Chris Johnson PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .241 | .282 | .319 |
| Jim Johnson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Team Totals | 34 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 38 | .324 | .395 | .559 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Wisler, W (4-1) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.60 |
| Jason Frasor, H (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.40 |
| Andrew McKirahan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 |
| Arodys Vizcaino, H (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Jim Johnson, S (7) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.20 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5.00 |
Dodgers lose a sloppy game to Atlanta Braves, 7-5
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Braves defeated the Dodgers on Monday evening to hopefully get back to their winning ways. Atlanta is now 44-49 for the 2015 season and sits seven games back of the NL East lead and six games back from a Wild Card spot. The Braves beat up on former Atlanta pitcher, Brandon Beachy as he gave up four runs on five hits in four innings pitched. It’s a shame because I actually picked up Beachy in my fantasy baseball league…guess I should have stuck with my one rule – don’t pitch anyone against the Braves.
"At various points, thunder clapped in the distance while flashes of lightning left fans oohing and aahing. Others ran for cover. A rumble had barely dissipated in the sixth inning when Yasiel Puig wound up for a throw to home plate, past his cutoff man, with the Braves’ Pedro Ciriaco running from second.The batter, Jace Peterson, rounded first base and went to second. The Dodgers’ catcher, Austin Barnes, threw the ball to second, short-hopping shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Ciriaco sprinted for home plate as Rollins’ throw arrived too late.“Yasiel’s throw’s got to be down,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “That started the roll. The dominoes fell from there.”Atlanta scored two runs in the inning, the difference in the final score."
Chris Johnson hopes for trade from Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The trade carousel for the Braves and Chris Johnson will continue until it’s completed. The issue with making a deal with another team is Johnson’s contract which guarantees Johnson approximately $20.5 million through the end of 2017 season. No other team wants to take on this contract unless they 1. get something else within a trade (aka the Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton trade), 2. the other team has a horrible contract that they’d like to swap. I have a feeling John Hart works something out by July 31st.
"After spending the offseason knowing the Braves were trying to trade him, Chris Johnson has spent the past few months gaining reason to believe he is no longer wanted in Atlanta. Thus, with the July 31 Trade Deadline approaching, the veteran third baseman is hoping to soon find himself with another team.“In some ways, it’s nerve-wracking because you never know what to expect every day when you go to the park,” Johnson said. “It’s been a frustrating year. From the beginning of the offseason, it’s been really pretty clear that the team has no interest in getting me back to form or to give me regular playing time.”“I’ve been called in the manager’s office,” Johnson said. “[Manager Fredi Gonzalez] has told me they are trying to move me. I want to be moved, and they want to move me. Hopefully, something gets done.”"