Atlanta Braves Squeak Sunday Sweep
By Fred Owens
Atlanta Braves score in tenth to squeak Sunday sweep
The Braves seem to have found the secret to success; play a team that’s pitching is not good and whose bullpen is shaky. On Friday Don Mattingly left Wei-Yin Chen in the game too long and the Marlin’s bullpen was unable to stop the Braves and on Saturday Tom Koehler couldn’t stand prosperity and left balls over the plate that the revitalized Braves lineup pounced on.
Quick Start
They started Sunday’s match with their tails up and jumped on Jared Cosart who struggled to get an out in the first. Nick Markakis took the major league lead with his ninth double on Cosart’s second pitch of the game. After Eric Aybar popped out Freddie Freeman singled to score Markakis and lumbered to second on the throw.
Adonis Garcia struck out but A.J Pierzynski walked and stole second when the pitcher ignored him walking off first and Cosart walked Kelly Johnson to load the bases for Jace Peterson.
Last season Jace was the man the Braves wanted up with the bases loaded going 9-16 with three doubles, a triple, a homer and 22 RBI. He’s been in a slump this season but once again came through with bags juices driving 1-2 pitch into center for a double that cleared the bases and put the Braves up 4-0.
Don Mattingly’s rejigged lineup had no answer for Jhoulys Chacin as he cruised through the first three and a third innings before a Marlin reached base; it was of course Martin Prado reminding the Braves what they are missing. Cosart settled in as the game progressed as well turning the game into a pitchers’ duel through five.
Chacin Ghosts
Chacin had the Marlins scratching their heads and he changed speeds and move the ball all around the edges of the plate. Part of the reason the Braves were successful in the series was make Giancarlo Stanton a nonfactor.
Somewhere Leo Mazzone was smiling and murmuring low and away, low and away, low and away as Braves pitchers fed Stanton a steady diet of off speed pitches and sliders off the outside corner and watched him swing wildly. That’s Chacin’s game and he easily struck out Stanton swinging in his first two plate appearances.
Cosart was dealing too and sliced through the top of the Braves order like a hot knife through butter in the top of the fifth coaxing Aybar into grounding out, striking Freeman with a running fastball in under his hands taking care of Garcia on a comebacker. The sixth however, proved to be the end of the line for both starters.
Next: Sagging in the Middle