House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves Reward Fans with Bobblehead, Pizza, Win

By Alan Carpenter

May 28, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Gordon Beckham (7) reacts with catcher Tyler Flowers (25) after hitting a three-run home run against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Gordon Beckham (7) reacts with catcher Tyler Flowers (25) after hitting a three-run home run against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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It Wasn’t a Work of Art, but it was an opportunistic Braves’ team that cashed in against a vulnerable Marlins bullpen

7. 17. 2. 82. Final

Aaron Blair, returning to the majors after a brief respite in Gwinnett, worked into the sixth inning while Atlanta (14-34) made 6 hits and timely Marlin (25-24) errors count against the Fish to pound out a 7-2 victory Saturday afternoon.  Happy players, happy fans.

It was Chipper-rescues-Freddie bobblehead day at Turner Field (50+/- of them already available on ebay), and there was quite a bit of rescuing to got around.  Both starting pitchers threw a lot of pitches en route to shortish outings – Wei-Yin Chen went 5 innings (90 pitches) and Aaron Blair managed to go just 2 outs further (94 pitches).

Neither starter was terribly efficient, but both also relatively effective with the Marlins holding a 2-1 lead going into the sixth.  The difference today was bullpen and defensive effectiveness.

  • Marlins’ bullpen:  3 innings, 6 earned runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, and a wild pitch.
  • Marlins defense:  3 errors.
  • Braves’ bullpen:  3.1 innings, 0 runs 2 hits, 2 walks.
  • Braves’ defense:  1 error.

The Big Play

The error of most consequence was committed by Marcel Ozuna in CF.  In the sixth inning with 2 runners already aboard, Nick Markakis laced a single to center.  While the bat seemed to have some unusual spin on it, Ozuna stabbed at the ball – and missed – in a move that looked like he’d just waked up from a nap.  The ball rolled to the wall, putting the Braves ahead for good and getting Markakis all the way to third base.

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More good news?  Markakis was subsequently doubled home by Jeff Francoeur who is suddenly on one of his hot streaks again.  4 hits Friday night; 2 more today.

The Braves would plate three more in the 7th on a 3-run shot by Gordon Beckham – his second homer this week (I know that because he won me money on the other one) while the fish listlessly floated to the surface.

Miami did get some runners aboard in innings 6/7/8/9, but were unable to get the backup hits to sustain any semblance of rally.

Here’s a look at the Beckham shot that put the game away:

So no, it wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was a second consecutive home win for the first time all year, and a 5th triumph over Miami in five tries.  And it’s good for half-priced pizza from a local sponsor!

Next: Go ahead: Ask!

Miami has to be kicking themselves:  were they 5-0 over Atlanta instead of the other way ’round, they would be in first place right now with a 30-19 record.  As it is, they are now in 4th, 4 games back of the Mets and staring at another sweep at the hands of Atlanta… which we’ll see about tomorrow.

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