Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Chris Sale Rumor, Freeman’s Stitches Removed
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves held a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, but then that inning happened. A walk, single, double, single, walk, walk, single all happened consecutively against Braves starter Matt Wisler and relief pitcher Ian Krol. A five run inning, led to the Braves 65th loss of the 2016 season. Braves did win in the hit category on Saturday night, but weren’t able to win the category that matters. Wisler said after the game “the way I’m throwing right now, it’s just unacceptable. I’ve just got to find a way to get through it.”
Braves lose 8-4
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase d’Arnaud SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .266 | .332 | .362 | .693 |
| Gordon Beckham 2B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .245 | .331 | .403 | .734 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .273 | .359 | .505 | .864 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .264 | .340 | .370 | .709 |
| Adonis Garcia 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .261 | .298 | .377 | .674 |
| Jeff Francoeur LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .251 | .292 | .379 | .671 |
| Mauricio Cabrera P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Erick Aybar PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .208 | .267 | .262 | .528 |
| Jim Johnson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ender Inciarte CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .242 | .309 | .319 | .628 |
| Anthony Recker C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .353 | .476 | .471 | .947 |
| Matt Wisler P | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .091 | .088 | .091 | .179 |
| Ian Krol P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jace Peterson LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .267 | .347 | .395 | .742 |
| Team Totals | 33 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 38 | .273 | .324 | .364 | .688 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Wisler, L (4-10) | 5.1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.92 |
| Ian Krol | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.18 |
| Mauricio Cabrera | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.19 |
| Jim Johnson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.72 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 9.00 |
Freeman has stitches removed, hopes to build on 2-hit game
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: During this year’s All-Star break, Braves Freddie Freeman had a mole removed from his back because it showed cancerous cells. Freddie’s mother passed away when he was only 10-years-old from melanoma cancer. He’s had the stitches removed from his back yesterday by head trainer Jeff Porter in the clubhouse prior to batting practice. The struggling first baseman says this has not effected his play on the field, but you can’t help but think this could be the case. Since having this procedure, Freeman was 4-31 with one homer, a triple (Friday), two walks and 15 strikeouts. On Saturday, the day the stitches were removed, he went 1-3 with two runs scored and another triple…if you’re keeping score at home, that’s his sixth triple of the 2016 season. Hopefully, this is something the 26-year-old can put behind him.
"Freddie Freeman got stitches removed from his back Saturday afternoon, a day after getting a figurative monkey off his back with a two-hit game that included a triple.The stitches in just below his neck had been there 11 days since Freeman had a mole removed. A biopsy of the mole showed cancerous cells, but doctors assured Freeman that they removed it before it could become melanoma.“I mean, it was just uncomfortable, but it didn’t really hurt or anything,” he said. “Just glad that they’re out, now I don’t have to worry about them opening up. Just kind of a sense of relief, really. But it wasn’t all that bad — the only time I could feel it was like, after I got out of the shower and I’d forget they were there and (scape over them with a towel). Other than that it was OK. But they’re out now.”"
Chris Sale Involved In “Clubhouse Incident”
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Oh, man. Can you pitcher a Braves rotation with Chris Sale in it?? One of the best lefties in the game that’s still only 27-years-old and has a team friendly contract through 2019. Well, yes, but for what it would take for this to happen, I can’t imagine the Braves pulling this off. I’m sure the Braves front office is feeling pressure about the struggles, but I’m not sure if this answers the questions. Bats answer our questions.
"This isn’t the first off-the-wall dust-up of the year featuring Sale, who lashed out at team president Kenny Williams in March after first baseman/designated hitter Adam LaRoche retired because the White Sox requested that he bring his son, Drake, into the clubhouse less frequently. Saturday’s disagreement did not include Williams, per Rosenthal (Twitter link).Sale’s issues aside, he’s unsurprisingly still drawing interest from elsewhere as the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline nears. The White Sox are continuing to discuss him with other teams, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). One team with interest in Sale is the rebuilding Braves, via reports from both Chris Cotillo of SB Nation and David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links).Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported earlier Saturday that the White Sox want five top-caliber prospects for Sale, whose years-long track record of on-field brilliance has continued this season. Sale’s strikeout rate (8.73 per nine innings) is at its all-time lowest mark, but he continues to limit walks (1.96 per nine) and runs (3.18 ERA). He’s also controllable for extremely team-friendly dollar figures through 2019."