Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Mallex Smith Could Miss Rest of Season
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves took down the Washington Nationals on Friday evening. Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz went face-to-face with star Stephen Strasburg and Folty took him down! Both pitchers only lasted into the 6th inning as Strasburg gave up six runs and Folty gave up four. Both teams had nine hits, but the Braves were able to touch home plate eight times compared to the Nats five. The Nationals are on top of the NL East with a 7.5 game lead so it’s nice to take down the top dawg in at least one game. Oh hey, just in…Jonathan Papelbon just asked the Nats to release him…maybe it was because the Braves beat em’, haha.
Braves WIN 8-5
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ender Inciarte CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .266 | .327 | .338 | .665 |
| Erick Aybar SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .239 | .292 | .310 | .602 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .284 | .375 | .531 | .906 |
| Matt Kemp LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .257 | .288 | .479 | .767 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .271 | .344 | .384 | .728 |
| Adonis Garcia 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .268 | .310 | .398 | .707 |
| Jace Peterson 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .258 | .344 | .378 | .721 |
| Anthony Recker C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .349 | .442 | .535 | .977 |
| Mike Foltynewicz P | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .182 | .217 | .227 | .445 |
| Ian Krol P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jose Ramirez P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chase d’Arnaud PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .257 | .320 | .356 | .676 |
| Mauricio Cabrera P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jim Johnson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 34 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 41 | .265 | .366 | .618 | .984 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Foltynewicz, W (6-5) | 5.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 |
| Ian Krol, H (7) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Jose Ramirez | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.76 |
| Mauricio Cabrera, H (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.78 |
| Jim Johnson, S (10) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.53 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5.00 |
Mallex Smith’s broken thumb might sideline him rest of season
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: That Bastard-o pitch back in June cost Smith most of the 2016 season and possibly the rest of it. AJC’s David O’Brien tweeted out yesterday that Mallex could still be a few weeks from returning to full baseball activities and that could result to missing the rest of the MLB season. With minor leagues schedules ending in the beginning of September, Smith may not have the chance to get in any rehab games once he is ready to return. Mallex’s next opportunity to play may be the Instructional League in October.
"Mallex Smith’s broken left thumb isn’t healing quite as quickly as hoped and the Braves’ rookie outfielder might not play again in the majors this season.“Yeah, that’s a definite possibility,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “And to look at it realistically, where’s he going to play? So, I mean, there’s no rush or anything like that. That hand, that wrist has been immobile for a long, long time now. It’s going to take a while to get it strong enough to get him back.”Smith was injured June 19 when hit by fastball thrown by Mets left-hander Anthony Bastardo. He was initially expected to be out eight to 10 weeks, but it’s been eight and he’s not yet been cleared to begin swinging a bat with both hands."
MLB Trade Rumors
Braves Claim Kyle Kubitza, Designate Manny Banuelos For Assignment
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Does the Kubitza name sound familiar to you? The Braves drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2011 MLB Draft and he was a top 30 prospect for the Braves from 2011 to 2014. In 2015, the Braves traded him to Angels in exchange for minor league lefty Ricardo Sanchez. Kubitza is a third baseman who has a strong throwing arm and “soft hands”. Also on Friday, the Braves DFA once top Yankees prospect Manny Banuelos. I saw Banuelos pitch in Gwinnett and I was not impressed with what I saw. He was having trouble locating his pitches, his fastball was sitting in the low 80’s and just didn’t look confident on the mound. The Braves sent him to Double-A earlier this year and he struggled there as well.
"The Braves have claimed third baseman Kyle Kubitza off waivers from the Rangers, according to an announcement from Rangers VP of communications John Blake. Texas had designated the 26-year-old infielder for assignment earlier this week. The Braves, too, announced the move, adding that left-hander Manny Banuelos has been designated for assignment.Banuelos, 25, made his big league debut with Atlanta last season. The once-vaunted Yankees prospect managed just a 5.13 ERA in his 26 1/3 innings at the big league level, though, and the 2016 season has been a considerable struggle for him. He’s battled elbow issues this season and is currently on the disabled list with Double-A Mississippi. Banuelos has a collective 5.33 ERA in 50 2/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, and he walked more batters (22) than he struck out (21) in 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level."