Atlanta Braves News: The Chop, Box, Mike Foltynewicz’s Friday night gem
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: It was great when the Atlanta Braves scored two runs in the top of the 9th inning, but at the time I had no idea how big those runs were going to be. Dansby Swanson was the hero of the night for the Braves. In the 3rd inning, Johan Camargo led off the inning with a double off the center field wall. Jace Peterson moved him over to third base on a groundout to the right side of the infield. Then, Swanson pulled one down the line for a double which scored Camargo and put the Braves on top 1-0.
In the top of the 9th inning, Swanson led off with a walk. Ender Inciarte tried to move Swanson over to second on a bunt attempt, but the A’s got Dansby out at second on a force play. With Inciarte on first now and Brandon Phillips hitting, Ender stole second. BP then singled to right field and scored Inciarte. Braves up 2-0. BP advanced to second on the throw.
Nick Markakis grounded out which moved Phillips over to third. Matt Kemp then singled to right field that scored BP. Braves up 3-0!
Mike Foltynewicz pitched a hell of a game on Friday…he was three outs away from a no-hitter. Matt Olson had to ruin all our fun with a leadoff homer in the 9th inning.
Braves WIN 3-1
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ender Inciarte CF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .304 | .352 | .403 | .755 |
| Brandon Phillips 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .295 | .336 | .440 | .776 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .290 | .370 | .387 | .756 |
| Matt Kemp DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .308 | .348 | .521 | .869 |
| Tyler Flowers C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .326 | .422 | .469 | .890 |
| Danny Santana LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .216 | .259 | .392 | .651 |
| Johan Camargo 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .295 | .317 | .423 | .740 |
| Jace Peterson 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .183 | .274 | .242 | .516 |
| Dansby Swanson SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .225 | .298 | .330 | .627 |
| Mike Foltynewicz P | |||||||||||
| Jim Johnson P | |||||||||||
| Team Totals | 30 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 32 | .133 | .188 | .200 | .388 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Foltynewicz, W (6-5) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3.83 |
| Jim Johnson, S (17) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.63 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 1.00 |
Braves’ Mike Foltynewicz loses no-hit bid in ninth inning by giving up a home run
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: What a game by the 25-year-old on Friday night! He was three outs away from the first Braves no-hitter since Kent Mercker did it in 1994. Speaking of, that’s crazy Greg Maddux, John Smoltz or Tom Glavine never had one.
Folty was topping out at 97mph last night in Oakland with nasty offspeed pitches. He was keeping the A’s hitters off balance and getting them to pop up a lot. In the end, Folty went eight-plus innings, gave up one hit, one run, four walks and had eight strikeouts.
Jim Johnson came into the game after the 9th inning homer and closed the door on the night. JJ gave up a double to the first batter he faced, but struck out the next three hitters. Johnson picked up his 17th save of the season and Folty got his sixth win of the year.
"The Atlanta Braves are still waiting for their first no-hitter since way back in 1994.Friday night, righty Mike Foltynewicz took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics, though Matt Olson spoiled it with a leadoff home run in that final frame. Foltynewicz fell three outs short of history.Foltynewicz walked four and struck out eight in his eight-plus innings of work, and he threw a career-high 119 pitches. The bullpen was warming up behind him in both in the eighth and ninth innings, and he was pulled immediately after the home run."
Next: Braves Matt Adams is day-to-day
G-Braves Drop Opener in Charlotte, 6-2
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: This is the series we’ve all been waiting on (well for the last week or so)! Freddie Freeman returns to the field tonight with the Gwinnett Braves to face the Charlotte Knights. Friday night was game one of this series. Former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher and fan favorite, Kris Medlen was on the hill for the GBraves and pitched pretty well. He allowed two solo homers, four total runs, seven hits, one walk and had four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. There’s a good chance we see him in Atlanta again if the Braves trade Jaime Garcia or R.A. Dickey…or an injury happens.
One great note from last night’s game: relief pitcher Evan Phillips came into the game in the 7th inning and topped out at 99mph with his fastball. I spoke with his father after the game and he confirmed with one of the scouts there with a radar gun that in fact, he did hit 99. The 22-year-old was the Braves 17th round pick in 2015 and has appeared in 11 games with the Gwinnett Braves this season. His ERA now sits at 0.71 with Gwinnett.
"Charlotte opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning off Gwinnett starting pitcher Kris Medlen. Nicky Delmonico dribbled an infield single up the third base line and moved to third on a double to right by Cody Asche. Danny Hayes drove Delmonico in from third with a ground out to second for a 1-0 lead.The G-Braves tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second as Sean Kazmar Jr. (6) crushed the first pitch he saw from Charlotte starting pitcher Tyler Danish to left for a two-out solo home run.The tie did not last long as in the bottom of the fourth, Hayes (14) drilled a 3-0 pitch from Medlen to right for a solo homer and a 2-1 Knights’ advantage. The Charlotte lead climbed to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth as Ronald Bueno (3) hit a two-out solo homer to right off Medlen."