Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Tim Tebow Dirt, Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer Scouting?
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in game two of this three game series. The DBacks are still first place in the NL Wild Card and for the Braves to defeat them gives us hope that the Braves are a good team.
The Braves will go for the sweep on Sunday at 1:35 pm ET. If they do so, the Braves will be .500 with a 45-45 record in 2017.
Mike Foltynewicz started for the Braves on Saturday night and went 5.1 innings, giving up eight hits, three runs, three walks and had six strikeouts. The home plate umpire wasn’t helping Folty at all, especially early in this game. His pitch out soared up and had 110 pitches through his 5.1 innings.
The Braves led the game 2-1 going into the top of the 6th inning, but Arizona scored two runs to go up 3-2. At that point, I was still in relax mood because I just felt like the Braves could come back no matter what. And guess what, they did!
Braves score four runs in the bottom of the 6th. They added another run in both the 7th and 8th.
In total, the Braves had 14 hits and put up eight runs on the board. For a full recap, check it out here.
Braves WIN 8-5
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ender Inciarte CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .308 | .354 | .413 | .768 |
| Brandon Phillips 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .284 | .329 | .428 | .757 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .341 | .446 | .735 | 1.181 |
| Matt Kemp LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .295 | .341 | .483 | .824 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .280 | .359 | .386 | .746 |
| Kurt Suzuki C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .250 | .340 | .455 | .794 |
| Johan Camargo 3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .333 | .359 | .505 | .863 |
| Dansby Swanson SS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .219 | .298 | .322 | .620 |
| Mike Foltynewicz P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Luke Jackson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ian Krol P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Lane Adams PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .241 | .267 | .379 | .646 |
| Jose Ramirez P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Sam Freeman P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Rex Brothers P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jace Peterson PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .187 | .275 | .268 | .544 |
| Jim Johnson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 37 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 39 | .378 | .410 | .622 | 1.032 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Foltynewicz | 5.1 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3.84 |
| Luke Jackson | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.58 |
| Ian Krol, W (2-2) | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 |
| Jose Ramirez, H (17) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.58 |
| Sam Freeman | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 |
| Rex Brothers, H (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 |
| Jim Johnson, S (21) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.02 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 5.00 |
Braves minor league team selling dirt that Tim Tebow will walk on
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Tim Tebow and the Mets Single-A team will be traveling to the Braves Single-A affiliate on July 21-24 and the Florida Fire Frogs intend to take full advantage of this. They are selling VIP tickets that include some of the dirt Tebow will walk on. Lol, I’m being serious here.
Tebow is worshiped in Florida as he grew up in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and starred in footage at the University of Florida. So it just seems smart for the Fire Frogs to sell something like this, right? Kind of seems strange, but Florida will take advantage of this opportunity.
The Fire Frogs have already came out and said they’ve already sold out for this series so selling tickets isn’t a concern here.
Single A @FireFrogsBB taking advantage of Tim Tebow coming to town by selling package that includes game used dirt pic.twitter.com/aC38VtJ6O4
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 3, 2017
"When the Florida Fire Frogs, the Braves’ Single-A affiliate, host Tebow and the St. Lucie Mets for a four-game series July 21-24, they’ll milk Tebow’s name for everything it’s worth with a VIP promotion that includes a bottle of dirt from the batter’s box. That along with being on the field for batting practice, preferred seating ticket, a VIP viewing area and a VIP parking pass will run you $50.If anybody is going capitalize on Tebow’s minor-league stardom, it might as well be a Florida team. Tebow grew up just a couple hours north of where the Fire Frogs play in Kissimmee, and he became a national sensation winning two national championships and a Heisman Trophy at the University of Florida.Still, according to a release by the team, it sounds like the Fire Frogs don’t need any extra promotions to sell tickets as Tebow already has them expecting standing room only crowds."
Next: Trade Watch: a run-down of all 30 teams
Braves Scouting Justin Verlander, Michael Fulmer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves have sent one of their top scouts to Detroit so that they can take a close look at the Tigers starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer. On Saturday, Fulmer pitched eight very strong innings giving up only two hits, one run, one walk and had three strikeouts. He was facing a pretty strong lineup as the Toronto Blue Jays were in town.
The 24-year-old was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (44 overall) in the 2011 draft out of high school. He was traded to the Tigers in 2015 for Yoenis Cespedes. Fulmer made his debut with the Tigers on April 29, 2016 and has been a staple in their rotation ever since. In 2017, he’s currently 10-6 with a 3.06 ERA in 18 starts. It will be extremely tough for the Braves to acquire Fulmer away from Detroit.
Verlander threw on Friday against the Blue Jays and lasted only 5.1 innings giving up three hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and had five strikeouts. The 34-year-old has been one of the best pitchers in the MLB in 2006. He had a down season in 2015, but turned it around in 2016. Now in 2017, he seems to be struggling once again. He’s currently 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA in 19 starts. Would a change in atmosphere help the veteran pitcher? Maybe. I’d be happy to see his wife Kate Upton in the stands every fifth night!
The Braves have a top scout in Detroit this weekend. Verlander last night and Fulmer tonight. They'll continue to look for starting pitchers
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 15, 2017
"The Braves, on the hunt for starting pitching, sent a top scout to Detroit this weekend to watch Tigers right-handers Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (on Twitter).Neither Verlander nor Fulmer seems like a realistic trade candidate, however. The Tigers reportedly want a noteworthy haul for Verlander, even though he’s 34, in the throes of a down season and still owed nearly $70MM through 2019.Verlander also has a full no-trade clause, so he could veto a deal even if the Braves do present an offer to the Tigers’ liking. Unlike Verlander, the 24-year-old Fulmer is both cheap and in his prime. Detroit would justifiably demand a ransom in return, then, but there’s no indication it’s interested in parting with him."