Braves Prevail in Extras; Attention Turns to Injuries

In a game that had a postseason feel to it, the Braves and Reds fought back and forth, and two injuries and a stolen homer later the Braves came through with a 6-4 win in ten innings.

The Braves picked up ten hits off Johnny Cueto in 5.1 innings, which isn’t the hard part. They got four runs out of those ten hits, and that was the hard part. Jason Heyward doubled in the first and was left. Eric Hinske did the same in the second and was left. Chipper Jones broke the trend in the third with an RBI single that put the Braves ahead, but it didn’t last long.

Kris Medlen gave up his first hit in the third on a single, and a balk put the runner on second. Adding to the bad luck, Orlando Cabrera followed with a bloop single that scored the runner. Joey Votto followed with an RBI double and Scott Rolen singled him in for a two-run lead. It began with bad luck and two hard hits piled it on, but Medlen pitched well for the remainder of his five innings.

Brian McCann hit a two-run home run in the fifth that tied it at three. The Braves loaded the bases on a single, double, and hit by pitch with no outs in the sixth. Prado grounded weakly to second and beat out the double play attempt, scoring the go-ahead run. But lefty Bill Bray was brought in to face the middle of the order and it proved to be a smart move, as Heyward struck out and McCann grounded out weakly to end the inning and hold it at one run.

Medlen was hit by the pitch in the sixth and was taken out. Though it missed his hand and wrist, it swelled on him quickly and he probably lost feeling in his arm. Both bullpens kept the score the same until the eighth, when Jonny Venters gave up a solo homer to Votto that tied the game at four. The game remained tied until the tenth, when two walks set up a single by Heyward that bounced off the outfielder after hitting the ground, bringing home both runs. Billy Wagner put two in the home half but shut the door for the save.

Now lets make sense of all this. Medlen looked solid and pitched well, though he gave up a few scary fly balls, but that’s to be expected. The three-run inning began with bad luck and got away from him due to facing a tough middle of the order. It’s nothing to focus on. He only walked one and struck out four while allowing six hits – one double – in five innings. The arm injury is only a bruise and I would be shocked if he isn’t able to resume regular throwing in between his starts.

Peter Moylan and Takashi Saito each pitched a scoreless inning. Venters made the mistake of giving Votto something to hit and he took advantage. Votto does that a lot. Venters also gave up a double to Rolen, but he also does that a lot. Braves fans everywhere held their breath when Jesse Chavez was given ninth inning duties, but after a one-out single he got two straight outs. Wagner threw a ton of sliders in his tenth inning and received two strikeouts.

I said numerous times prior to the game that the Braves had to take advantage of baserunners with Cueto on the mound, and they did so tonight. Heyward went 3-6 with three doubles (game-winner changed to double) and the two winning RBIs. Chipper had two hits and an RBI, McCann picked up two RBIs on the home run, and Prado recorded an RBI. Omar Infante reached base three times on two singles and a walk. Melky Cabrera did the same with a double and two walks.

The only non-contributor was Troy Glaus, who went 0-5 with five grounders, all weakly hit. He might need a day off, but he’s flying open and throwing his hands at the ball. Whether that’s picked up from fatigue, I don’t know. I should mention that Brooks Conrad hit a home run that was stolen in right field in the ninth inning. Just to add to the circus.

Prado jammed his right pinky finger sliding into home on the Heyward hit in the tenth. Any updates tonight will be posted.

EDIT: According to Mark Bowman, Prado’s X-rays were inconclusive and he will be re-examined Saturday. We will post the results when it breaks.

According to Mark Bowman, Gregor Blanco will be called up tomorrow and Brent Clevlen DFA’d. I have a feeling that’s our deadline move, but you never know.