Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Perez Escapes, Scout Lays Egg, Taylor Swift Curse?

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Sep 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Williams Perez (61) delivers a pitch to a Washington Nationals batter in the sixth inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Williams Perez didn’t exactly make it easy on himself, but did manage to make the result really good as the Atlanta Braves pass up Cincinnati for the third worst record in baseball, beating the Nationals 2-0.

Perez went six innings, giving up 6 hits and 3 walks, which did make for some busy basepaths. Nonetheless, he (along with solid defense) still kept the Nats from crossing the plate, which is all that really counts in the end. But here’s how it went down:

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Inning 1: Leadoff double; groundout, groundout, strikeout
Inning 2: Single, Walk. Double Play, IBB, groundout
Inning 3: Lineout, Single, Double Play
Inning 4: 1-2-3 inning on 6 pitches. Nice.
Inning 5: K, Double, Single, K, groundout
Inning 6: Groundout, Flyout, Single, Walk, groundout

The Braves’ bullpen contingent du jour (Moylan, Jackson, and Vizcaino) was awesome: 9 up and 9 down. No late drama whatsoever. I am so down with that. 10th save for Vizzy.

Did you realize that Peter Moylan still hasn’t walked a batter this season (10.1 innings, 43 batters faced)? Also, in 12 of his 21 appearances, he hasn’t yielded a hit either (last night being the longest such stint).

Like the Nats, the Braves also had just 6 hits. However, they were able to manufacture a run in each of the first two innings, each time getting a single with a running on second base. A.J. Pierzynski picked up his 3rd RBI in 2 nights as part of that.

So here’s the Washington Nationals… now 80-78 on the year and having talent enough that I guessed they would hit 100 wins. With them traveling to New York to face the Mets to close out the string, they will actually have to rally a bit just to finish above .500 in these last 4 games. Wow.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds are now at 63-95 and the Braves are 64-94. Atlanta would have to finish with a worse record than the Reds to reclaim the 2nd draft pick position (the Reds own tie-breaker).

That will most likely not happen: the Braves play the Cardinals next… and are actually 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Reds play a Pirates club that still has to maintain their position ahead of the Cubs… and Cincy has lost 11 in a row now.

Here’s your box from last night:

Next: The Taylor Swift Curse??

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