Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Jonathan Lucroy, Jim Johnson Trade Rumors
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves shot out of a cannon last night scoring five runs in the first two innings and had a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz was cruising through the frames until the 4th inning, when it seemed like his emotions, once again, got the best of him. He gave up a leadoff double, another double, a wild pitch and a home run. The Twins tried to come back after the being down so many, but came up short. Both teams totaled 29 hits on Wednesday night and every member of the Braves starting lineup got at least one hit…with Freddie Freeman going 4-4 with 5 RBIs! For a full recap, here you go.
Braves WIN 9-7 and SWEEP the Twins!
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Peterson LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .269 | .357 | .396 | .753 |
| Gordon Beckham 2B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .243 | .329 | .405 | .735 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .280 | .363 | .517 | .881 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .259 | .336 | .361 | .698 |
| Adonis Garcia 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .266 | .302 | .392 | .694 |
| Jeff Francoeur DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .251 | .290 | .385 | .676 |
| Ender Inciarte CF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .243 | .309 | .316 | .625 |
| A.J. Pierzynski C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .215 | .234 | .288 | .521 |
| Erick Aybar SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .216 | .277 | .268 | .545 |
| Mike Foltynewicz P | |||||||||||
| Ian Krol P | |||||||||||
| Mauricio Cabrera P | |||||||||||
| Chris Withrow P | |||||||||||
| Jim Johnson P | |||||||||||
| Team Totals | 41 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 44 | .390 | .432 | .683 | 1.115 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Foltynewicz, W (4-4) | 5.1 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4.30 |
| Ian Krol, H (2) | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.14 |
| Mauricio Cabrera, H (2) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.07 |
| Chris Withrow, H (9) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.03 |
| Jim Johnson, S (4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.21 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 6.00 |
Trade Deadline Daily: Is Braves reliever Jim Johnson on the block?
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Could this really happen again…the Braves sign Johnson and then trade him at the deadline? Why not! Since his return from the DL in June, he’s posted a 2.08 ERA and is hitting 95mph on the radar gun. Teams needing bullpen help should hand the Braves a power bat prospect, please! Especially in the AL. Johnson has dominating the AL hitters over the past two seasons. Hopefully teams won’t look at how he did with the Dodgers in the second half of last season.
They’ve fielded calls on Jeff Francoeur, thanks to his .781 OPS against left-handed pitching, but seem inclined to keep a good clubhouse presence who is making only $1 million. And they would only move currently injured closer Arodys Vizcaino (oblique) as part of a much bigger deal.
So that leaves Johnson, who has thrown much better in recent weeks since returning from a groin injury that landed him on the disabled list in May. His average fastball velocity is up two miles per hour, to 94.2 mph, since his return.
And while that’s still a tick below where he was when he was power-sinkering his way to back-to-back 50-save seasons in Baltimore in 2012-13, as ROBaseball.com tweeted Wednesday, his strikeout rate is back up to 19.9 percent. That’s actually higher than his 19.2 percent strikeout percentage for the Baltimore Orioles in 2013. As many as two dozen relievers could get traded in the next five days — it wouldn’t be surprising now if Johnson turns out to be one of them.
Jonathan Lucroy trade talk heating up
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: I think this ship has sailed for the Atlanta Braves. Such promising trade rumors we all stirred on social media will most likely come to an end. The Tigers, Indians and Mets are all in the market for Lucroy…and they rightfully should be. He can help your team now. Lucroy has a club option for the 2017 season in his contract and whoever trades for him will most likely use that. Which means in 2018 he will be a 32-year-old catcher with many years on his knees…wait, we’ve gone down that road before…there is still a chance!
Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy plays a position (catcher) of utmost importance. In a bit of rarity in today’s Major League Baseball, the veteran backstop also plays it incredibly well.
Lucroy, 30, entered Wednesday’s action hitting .301 with 13 homers, 50 RBI and a solid .362 on-base percentage. He’s also in the midst of putting up a positive defensive WAR for the seventh consecutive season.
Needless to say, there’s a ton of interest in his services.
One report on Wednesday has Lucroy linked to a Detroit Tigers squad that surprisingly finds itself in the midst of the American League Central race, just 5.5 games behind the pace-setting Cleveland Indians.