Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves Hit Arizona Hard… Can’t Overcome Pitching

The Braves used 4 pitchers Monday night in the desert.  One got away unscathed.  Then again, he only faced one batter.  But what’s wrong with Vizcaino?

Ordinarily, you’d think this one would have been in the bag for Atlanta:

• Four consecutive second-inning batters hit for the team-cycle.
• Freddie Freeman launched two home runs.  He also had a double.
• Matt Kemp reached base 3 times.
• Nick Markakis was 3-for-5.
• Adonis Garcia also homered as part of a 12 hit attack.
• The Braves opened up a 5-0 lead in the second inning.

But it still wasn’t enough as the bottom of the order only mustered 2 hits and 2 RBI with the team going 4 for 12 w/RISP (respectable, but insufficient).

It was insufficient because of these lines:

…specifically those of Foltynewicz and Vizcaino.

There was a point a few weeks ago in which many of us thought Folty had turned the corner and ‘figured it out’.  His last several outings prove that there’s still a lot of road work – particularly when pitching on the road – that needs to be done.

As for Vizcaino:  his transformation from closer to punching bag has been remarkable.  Over his last 8 outings, he’s yielded 16 runs (15 earned) in just 5 innings.

His prior eight starts?  1 earned in 6.2 innings.

John Gant was saddled with the loss, but it’s hard to blame him – he’s still a starting pitcher and was given no margin for error.

As for tonight’s game, I have an idea:

Maybe leave the roof open??

Last team getting to hit wins it would seem.  Here’s the hitting side of that box:

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