Bullpen implodes again as Braves lose in 14
Posted by bud006 on September 8th, 2008
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Nationals 7, Braves 4 (14 innings)
Top of the Order: The Braves let another one get away, Blaine Boyer giving up two runs in the eighth inning and Atlanta wasting opportunity after opportunity until the Nats finally seized control in the 14th against Jeff Bennett.
The Good: We’ll start with Jo-Jo Reyes, who went six strong innings, allowing four hits and one run. The three walks were a sign his control wasn’t great, but for a change Jo-Jo didn’t let things spiral out of control. Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Vladimir Nunez, Jeff Ridgway, Buddy Carlyle and Jorge Julio did not allow a run in their relief appearances. Chipper Jones went 3-for-6 with two RBIs, his average at .358. Yunel Escobar finished with three hits. Gregor Blanco went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, and Martin Prado went 2-for-6. Both Blanco and Prado drove in a run. The Braves finished with 16 hits.
The Bad: Boyer and Bennett have been overworked to the point of exhaustion this season, but with that said, both were horrid out of the bullpen and the reason this one went the way it did. Boyer couldn’t hold it in the eighth, allowing two hits and two runs with a walk (a walk to a guy who’d never gotten a hit before in the majors) in 2/3 inning. Then, after the Braves’ bully kept the Nats off the scoreboard for five consecutive innings, Bennett gave up three runs on two hits with two walks in 1/3 inning. The Braves left 14 runners on base, including runners in the last four innings. Jeff Francoeur did what he does best – ground into double plays – twice, and left four men in scoring position. That’s tough to do. Corky Miller, who has about as much business being in the majors as Elmer F. Dessens, got the start and made the Corky fans proud, going 0-for-4 to drop his average to .086.
View from the Sports Garage: Three more weeks. Just keep telling yourself that. Three more weeks and this rotten, stinking, brutal season is over. Nothing makes one wish for the end to get here more than a game like Sunday’s: the bullpen blowing a lead, setting the tone for five extra innings and more than an hour and a half of extra play time. Yeah, just what the folks at Turner Field wanted yesterday, to sit through a 4 hour, 34 minute game, a game the Braves would lose. Of course, they’re going to lose when we go into extras. Atlanta now is 2-10 on the season, the worst record in baseball in that department. At least Reyes pitched better. At least Chipper got three hits; he’s one point behind Albert Pujols in the race for the NL batting title. At this point, that may be the only reason to watch this team during the season’s final 21 days.
On deck
Braves vs. Rockies
7:10 p.m. Tuesday, Turner Field
The Skinny: For Jorge Campillo (7-7, 3.67 ERA), his second-half struggles have hurt his winning percentage and ERA. But let there be no doubt: the right-hander has sewn up a spot in the Braves’ rotation for next season. Campillo gave up three runs on four hits in five innings Friday against the Nationals, striking out seven. For the Rockies, right-hander Aaron Cook (16-9, 4.10) has been Colorado’s best hurler this season, but he’s coming off a stinker of a performance his last time out: 10 hits and six runs in three innings against the Giants.
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