May 11 2008
Road woes continue as Braves fall again away from home
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Pirates 3, Braves 2
Top of the Order: Chuck James gave up five runs, and the Braves’ bats were meager in losing to the Buccos for the second day in a row, losing their sixth straight road game and plunging to 4-13 away from Turner Field.
The Good: Precious little. Mark Teixeira blasted a two-run homer in the first, staking the Braves to a 2-0 lead that didn’t last. Omar Infante finished with three hits in the leadoff spot, continuing his good work since coming off the disabled list Thursday. Jorge Campillo pitched well out of the bullpen, and that in and of itself is a good thing: the overworked Braves bullpen only needed two innings from Campillo, giving the rest of the beleaguered pen the night off.
The Bad: Nowhere near enough offense to support James, who left his customary hanger over the plate that Jason Bay smacked in the fifth inning, the two-run homer giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead. Chuckie gave up five runs, five hits, walked four (two were intentional) and struck out seven in six innings. When Chuck is up in the zone, he gets hit, and the ball to Bay was a bad pitch at a bad time. Even though they hit some balls hard, the Braves continue to struggle on offense, mustering just seven hits on the night. Chipper Jones went hitless for the second night in a row, seeing his average falling to .400. With Florida’s big win over Washington, the Braves fell to 3 ½ games behind the surprising Marlins in the NL East.
View from the Sports Garage: OK, so you’ve got a team that’s nearly unstoppable at home, yet can’t do anything right on the road. Surely you’re not talking about the Braves, the team that played the past two seasons like it had a hatred for Turner Field, right? I never could understand how a team could struggle at home like the Braves did in 2006 and 2007, and now, I’m befuddled about Atlanta can have the bigs’ best record at home (14-4) and worst record on the road (4-13). Last night, the Braves gave Chuck James an early lead and then did nothing else with the sticks. You knew it was a matter of time before the Buccos get to Chuckie, and that’s what happened the second and third times through the lineup. Par for the course. The Pirates are better than they have been in years past, but that’s little solace for a team that just can’t get it done away from 755 Hank Aaron Boulevard right now.
On deck
Braves at Pirates
1:35 p.m. today, PNC Park
The Skinny: Here we go again, the Braves on a skid, and Jair Jurrjens climbing the bump for the ballclub. Jurrjens (4-2, 2.84 ERA) has emerged as a rookie-of-the-year candidate, and has pitched like a veteran in each of his seven starts. He really should be 6-1 or perhaps 7-0. The Braves will need to do something offensively against a good young pitcher, Zach Duke (1-2, 4.60 ERA), who is coming off two good starts. With Jurrjens and Tim Hudson pitching the final two games of this series, it’s important the Braves turn things around. Or else, that six-game winning streak the Braves put together last week is going to be nothing more than a fleeting memory, lost amid the woes of life on the road.
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