May 24 2008
D’Backs bring Reyes, Braves back to earth in blowout
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Diamondbacks 11, Braves 1
Top of the Order: The Braves’ five-game winning streak ended with a thud, as Doug Davis returned from cancer thyroid surgery by stifling the Atlanta offense while Jo-Jo Reyes was hit hard in the series opener at Turner Field.
The Good: Not too many rays of sunshine on this day, and most of it came off the field. John Smoltz headed out to Knoxville to begin his minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Mississippi on Saturday. Manager Bobby Cox signed a one-year contract extension that will keep the venerable skipper in the dugout through the end of 2009. Rafael Soriano threw 14 pitches, nine for strikes, during his one inning of work in a rehab assignment for Mississippi. Mike Gonzalez threw an inning at extended spring training, striking out a batter … yeah, we’re focusing on the positives tonight away from Turner Field; it was that bad tonight for the big-league club. OK, there were a few good things that happened at 755 Hank Aaron Boulevard. Like Chipper Jones getting a hit in his only official at-bat, raising that scorching big-league average to .415. Like Brian McCann pushing his average to .337 with a 2-for-2 night. Like Kelly Johnson reaching .300 with a hit in three at-bats and driving in the Braves’ lone run. Like Phil Stockman pitching a scoreless inning of relief, striking out one. Like Yunel Escobar returning to the lineup after missing two games following that nasty collision with Ryan Church Tuesday night. And, even though he shut down the Braves, cheers for Davis, who has experienced no complications from his cancer surgery and returned to the bump six weeks and one day after the procedure. Attaboy, Doug.
The Bad: Just a bad night at the office, but it’s all the more jarring when it comes on the heels of six wins in the past week. Reyes’ night was torpedoed by bad location early, the left-hander allowing two home runs in the first inning en route to a dismal five-inning performance (six hits allowed, eight runs, seven earned, three walks). Chris Resop, who appears on his way out of town once the Rehabbing Relieving Trio (sounds like the name of a cool band, huh?) begins returning, hastened his exit from the Braves with two hits, two runs and a walk in two innings. Royce Ring gave up a homer in his one inning of work. Maybe Jeff Francoeur needs another day off; 0-for-4 with a strikeout, dropping his average to .258. Like I said, just a bad night at the yard. And finally, best of luck to Brayan Pena, who was designated for assignment before the game. A victim of the numbers’ game (although for the life of me, I don’t understand why it was Pena and not Corky Miller sent packing), Pena in all likelihood will be claimed off waivers by another team. Here’s hoping the kid gets a chance to play for somebody in the majors.
View from the Sports Garage: Didn’t see this one coming, did you? Actually, maybe we should have. You truly can’t win them all, although it was fun to watch the Braves do just that during their invigorating four-game sweep of the Dastardly Mets. Still, over the course of a 162-game season, every team is going to experience some nights like this. The D’Backs came to town smarting after being swept by the Marlins, their offense struggling away from home (just six runs scored in their previous six road games, all games Arizona lost). Arizona jumped all over Reyes from the get-go, no doubt coming out fired up to try and give Davis an early cushion. This one had Arizona’s name written all over it from the beginning, from the fact Davis’ story is so inspiring to the fact the D’Backs are simply too good an offensive team to average one measly run a game for very long. They broke out tonight. Hopefully, it didn’t break Reyes’ confidence, as the lefty has made strides in this his second major-league season. Push it aside and get ready for the next three games in this series.
On deck
Braves vs. Diamondbacks
3:55 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: So who you got today, the dude with 288 career victories, or the dude with one more major-league victory than me? From a historical stats standpoint, Arizona clearly has the advantage with Randy Johnson (4-1, 4.42 ERA) toeing the slab for the Snakes. But don’t sell Jorge Campillo (1-0, 0.99 ERA) short. The find of the offseason by Frank Wren authored the most impressive start by a Brave on this stellar homestand in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, striking out seven and allowing just three hits in six shutout innings. He didn’t allow a runner past first base in just his second career start, his first since 2005, to earn his first big-league W. Johnson, who started the season on the disabled list, is rounding into form, having won his past three starts. In his last start, he went a season-long seven innings against the Tigers. And the Big Unit loves pitching at Turner Field in May: on May 18, 2004, Johnson pitched a perfect game against the Braves in Atlanta.
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