May 25 2008
Frenchy’s walk-off homer sends Braves past D’Backs
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 3, Diamondbacks 1
Top of the Order: Jeff Francoeur blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, as the Braves bounced back from Friday night’s drubbing to win a pitchers’ duel at Turner Field, improving its NL-best home record to 21-6.
The Good: One night after Arizona ripped the Braves for 11 runs, the combination of Jorge Campillo, Jeff Bennett, Will Ohman and Blaine Boyer shut down the Snakes, holding Arizona to one run on three hits. Campillo was outstanding again (four innings, two hits, no walks – again! – and three strikeouts). Boyer earned his first victory since 2005 with 1 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings. Bennett pitched three innings and added his first major-league hit. Speaking of hits, Francoeur led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 and crushing a Chad Qualls slider into the seats in left field for the game-winner. And wasn’t it good to see the celebration at home plate, the Braves mobbing their struggling right-fielder? Indeed. Chipper Jones pushed his major-league leading average to .417 with two hits. He led off the ninth with a single, setting up Francoeur’s heroics. Gregor Blanco, the only lefty to start against Randy Johnson, ripped his first career triple and scored on Yunel Escobar’s third-inning single. And what about the double-play Escobar turned in the sixth, where he bare-handed the ball, stepped on second, and threw to first to get Bennett out of a jam? Stellar. Down on the farm, John Smoltz pitched a pain-free, 12-pitch inning for Double-A Mississippi, allowing an infield hit but no runs.
The Bad: Somebody get the Braves’ pitchers some pickle juice, because blisters are becoming a problem. Campillo struggled a bit with his curve ball because of blisters that ended his day after four innings. Bennett walked three and needed Escobar’s heroics up the middle to escape the sixth, then allowed a run to tie the game in the seventh. He also committed a throwing error. Matt Diaz and Corky Miller each started and each responded by going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
View from the Sports Garage: What can you say after you send a guy with one major-league victory to the bump, and he matches a future Hall of Famer pitch-for-pitch, then your bullpen holds things together until your struggling young superstar wins it with a walk-off shot? That describes the way the Braves responded to the pounding they took Friday night. You’ve got to be proud of this team for the way they bounced back from Friday night. Games like this launch winning streaks, folks, and one more winning streak puts this team where it needs to be: first place in the NL East. The blister aside, Campillo was awesome again, getting lots of movement on his breaking stuff (not as much thanks to the blister, but still enough to frustrate Arizona). The bullpen did its job: one run allowed in five innings. The offense struggled against Johnson, but then again, many teams do. The Braves stayed patient, made the plays they needed to make to stay in the game, and Francoeur came through at the end. That’s 7-2 on this ultra-important homestand, and with the Marlins being rained out Saturday night, the Braves move to within one skinny game of the top spot in the East. Encouraging news about Smoltz, too. Things indeed are looking up as the homestand winds down.
On deck
Braves vs. Diamondbacks
1:35 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: The last time Micah Owings played at Turner Field, the former Gainesville High Red Elephant (yes, that’s the school’s nickname; covered that program for four years and if I had a dollar for every time I wrote that … but I digress) single-handedly wrecked the Braves. Owings pitched seven strong innings last Aug. 18 against Atlanta, and went 4-for-5 at the plate with two homers and six RBIs. While his hitting gets lots of attention (he’s at .323 this year with a homer and three RBIs, and Arizona manager Bob Melvin has used him as a pinch hitter on occasion), Owings (5-2, 3.81 ERA) is developing into a really good pitcher. He struck out a career-high 10 in his last start, a tough 3-2 loss at Florida. For the Braves, Tom Glavine (2-1, 3.98 ERA) allowed a first-inning run in his last start, but then shut down the Mets from there, setting down the final 17 hitters he faced for his second victory of the season. He’s went five-plus innings in six of his eight starts, and a good effort today would be welcomed for the Braves, who had to use the bullpen for five innings Saturday.
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