May 29 2008
Reyes’ great effort wasted in another one-run road loss
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Brewers 1, Braves 0
Top of the Order: Jo-Jo Reyes pitched the best game of his major-league career, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the disaster that is the Braves on the road, Atlanta falling to 6-18 away from Turner Field and 0-11 in road games decided by one run.
The Good: It’s a loss in the scorebook, but Reyes showed why the Braves’ brass has ignored those who criticize the 23-year-old lefty. Displaying precise command of his breaking ball and combining that with a fastball that overmatched the Milwaukee lineup on the inner half of the plate, Reyes pitched like an ace: seven innings, two hits, one run, three walks and a career-best nine strikeouts. Chipper Jones did his part offensively, going 1-for-2 with two walks, keeping his major-league leading average at .418. Yunel Escobar, Mark Teixeira and Gregor Blanco had one hit each. Rafael Soriano, out since April 7, was activated from the disabled list. Omar Infante got the start in left field and made a couple of nice plays. That’s all I’ve got … get ready for the bad news, of which there is plenty.
The Bad: Good grief, where to start? How about before the game. Mark Kotsay felt better, but his back still wouldn’t let him play as he missed his third consecutive game. Matt Diaz flew back to Atlanta; he was placed on the disabled list with a strained ligament in his left knee and will be examined today. The Atlanta offense continues to struggle on the road, mustering just four hits off the duo of Jeff Suppan and Salomon Torres – wait, is this the mid 1990s? Pathetic. Brian McCann struck out three times, the last one in a meltdown of an eighth-inning at-bat in which Mac argued with home plate umpire Mark Wegner, then stood outside the batter’s box while Wegner motioned to Suppan to throw a pitch, which was a strike. A bush-league move by Wegner, but McCann’s got to shake off the bad call and get back in the box. Maybe it didn’t matter whether the Braves were in the box or not, as they left eight on base. Reyes walked J.J. Hardy to lead off the eighth, and Blaine Boyer missed his location to Richie Weeks. Result: triple down the left-field line, run scores. Reyes gets the loss, the Braves fall again. Ugh, somebody wake me up from this nightmare.
View from the Sports Garage: Just when you think the Braves have tapped out your frustration meter when it comes to these road games, they find a way to send the needle zooming through the red. Eleven – I said ELEVEN – one-run losses on the road, and it’s May 29. But this one takes the cake, even above (or is it below?) that debacle in Washington on the final day of April. Reyes pitched his butt off, showing the stuff, the confidence, the talent that validates the claim he can and may eventually be a No. 2 starter. Dude was flat-out awesome, using his fastball effectively and hitting the corners with his breaking ball. But it didn’t matter. If it’s not crystal clear now the offense has been the problem, I don’t know what else I can do to convince you. The Braves, for all their offensive talent, simply stink in the clutch. Yes, I know this comes two games after I wrote about their clutch hitting on the homestand, the bats coming around, yada yada yada. Forget that. That was then. This is now, and now is not pretty. Suppan pitched well, indeed, but these are games playoff teams absolutely HAVE to win, especially when one of the kids who’s trying to establish himself goes out there and spins one of the best three or four starts you’ve gotten all freaking season! Didn’t you just know the Braves were going to lose this game as the string of zeros in the top half of each inning grew longer and longer? Of course you did. A lot of this is mental, and don’t think for one second the guys in the clubhouse aren’t thinking about it. That’s why you saw so much frustration from the Atlanta hitters tonight. I was livid about Wegner allowing Suppan to pitch while McCann collected himself after arguing strike one in the eighth, but Mac, you gotta shake that off and get back in the box in a scoreless game and get to work. Come to think of it, this entire lineup has to get to work on figuring out why in the world they tense up tighter than an awkward teenager talking to his prom date’s father for the first time. Another lost opportunity. Another game left on the table. Another one the Braves had no business losing, but lose they did.
On deck
Braves at Brewers
1:05 p.m. today, Miller Park
The Skinny: Jorge Campillo has been the biggest surprise maybe in all of baseball this season – this side of the Rays owning the best record in the bigs, but that’s another story. Campillo (1-0, 0.86 ERA), signed the day after Christmas, has given the Braves two quality starts in a row since moving into the rotation, not allowing an earned run in 10 innings with just six hits given up. Merry Christmas, indeed! For the Brew Crew, Seth McClung (2-1, 3.55 ERA) makes his second start since moving into the rotation. He made 37 starts for the Rays from 2003-06, back when the Rays were the Devil Rays … and when they sucked. Hopefully the blisters that cut short Campillo’s outing Saturday against Arizona have healed, because the Braves really need him to step up and pitch well. It’d be nice if the offense bothered to show up for this one.
—30—
