Jun 01 2008
Another road disaster as Braves let one slip away at Cincy
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Reds 8, Braves 7 (10 innings)
Top of the Order: Two outs away from a one-run victory on the road, the Braves saw it slip away as the Reds tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, then win it in the 10th to send Atlanta spiraling to 1-4 on its current road trip.
The Good: Mark Teixeira continued his big week, going 2-for-6 with three RBIs, those coming on a three-run homer in the third to tie the game at 5-5. Tex has driven in 12 runs in the past six days with two homers, after not hitting a homer since May 10. Following his worst game of the year, Chipper Jones went 2-for-3 and walked three times, raising his major-league leading average to .413. Kelly Johnson also had two hits. Greg Norton hit a two-run homer in the second. Josh Anderson got his first hit as a Brave and stole a base (dude can flat out fly – 13 steals at Richmond this season – and needs to play). Jeff Francoeur gave the Braves a 7-6 lead with his sixth homer of the season in the seventh inning. Royce Ring, Jeff Bennett, Will Ohman and Blaine Boyer did not allow a run in 3 2/3 innings of relief. John Smoltz is on his way back to the big-league team, after a scoreless inning for Single-A Rome. Smoltz threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes and expects to be activated in time for Monday’s homestand opener against Florida.
The Bad: Jair Jurrjens told the media after the game he “stunk,” and while that may be a bit harsh, he wasn’t good: nine hits, six earned runs, six walks in 4 1/3 innings. The back end of the bullpen couldn’t hold onto a late lead, as Rafael Soriano and Manny Acosta each gave up runs, the latter a walk-off homer to Reds’ rookie sensation Jay Bruce (Bruce, by the way, is having quite a first week in the majors, hitting .579 with a homer and four RBIs). The Braves certainly had chances against a group of Reds’ pitchers that didn’t exactly look like Cy Young candidates, but Atlanta left 12 runners on base. Brian McCann and Yunel Escobar in particular had tough days at the plate, combining to go 0-for-9 and leaving four runners in scoring position with two outs.
View from the Sports Garage: Two months into a season full of disasters on the road, Saturday’s game rises to the top of the ugly and growing list. The Braves had this game won, and managed to lose it. Again. The tying run scored with one out in the bottom of the ninth, on a play where the Braves got exactly what Soriano needed: a ground ball right back to the mound. Give Ryan Freel credit for racing home and beating Teixeira’s throw and McCann’s tag to tie the game. That’s just the way it’s going for the Braves right now. They really should’ve been blown out early, as tough as it was for Jurrjens to get going. And yet they rallied twice, and then Jurrjens settled down, and Francoeur gave them the lead, and the bullpen held it until the bitter end … and then, the predictable road karma rose up and bit this team squarely in the tailbone, again. I’ve never seen anything like this, in 30 years of following baseball as a fan, in 15 years of writing about it in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. The Braves simply cannot win a close game on the road, and the frustration level has transformed into almost a predictable dread that you can’t help but start thinking about every single time the Braves lead a close game on the road in the late innings. Just look at the numbers: 7-20 on the road this season, 2-16 in one-run games, 0-13 in one-run games on the road (a 20-game one-run road game losing streak, dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in major-league history), 0-5 in extra-inning game. When you watch this team on the road, you almost feel like a bystander overlooking a busy intersection. You know a wreck is coming, and while you don’t want to watch, you just can’t take your eyes off the scene. That’s three games on this road trip the Braves absolutely should have won. If this team misses the playoffs by three games or less, you can start your postseason “should’ve-could’ve” analysis in the final week in May.
On deck
Braves at Reds
1:15 p.m. today, Great American Ball Park
The Skinny: Tim Hudson (7-3, 2.90 ERA) started this road trip with great promise Tuesday, pitching eight innings and allowing just two runs while striking out six. It’s a game the Braves should have won but didn’t, as Huddy only got two solo homers for offensive support. Still, he’s been great in five of his past six starts. The Braves need him to be that way again today as they try to salvage a 2-4 road trip. Toeing the slab for the Reds is rookie Johnny Cueto (3-5, 5.40 ERA), who has cooled off since a stellar start. Cueto allowed nine hits and three runs in his last start Tuesday against the Pirates. When he’s on, though, he’s got amazing stuff and is difficult to handle. Obviously, given the events of the past five days, it would behoove the Braves to win today and take some semblance of momentum and confidence home with them as they prepare for a seven-game homestand against the top two teams in the NL East: Florida and Philadelphia.
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