Jun 02 2008
Swept away: Braves end nightmare trip with loss at Cincy
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Reds 6, Braves 2
Top of the Order: A putrid road trip ended on a fittingly sour note, as the Braves were no-hit through five innings en route to being swept in Cincinnati and finishing the road trip 1-5.
The Good: The best news of all: this horrid road trip is over. Mark Teixeira homered for the third time in the past four games, and Brian McCann followed Tex’s blast with a homer of his own, the two solo shots accounting for all the Atlanta offense. Tex and Jeff Francoeur each had a hit and a walk. Royce Ring retired the only hitter he faced, and Buddy Carlyle didn’t allow a run in 1 1/3 innings, walking two. John Smoltz is expected to be activated for tonight’s homestand opener against Florida. Did I mention the road trip is over?
The Bad: Have a seat, sonny, we’re gonna be here a while. Tim Hudson wasn’t too bad mind you (seven hits, four runs, three earned, three walks, three strikeouts in six innings), but homers to Adam Dunn and Jay Bruce in the first three innings put the Braves in an early hole. Not exactly what your ace needs to do when you’re struggling. Hudson left the game in the seventh after straining his hamstring. Later in the seventh, Blaine Boyer strained his knee and had to leave the game, too. Nothing like two of your best pitchers getting hurt 10 minutes apart (neither injury is thought to be serious, however). Reds’ rookie Johnny Cueto absolutely shut down the Braves, not allowing a hit until Gregor Blanco’s bunt single in the sixth. Atlanta had just six hits on the day, drew only two walks, and mustered absolutely nothing save for the two back-to-back solo homers in the seventh. Chipper Jones went 0-for-4 Sunday and 2-for-12 in the series, dropping his average to .405 (its lowest point since May 10). Yunel Escobar finished the day 0-for-4 and went 5-for-27 on the trip.
View from the Sports Garage: When you’re 7-21 on the road, everything thinks they can bully you. Maybe that’s why Jerry Hairston Jr. felt the need to fuss at Gregor Blanco following Blanco’s bunt single that broke up Cueto’s no-hitter. HEY JERRY, did you flippin’ pay attention in the scouting meeting? Blanco bunts and has good speed, so shut up. I’m so frustrated, I found myself wishing McCann would have slapped Hairston silly when he came to the plate (Mac, to his credit, merely told Mr. Know It All the Braves were trying to win the game, instead of starting a brawl). And the Braves are trying to win, but the simple and painful truth is on the road, they just can’t do it. Cueto’s done this no-hit thing before, taking one into the seventh against the Diamondbacks in his big-league debut in April. He was just as good Sunday, as the Braves never had a chance to lock in on him. Meanwhile, Hudson was just decent instead of outstanding, and with the way this team is playing, that’s not good enough most of the time. We’ve been subjected to a pathetic exhibition of baseball the past six days: a 1-5 road trip through the mediocre middle of the NL Central, a trip where the Braves MISSED each team’s ace and still managed to win just once. Think about the five losses and how excruciating they have been. This one lacked the late-game drama of the first four, but was just as torturous to watch nonetheless. Forget voodoo dolls. Forget mismatching uniforms. What this team needs to do – HAS to do, at this point – is come home and start winning. The Marlins and Phillies could really send the Braves spiraling down the NL East standings in the next seven days, and if you’re a Braves’ fan, you better be concerned with the way this team is playing and not content in the fact Atlanta is 22-7 at Turner Field and will just flip a switch tonight and start winning again. No, the Braves are in real danger here, and if they were to go 2-5 on this homestand, they are looking at being six or seven games out of first place this time next week. And, as we’ve discussed here in the past, that’s a place the Braves cannot afford to be, especially with a monster 10-game trip (three with the Cubs, three with the Angels, one in Colorado and three at Texas) coming up after the homestand. The last time the Braves were home, they showed us what type of team they are capable of being. Their season could hinge on what happens at Turner Field this week.
On deck
Braves vs. Marlins
7:05 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: Jo-Jo Reyes (2-3, 4.83 ERA) pitched the game of his career his last time out … and ended up the losing pitcher. Sigh. Just life on the road as an Atlanta Brave starter. The good news for Reyes – and his road-weary mates – is the young lefty toes the slab tonight at 755 Hank Aaron Boulevard. And Reyes should be gushing with confidence after allowing just two hits in seven innings with a career-best nine strikeouts Wednesday at Milwaukee. Reyes hit the corners with his breaking ball and his fastball owned the inner half of the dish. The Braves need him to pitch like that again tonight against the Fighting Fish, who dropped two of three at Philly over the weekend and now are in second place. Lefty Scott Olsen (4-2, 3.65 ERA) takes the ball for Florida. He’s only logged 8 1/3 innings combined his past two starts and has allowed four homers in that span. His velocity has dipped recently; maybe some of these young Marlins are starting to wilt just a bit as the weather and the pennant race begins heating up. Either way, the Braves face an almost must-win situation tonight at home, if for nothing else the confidence of a team that looked every bit the past week like a squad fixing to slide quietly into the night.
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