Braves.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com

Braves 9, Angels 4

Top of the Order: Charlie Morton’s major-league debut went as well as the Braves could have hoped for, the right-hander pitching with poise for six solid innings and fellow rookie Brandon Jones leading the hit parade as Atlanta won its second straight, pulling within 6 ½ games out in the NL East.

The Good: Hey, Morton’s pretty good! All joking aside, the lanky righty gave the Braves a great effort: five hits, three runs, one walk and four strikeouts in six innings. Morton struck out the first two hitters he faced, and set down the Angels in order in four of his six innings. Jones posted his second great game in a row, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and his first major-league homer. Gregor Blanco and Yunel Escobar had two hits each, Kelly Johnson hit a solo homer and scored twice, and Mark Teixeira drove in three runs. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup after missing Friday’s game with a bruised cheek. Mike Hampton is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today; if all goes well, he’ll head to spring training and then a minor-league rehab assignment.

The Bad: Again, not much to complain about when you beat the best team in the AL for the second straight night. Jeff Francoeur went hitless in five at-bats, and Chipper went 0-for-3, dropping his major-league leading average to .409. For some reason, with the Braves leading 9-3 in the eighth, Bobby Cox brought on the overworked Blaine Boyer, who gave up a hit in one-third of an inning. He then called on Will Ohman, who also is overworked (but is still getting hitters out). Ohman allowed a hit and a run in 1 1/3 innings.

View from the Sports Garage: Boy, for a guy who didn’t get much sleep jumping on connection flights to get to California to pitch his first game in the majors, Morton sure did look good. Threw the fastball in the mid-90s, broke out that good-looking 12-to-6 curve, and effectively spotted his slider and changeup. The thing most impressive about Morton’s debut was the fact he threw the slider and changeup on 2-0 and 3-1 counts. Some dudes have the stuff but don’t have the confidence to succeed. Not gonna be a problem with Morton. I’m sure there will be ups and downs as we go, but he looks like he’s going to be a part of this rotation for a long time. The bottom of the lineup is producing very well: Jones and Blanco combining for five hits and four runs scored. With the Phillies losing, the Braves pull within 6 ½ games back and can even up the road trip with a win tonight, which would finish off a sweep of the AL’s best team. The Braves are starting to play with the confidence we saw from them at home during the first two months of the season. Need to keep it up for the remainder of the road trip and see if they can cut another game or two off of Philly’s lead before coming back home next weekend.

On deck
Braves at Angels
8:05 p.m. today (or whatever time ESPN decides to start the game), Angel Stadium

The Skinny: Jorge Campillo (2-0, 2.15 ERA) climbs the bump with an extra day of rest – albeit it he pitched in relief Thursday at Chicago, retiring the only hitter he faced. After three stellar starts in a row after moving from the bullpen, the right-hander has regressed slightly. A week ago, Campillo gave up seven hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Phillies, throwing a career-high 105 pitches. Still, Campillo has been a blessing for the Braves’ rotation, providing much-needed stability to a group wrecked by injuries. The Braves need another good performance from Campillo tonight on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. For the Angels, Joe Saunders (9-3, 3.22 ERA) has been super this season but is coming off a rough outing Monday against Tampa Bay. Saunders gave up back-to-back-to-back jacks to open the second inning, allowing eight earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

—30—

Trackback URI | Comments RSS