Jun 22 2008
Braves rally past Mariners for one-run victory
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 5, Mariners 4
Top of the Order: Down a run entering the bottom of the ninth and staring at another frustrating loss to the worst team in baseball, the Braves pulled themselves off the deck and won a one-run game for just the fourth time in 23 tries this season.
The Good: Greg Norton, playing against the team that released him in late April, extracted some sweet revenge with a two-hit game, none bigger than the double to right-center that scored Kelly Johnson to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Brian McCann also finished with two hits, his broken-bat blooper over second with the bases loaded in the ninth scoring Norton to win it. Batting leadoff and playing shortstop for the injured Yunel Escobar, Omar Infante continued his good work at the plate, going 3-for-5 and moving to 5-for-8 in the series. Ruben Gotay, starting for Chipper Jones at third, hit his first homer as a Brave to start the comeback in the eighth. Speaking of Chipper, (who didn’t start after aggravating his quadriceps Friday), he came off the bench with a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth, pulling the Braves within 4-3 and raising his major-league leading average to .393. Jair Jurrjens, let down by his defense in the first inning, responded with a solid outing. The righty allowed just three hits and no earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts in six innings. Blaine Boyer pitched a perfect ninth inning. Mike Hampton pitched without pain in the Gulf Coast League as his latest minor-league rehab assignment begins. Jeff Ridgway is where he belongs … back at Richmond, as the Braves called up Brent Lillibridge to give them a backup infielder with Jones and Escobar hurting.
The Bad: Another bad night by the defense, and it put Jurrjens and the Braves in a 3-0 hole. Infante committed two errors (both in the first inning, leading to three unearned runs) and Gotay added a miscue. For some reason, Bobby Cox doesn’t realize two-inning outings for Manny Acosta just don’t work. Acosta gave up a run and walked two in two innings, that run coming in Acosta’s second inning of work and meaning the Braves entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by one instead of being tied. Escobar didn’t start after injuring his hip flexor Friday night. He did pinch hit, grounding out in the sixth.
View from the Sports Garage: One night after being embarrassed at home, it looked like another hide-your-eyes performance was unfolding before us. But that’s before the Braves gathered themselves in the late innings and avoided what simply would have been another unacceptable loss. I’m not even going to go into the thought process of maybe this is where the Braves finally turn things around on this 2008 season. Instead, I’m going to view it for exactly what it is: a good victory. Nothing more. Nothing less. Down 3-0 after allowing three unearned runs, Jurrjens showed that maturity we’ve raved about all season long, not letting his lack of defense or the early deficit bother him. He pitched great, and the Braves chipped away, coming through with some clutch hitting in the late innings. Chipper gave them a boost coming off the bench, and you know Norton had to be happy to tie the game against his former mates. All in all, a good victory, one that helps to wash away the stench of Friday’s horrid showing. Gotta win today, though, and take care of the Brewers first of the week. The Phillies lost again, so the Braves are (stop me if you’ve heard this before), for all their problems, just five games out of the top spot in the NL East.
On deck
Braves vs. Mariners
1:35 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: If baseball ever gets rid of interleague play, Tim Hudson (7-5, 3.17 ERA) probably will pop a bottle of champagne. Huddy absolutely stinks when the American League and National League get together, posting a career record of 0-10 with a 7.82 ERA with the Braves in interleague games. Yikes! Huddy didn’t have it Tuesday at Texas, allowing six runs and not making it through the fifth inning. For the Mariners, right-hander Carlos Silva (3-8, 5.79 ERA) pitched 4 2/3 innings his last time out against the Marlins, before being ejected for arguing. He is riding an eight-game losing streak, after starting the season 3-0.
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