Jun 24 2008
Sheets stuffs Braves as Atlanta drops series opener
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Brewers 4, Braves 1
Top of the Order: The Braves were mowed down by Ben Sheets’ complete game, dropping the opener of a three-game set at Turner Field and falling 4 ½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
The Good: The Braves’ bullpen fired 6 1/3 shutout innings against a team that has won eight of its past 11. Buddy Carlyle was most impressive, allowing just two hits in 4 1/3 innings with a walk and four strikeouts. Jeff Bennett gave up one hit in two innings. Royce Ring pitched 1/3 inning. Kelly Johnson was the only Atlanta hitter to hurt Sheets on this night, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Mark Kotsay begins a rehab assignment today for Double-A Mississippi and could be activated in time for next week’s big homestand against the Phillies. Yunel Escobar returned to the starting lineup after not starting the past two games with a hip flexor injury.
The Bad: As good as Sheets was, Jo-Jo Reyes was just as, shall we say, not good. The left-hander, who had been so impressive in his past five outings, gave up six hits and four runs in 2 1/3 innings, getting hurt time and time again with pitch location. Just not a good outing at all. And, getting four runs down to Sheets is paramount to falling six or seven behind some other pitchers. The Braves finished with just four hits. Sheets struck out seven in going the distance, earning his ninth career victory against Atlanta. Jeff Francoeur, fitted with a contact lens for his right eye before the game, went 0-for-3 as his average dropped to 243. Chipper Jones did not play with his injured quadriceps and the Braves indicated Hoss may not play until this weekend in Toronto. Chipper still leads the majors with a .393 batting average.
View from the Sports Garage: On a night where the Braves faced Sheets, arguably the toughest pitcher for Atlanta to beat, Reyes couldn’t spot his fastball effectively enough to work ahead in the count. The result: the Braves fell behind early and that was nighty-nite time with Sheets on the bump. Dude simply blew the Braves away with that devastating curve of his; Atlanta didn’t have a chance. Sheets just owns this team, and he owned them again last night. So, the best the Braves can do on this homestand is 4-2. I think most of us hoped for 5-1 given the fact three came against Seattle, the worst team in baseball. Milwaukee is hot as fire right now. They were my pick in the NL Central this season and they’re finally rounding into form. With that said, the Braves can ill-afford to lose any more ground between now and next week’s three-game series with the Phils at Turner Field next week.
On deck
Braves vs. Brewers
7:05 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: Charlie Morton (1-0, 4.91 ERA) makes his first start at Turner Field, and the right-hander hopes for better results than the last time out. Following up his impressive victory over the Angels in his major-league debut, Morton wasn’t bad against the Rangers on Thursday. But he clearly ran out of gas after five innings, allowing the first two runners to reach before Jeff Ridgway gave up a homer that put Texas in front. Still, Morton didn’t pitch bad in that outing, even if his location wasn’t as sharp as it was in his first outing. For the Brewers, Dave Bush (3-7, 5.26 ERA) grabbed lots of attention Thursday by carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Blue Jays, finishing with a two-hitter through eight innings. Speaking of the Blue Jays, the Braves really need to win the final two games on this homestand before heading north of the border for a weekend gathering in Toronto.
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