Jul 03 2008
Same sad story: Braves fall again to Phils, tumble to six out in East
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Phillies 7, Braves 3
Top of the Order: For the second consecutive night the Braves fell behind early, pulled within two runs, then watched as the Phillies pulled away, Atlanta falling a season-worst five games below .500 and six games out in the NL East with its fourth consecutive loss.
The Good: Chipper Jones smacked his 17th homer in the eighth (career dinger No. 403), finishing 1-for-4. His big-league leading average did dip to .391, however. Yunel Escobar returned to the lineup after being out since June 24 with a shoulder injury, going 1-for-5. Ruben Gotay put the Braves on the board with a pinch-hit homer in the fifth. Jeff Bennett (1 1/3 innings) and Will Ohman (2/3 inning) fired scoreless ball from the bullpen. Finally, another of the walking wounded is ready to return: Martin Prado (remember him? Sure you do) likely will be activated today after being out since May 4 with a sprained left thumb. Prado will boost the bench; Brent Lillibridge, he who looks like a 9-year-old and swings at times like one, too, most likely will be sent back to Richmond.
The Bad: For the second night in a row, the Braves played like they really aren’t serious about contending in the mediocre NL East, a division they should be dominating. For the second night in a row, a rough outing by the starter put the Braves in a deep early-game hole. This time it was Jorge Campillo’s turn to struggle, the righty being hurt by bad location in giving up five runs on eight hits in five innings. One pitch in particular hurt: a hanging breaking ball that Ryan Howard blasted for a three-run homer in the third. The downward spiral that is Jeff Francoeur’s 2008 season continued unabated: 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, plunging Frenchy’s average to .236. His double-play grounder short-circuited what could have been a big sixth inning for the Braves. Atlanta left 10 runners on base (that’s 19 so far in this sorry showing of a series) and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position (that’s 2-for-24 in the past two games). It then got away from Atlanta in the ninth. Blaine Boyer gave up a run in the ninth (as did Royce Ring), one night after Boyer coughed up three in the final frame. That begs a question for Bobby Cox: Why was Boyer used? Dude already has set a career high in appearances … and it’s JULY FREAKING 3rd! Darn, Bobby, give that boy a couple of days off!
View from the Sports Garage: At some point in time, you find yourself sitting there waiting for “that moment” to happen. It will be “that moment,” the situation where the Braves come through, turn things around, “that moment” we’ll all point back to when October arrives and this team is playing in the postseason. Uhhhhhhh, this just in: this team ain’t going nowhere in October but the golf course and Athens on Saturdays (Go Dogs!) because of moments like the bottom of the sixth: No outs, bases loaded, crowd cheering, Braves down 5-1, and Francoeur at the plate. Now, we all know how bad Frenchy’s been this season, and we all know how the Phillies whip the Braves like the neighborhood bully used to beat you down for your lunch money at the bus stop, and we all know it’s moments like this where the Braves have been at their abysmal, frustrating worst. So, I actually allowed myself to think this could be “that moment” where everything changed, where the ship got righted, Frenchy started playing like Frenchy, the Braves started playing like the Braves and this team would push forward from “that moment” toward the NL East title.
Then, I woke up. Francoeur fouled off two hanging sliders in the at-bat – pitches he used to crush – then grounded into a double play, moving to 2-for-20 on the season with the bases loaded. Three innings later, it was over, although Mark Teixeira’s first-pitch foul ball down the line in right would’ve been a grand slam had it stayed fair. Whatever. Same song, different verse, and I’m tired of singing. The Braves already survived falling 7 ½ games back in early June, and it took them nearly an entire month to merely cut that deficit in half. If the Braves fall tonight, they’ll be seven games out. I know there are 76 games left after tonight, but it’s a must-win game, plain and simple. Campillo just didn’t have it Wednesday, just like Charlie Morton didn’t have it the night before. Atlanta has failed to show up at all for the first two games of its most important series of the season. Inexcusable. Pathetic. A few more nights like this, and it just might be time to start thinking about what you could get for Teixeira at the trade deadline. Seriously. Why keep him for the final two months? This team, until it learns to seize “that moment,” isn’t seizing anything else after the final Sunday in September, other than tee times and Bulldogs’ tickets.
On deck
Braves vs. Phillies
7:05 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: A dandy pitching matchup in the series finale between one team’s ace, and an ace-in-the-making. For the Braves, young Jair Jurrjens (8-3, 2.94 ERA) comes in following the best start of his stellar season: eight innings of three-hit shutout ball in Friday’s win at Toronto. Since missing a start due to an ankle injury, JJJ has been AOK: 23 2/3 innings without an earned run. The Braves need him tonight to pitch well as the Phillies go for the sweep by sending lefty Cole Hamels (8-5, 3.38 ERA) to the bump. Hamels pitched maybe the best game spun against Atlanta this season, a four-hit shutout May 15 in Philly. Jurrjens is unbeaten at home this season, and the Braves need him as much as they have all season to pitch well tonight, especially considering Atlanta’s starters have combined to pitch just seven innings so far in this series.
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