Aug 23 2008
Battered and embarrassed, Braves torn apart by Redbirds
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Cardinals 18, Braves 3
Top of the Order: The Braves lost for the 11th time in the past 12 games by continuing to embarrass the uniform and the fan base they represent, being outmatched, out-hustled and out classed in a pathetic showing.
The Good: You’re kidding, right? OK, let’s dig really, really deep into this. Omar Infante, Martin Prado and Kelly Johnson each had two hits. Jeff Bennett was the only Atlanta pitcher not to give up a run. Honestly, it was worse than the final score indicated — the Braves scored twice in the ninth.
The Bad: Charlie Morton, five hits, four runs, five walks, 1 1/3 innings. Vladimir Nunez, five hits, two runs, two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Matt DeSalvo, eight hits, six runs, one walk in one inning … yep, all of that carnage in one freaking inning. Blaine Boyer, three hits, three runs, one walk in one inning. Julian Tavarez, five hits, three runs, one inning. You get the idea. A horrific night for the guys who climbed the bump for the Bravos on this night. St. Louis finished with 26 hits. TWENTY-FREAKING-SIX!!
View from the Sports Garage: I’ll be completely honest with you – the ONLY reason I kept watching this debacle was I know the guy who toed the slab for the other team, and it made it just a little easier to watch. St. Louis right-hander Adam Wainwright, making his first start in two months, really pitched well. The St. Simons Island native, who I got to know during my newspaper days in that corner of the world, is the reason I finally was able to see South Beach. My wife wouldn’t allow me to go to South Beach with a buddy of mine a few years ago, but lo and behold, when Adam made the Cardinals roster in 2006, I got to go to Miami one weekend and catch up with him as the Cards were playing the Marlins. Of course, during my trip, I checked out South Beach. Nice place, to say the least. Actually got a call from Adam on my cell while eating lunch along South Beach, wanting to know what time I’d be at Dolphin Stadium that day so we could chat for a variety of stories I was working on … OK, so what the hell does this have to do with the Braves, you ask? Not a darn thing, but do you really wanna talk about what happened Friday? Not only did Wainwright get the victory, he had three hits … my goodness, the Cards had EIGHTEEN hits through five innings. Wow. Good job, AW. Now keep it up, and get your club into the playoffs because, as we all know, the team I cover on this here corner of the blogosphere ain’t going anywhere.
On deck
Braves at Cardinals
3:55 p.m. today, Busch Stadium
The Skinny: As has been the case during the Braves’ two-week plunge, Jorge Campillo (7-6, 3.29 ERA) has fell behind early in his past two starts. He gave up four runs against the Cubs in the first inning and three vs. the Giants in his last two outings. As good as the right-hander has been since moving into the rotation in late May, Campillo has struggled of late, giving up 15 earned runs in his past 18 innings. For the Cardinals, right-hander Kyle Lohse (13-6, 3.94 ERA) is tied for fifth in victories and leads the injury-battered St. Louis rotation in innings pitched.
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