Aug 29 2008
Young Charlie steady and smooth as Braves beat Fish
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 4, Marlins 2
Top of the Order: Charlie Morton delivered six strong innings and Brian McCann’s three-run homer led the Braves to victory in the rubber game of a three-game set.
The Good: Let’s start with Morton, who pitched with confidence and showed an aggressive mindset against Florida’s hitters. The results – outstanding: four hits, two runs and only two walks in six stellar innings. The bullpen held serve from there. Julian Tavarez struck out the side in the seventh. Jeff Bennett got a double-play ball to cap a scoreless eighth. Mike Gonzalez struck out the side in a perfect ninth, earning his seventh save. Chipper Jones raised his average to .359 with two hits. Martin Prado continues hitting; another two-hit game, his average up to .338. Josh Anderson, who hopefully will get a long look in center now that Mark Kotsay is in Boston, went 1-for-2 with a run scored, two walks and a stolen base from the leadoff spot. McCann blasted his 22nd homer in the fifth, a three-run shot with two outs. Brandon Jones, starting in left, made a great catch at the top of the wall, and went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
The Bad: Not much on the field went poorly on this night, but these are the Braves, so expect some bad news: Rafael Soriano underwent surgery on his elbow, ending his disappointing and questionably injury-plagued season. He’s expected to be ready for spring training … pardon me if I’m not waiting with baited breath.
View from the Sports Garage: Seventy-five pitches, 50 strikes. Those, my friends, are the two big numbers from young Charlie on this night. As has been opined in this space for two months, the lanky right-hander has the stuff to be a darn-fine major-league pitcher. But it’s between the ears, and not the right arm, that is the key as Morton figures out what it takes to succeed in the bigs. Mark Thursday down as a step in the right direction. A big step. Morton had great command of his fastball from the get-go, and when he can throw that 93-94 mph heater for strikes, then work his breaking ball and change-up off of it, he’s pretty good. Anderson looked super hitting leadoff; might we see him there quite a bit the final month? We better; dude can play. His stolen base forced the Marlins to walk Chipper to get to Mac, and Mac made them pay with the long ball that gave Atlanta the lead for keeps. Speed is a good thing, and Anderson has lots and lots of it. Games like this will go a long way toward building the confidence of the younger players who will be battling for roster spots come March in Lake Buena Vista. A good win, a series win. Now, on to the nation’s capital for the holiday weekend. Hopefully Chipper is getting hot; he leads Albert Pujols by two points in the race for the NL batting title.
On deck
Braves at Nationals
7:35 p.m. today, Nationals Park
The Skinny: He ended up with a no-decision, but Jorge Campillo (7-6, 3.37 ERA) looked much better in his last start, Saturday against St. Louis. Except for Pujols – who is murdering every pitcher he faces right now – Campillo held the Cards in check. For the Nationals, former Braves hurler Odalis Perez (5-10, 4.21 ERA) toes the slab, just as he did back on opening night March 31, when this disaster march straight into baseball hell began. Perez left his last start in the fifth after allowing 10 hits and four earned runs.
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Bud, it was kind of funny. I have not been able to watch a game for sometime and this was the first one that I get to see. What a thrill. The kid looked great.