Sep 19 2008
Swept again: Bravos finish 0-9 vs. Philly at home
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Phillies 4, Braves 3
Top of the Order: Nine up, nine down, the Braves losing to Philadelphia as the NL East leaders completed a sweep of the nine games against Atlanta at Turner Field this season, another inglorious moment in the darkest season this franchise has endured in nearly two decades.
The Good: I think all of us would agree the best thing to come out of this game is the Phillies won’t be back at Turner Field until next season (and speaking of next season, the Braves released their preliminary 2009 schedule Wednesday). Mike Hampton didn’t pitch poorly, but got hurt with a few pitches up in the zone in allowing four runs (two earned) and six hits in seven innings. Casey Kotchman hit his first home run as a Brave in the second. Chipper Jones went 1-for-3 with an opposite-field double and a pair of walks, his major-league leading average remaining at .365 (Albert Pujols went 1-for-3, keeping his average at .354). Brian McCann doubled home a run in the first. Kelly Johnson extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single that originally was ruled an error. Julian Tavarez and Jeff Bennett each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
The Bad: The Braves could do very little with Philly ace Cole Hamels, mustering just eight hits and leaving nine runners on base. Hoss and Josh Anderson each committed errors. Omar Infante left four runners on base in scoring position. Corky Miller made an appearance, which is never good. In losing, the Braves were swept in a season series at home for just the second time since 1966 and the first time it’s happened in a season series of more than four games. The Braves’ record against Philly this season: 2-13. The one-run loss drops Atlanta to 9-29, and moves the Braves 19 games under .500 and 19 games out of first place.
View from the Sports Garage: Well, just what else did you expect from the Braves in this series. I mean, it was in Atlanta, and the Phils were occupying the third-base dugout. That combination has proven fatal this season for the Braves, and it started way back in June with Johnson’s dropped pop-up with two outs in the ninth. Brothers and sisters, it’s been a steady slide down the cliff and into the abyss since then. Walking into Turner Field tonight, a Bavarian band played on the plaza, its annoying sounds echoing through the nearly empty gathering area that usually is filled with fans feeling pennant fever in Septembers past. Not this September. Maybe 10,000 fans were in their seats for the first pitch, although there probably were around 30,000 or so by the fourth or fifth inning. Just another tough, tough night for the Braves, who didn’t play bad in this one. Hampton was hit hard early, then settled into a groove until the sixth, when Pat Burrell crushed one into the seats in left-center to snap a 2-2 tie. That two-run homer proved to be the difference in this game, but the difference between the Braves and the team that beat them in all nine meetings at Turner Field this season can be measured in light years. Mercifully, this is nearly over. At least there is Chipper’s pursuit of the batting title to keep us interested these final nine games. And, oh yeah, there are the Mets, who come into Turner Field starting tonight. As bad as the Braves have been against the Phillies this season, they’ve been pretty good against the New Yorkers. And that is something to feel good about, in a season that has produced mostly bad feelings for a fan base that long ago turned its attention to college football, or hockey, or the stock market, or the tropics, or anything else of relevance. At least the $1 hot dogs were good; our party of six consumed 12 of them bad boys, spending $12 dollars for dogs that normally would’ve cost us $51 for a dozen. Hey, that’s a positive, right? And major thanks to my pal Buster for the tickets. Greatly appreciated, man!
On deck
Braves vs. Mets
7:35 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: The Bravos open their final home series of the year and once again, they have a chance to impact the NL East race. Atlanta’s decision to pitch Hampton Thursday pushed Jo-Jo Reyes (3-11, 5.50 ERA) back to tonight’s series opener. You get the feeling Reyes’ struggles of late have pushed him further down the depth chart for next season. For Jo-Jo, it’s all about spotting his fastball and attacking hitters. When he doesn’t do those two things, he’s toast. For the Mets, lefty Oliver Perez (10-7, 4.09 ERA) toes the slab and he’s usually tough on the Braves, having beaten Atlanta five times in the past two seasons. He gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings Sunday against the Bravos, a game Atlanta rallied to win in the ninth.
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Man, I’d love to see the Braves take two of three from the Mets. The Braves seem to consistently do well against them, no matter how bad they happen to be playing at the time. It’s just a shame they have to play the Phillies three more times.
Yeah man, it’s really interesting when you look at the fact both the Mets and Phils have good teams. How the Braves can usually take care of the Mets — not last night, though — and yet they get beat up by the Phillies like they stole something.
Just yet another crazy thing in a crazy season. Eight games to go.
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