Sep 25 2008
Chipper’s blast leads Braves to (surprise) another win at Philly
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 10, Phillies 4
Top of the Order: The Braves won their second in a row against the NL East leaders, sparked by a three-run, pinch-hit homer from Chipper Jones in a six-run fifth.
The Good: Brian McCann and Martin Prado fueled a 15-hit attack with three hits each. Prado drove in two runs; Mac, who doubled three times, scored twice. Jones delivered the big blow in the big fifth inning, coming off the bench to launch a bomb down the line in left, the three-run shot making it 9-3 Braves and moving Hoss’s major-league leading average to .365. Dude’s gonna win the batting title! Yes sir!! Kelly Johnson extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a single. Brandon Jones and Josh Anderson each had two hits. Casey Kotchman drove in two runs. Buddy Carlyle got the win by retiring the two hitters he faced. Vladimir Nunez pitched two hitless, scoreless innings. Jorge Julio gave up a hit and a walk but struck out two. Manny Acosta pitched a perfect ninth. Off the field, outfielder Matt Diaz – out since late May – could be activated in time for this weekend’s season-ending series at Houston.
The Bad: Does anybody out there have any idea what Julian Tavarez was doing in the eighth inning, charging at Shane Victorino, who was on third base? I mean, Victorino was just a few steps off the bag. Wasn’t like the Flying Hawaiian was going to try and steal home or anything. The benches cleared and Tavarez had a meltdown. Whatever. No need for that. There are times this year where the Braves should’ve been fighting, like when Jerry Hairston Jr. was lipping at McCann about Gregor Blanco bunting in Cincinnati, or when Ted Lilly of the Cubs was doing his usual headhunting garbage. But I just didn’t see the need for Tavarez to spark a near fight over something silly.
View from the Sports Garage: OK, so in the first 16 games against the Phillies this season, the Braves won just twice. In the past 48 hours, in two games against Philly, the Braves have won twice. What a game, this baseball. Jo-Jo Reyes was brutal again, giving up five hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings, earning the well-deserved quick hook from Bobby Cox. Jo-Jo’s really lost the confidence of everybody wearing Braves across their chest. That one negative aside, a good two days in Philadelphia. Sets up a pretty nice little dogfight between the Brewers (yeah!), Mets (suck!) and Phils (eh? Indifferent) for the final two playoff spots in the NL. As for the Braves, who saw the postseason party march over the horizon some two months ago, it’s time for three more games, in Houston, then the real season for this franchise – the offseason – begins.
On deck
Braves at Astros
8:05 p.m. Friday, Minute Maid Park
The Skinny: Jorge Campillo (8-7, 3.76 ERA) was plucked out of the Mexican League last offseason. Did anybody think at that time he’d be toeing the slab on the final Friday night of the regular season looking for his ninth victory? Nah. What a great surprise and a super find this guy’s been. He broke a recent skid in his last start Saturday, holding the Mets to two runs in six innings. For the Astros, right-hander Brian Moehler (11-8, 4.61 ERA) comes in after giving up five runs in one inning to Pittsburgh in his last start. The Astros’ torrid run back into contention cooled off in the past week, and certainly the folks in Houston have plenty of other concerns on their minds in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Hopefully, those who show up this weekend will see some good baseball, as both teams look to next season.
—30—
