Apr 13 2009
Braves sweep Nats, finish first week at 5-1
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 8, Nationals 5
Top of the Order: Jeff Francoeur’s two triples and a stolen base from – of all people – Brian McCann jump-started the Braves to a series sweep of the Nationals, capping a 5-1 week that has the Braves tied at the top of the NL East.
The Good: Omar Infante continued the Braves’ good work in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Chipper Jones went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. McCann’s stolen base – the first by a Brave all season – set up a three-run fourth highlighted by the first of two triples by Francoeur. Frenchy scored twice and drove in a run. Rafael Soriano, pitching for the third consecutive day, struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save. The Braves finished 8-for-8 with runners in scoring positions.
The Bad: Except for Soriano, the pitching wasn’t sharp. Jair Jurrjens got the win, but he was far from sharp – five hits, five walks, four runs and just one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings. Twice handed big leads, Jurrjens twice allowed the Nats back into the game. Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle allowed inherited runners to score. Eric O’Flaherty gave up a hit, a walk, and a run in 1/3 inning. Jordan Schafer had one of those days we all know the rookie is going to have: 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Martin Prado booted a ball at first base, allowing an unearned run to score against Jurrjens. Fortunately, the Braves had enough offense on this day.
View from the Sports Garage: Check out the ol’ major league standings with the first week in the books, and the Bravos are right there, tied with the Marlins for the best record in the NL East, the best record in the NL, the best record in the majors. Sure, nobody earns an October berth in early April, but it’s better to be 5-1 than, say, 1-5. The Braves did exactly as they needed to do this weekend. Coming off a really bad loss that could have festered itself through this weekend, the Braves instead grinded out three victories against a bad team (and man, the Nats are bad, aren’t they?). Sunday’s game wasn’t pretty, but it showed that this team can and will score runs. Eleven hits, coming from eight different players, no home runs but five extra-base hits, and five RBIs coming with two outs. Again, the Braves aren’t going to hit a ton of home runs, but they’re going to generate more than enough runs for their pitching. Even on this day, when the pitching was far from pinpoint, there were enough runs scored to cover it up. Six games … five wins … good first week. Now an off day, and a showdown series – can we use that term this early? – with the Marlins starting at Turner Field on Tuesday.
On deck
Braves vs. Marlins
7 p.m. Tuesday, Turner Field
The Skinny: Javier Vazquez should be 1-0, and the Braves should be 6-0. We won’t go there now, will we? Vazquez (0-0, 4.50 ERA) makes his Turner Field debut in a series opener between the only two teams in baseball with one loss. In his first start of the season, Vazquez gave up three runs in six innings. For the Flyin’ Fishes, Chris Volstad (1-0, 1.80 ERA) toes the slab. The right-hander struck out seven and didn’t allow a hit in four of his five innings against Washington in his season debut.
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