Game Review: Philadelphia 1, Atlanta 11

Jair Jurrjens had a no-hitter broken up with 2 outs in the 7th and Martin Prado impressed again as the Braves won their third straight by a score of 11-1.

Here’s the boxscore.

W: Jurrjens (6-6)
L: Hamels (4-5)

THIS AND THAT
-Chipper Jones had his first 3+ RBI game since June 7.
-Diory Hernandez hit his first big-league homer and got the silent treatment in the dugout.
-Martin Prado was 2-4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.
-I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Matt Diaz needs to be in the lineup more. I don’t know where you put him. Francoeur is swinging better (though still isn’t very good), and Anderson has been raking, but you gotta get him in there. He went 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI tonight.
-Casey Kotchman was 12-56(.214) in June with no homers, 2 doubles and 4 RBI. He has been hitting some rockets lately so I’d expect him to break out of this slump soon.

Game Preview: Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (36-40)

With 2 games left in their homestand, Atlanta will again face the defending World Champions at Turner Field. The Braves are 4 games under .500 and 4 games back of the Phillies.

LINEUPS

PHILADELPHIA
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Werth RF
Dobbs LF
Feliz 3B
Bako C
Hamels SP

ATLANTA
Blanco CF
Prado 2B
C.Jones 3B
McCann C
Anderson LF
Kotchman 1B
Francoeur RF
Hernandez SS
Jurrjens SP

PITCHING MATCHUP
PHI: Cole Hamels (4-4, 4.44 ERA)
ATL: Jair Jurrjens (5-6, 2.93 ERA)

Rumored Jenkins Deal Not True

There’s been a rumor floating around this afternoon saying Atlanta signed Geoff Jenkins. This is not true, multiple sources have contacted Jenkins’ agent and Braves officials and they are denying it. I don’t know how this got started, or why it would pick up so much steam when it really doesn’t seem like that great of a signing.

If Bobby and Wren weren’t gonna give up on Frenchy when he was struggling, why would they sign a platoon partner/replacement when he’s started swinging well. Some say that the roster needs a left-handed masher on the bench, but we already have one in Norton. I know Greg has struggled, but I think he’ll get his chance now that he’s healthy. And why would you assume he would be of any value when he hit only .246/.301./.392 last season with the Phillies.

Anyway, enough ranting… Rumor. Not. True.

Olney: Braves Willing To Trade Escobar

There’s been a lot of speculation recently regarding Escobar’s status with the team. Some believe he’s in Bobby’s doghouse, others think the message has been sent and his roster spot is secured.

Popular belief seems to be that Atlanta is sick and tired of his on-field antics and are ready to deal him for a power bat. ESPN’s Buster Olney concurs. I don’t think this is going to happen anytime soon, due to the sheer fact that there’s nobody in this organization who could fill in at short full-time with even average defense and offense.

Escobar is currently out of the lineup with a sore right hip.

Game Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (39-34) @ Atlanta Braves (35-40)

The Braves begin the last series of their homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight in an important 3 game set.

LINEUPS
PHILADLPHIA
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Werth RF
Dobbs LF
Feliz 3B
Ruiz C
Blanton SP

ATLANTA
Blanco CF
Prado 2B
C.Jones 3B
McCann C
Anderson LF
Kotchman 1B
Francoeur RF
Hernandez SS
Lowe SP

PITCHING MATCHUP
PHI: Joe Blanton (4-4, 5.06 ERA)
ATL: Derek Lowe (7-6, 4.53 ERA)

GAME NOTES
-Garret Anderson is 15-39 (.385) with eight RBIs in his last 10 games.
-SS Jimmy Rollins is playing in his first game since 6/24.
-Derek Lowe is 5-0, 2.14 ERA, 7 GS against Philly since ’05.
-Brian McCann is 6-8 with 2 HR and 6 RBI against Blanton.
-Yunel Escobar is 4-8 with a homer and double against Blanton.

Game Review: Boston 4, Atlanta 1

Boston’s ace proved to be too much for the Braves’ depleted lineup as they took game one of the series 3-0.

Here’s the boxscore.

-David Ross can hit. He hit his 6th homer of the year tonight. Ummm, this guy is our backup catcher. There’s gotta be someplace we can stick him to get him more at-bats.
-Chipper is right. If he or McCann aren’t in the lineup, this offense is in trouble. And if they happen to be facing a guy like Beckett, you might as well close your eyes, swing the bat, and hope for the best.
-I will say this about the Braves, they don’t seem to give up. They staged another comeback tonight, of course falling short, but it atleast shows they have a little bit of grit.
-Two balks were called against Jair Jurrjens. He wasn’t hit hard, but this defense seeing-eye singles, slow rollers, passed balls, wild pitches, errors, bloop hits, balls thrown to the wrong base and balks seem to occur more frequently.
-This team needs to turn it around. It’s still the first half of the season, but the frustration is starting to show. Jurrjens, Kotchman and Anderson all showed frustration in one way or another and Escobar has been quite the drama queen as well. There’s still time to right the ship, but it seems the fuse is running thin.

Nate McLouth Hurt, Leaves Game

Nate McLouth reached 1st base after a bunt attempt in the 8th inning. But halfway down the line, he lost his balance, righted himself, then came up hobbling. He was recplaced by Gregor Blanco.

Escobar, McCann Out of Lineup

Yunel Escobar is getting the night off due to a sore hip. Diory Hernandez gets the start in his place.
Brian McCann is also out due to some light-headedness. He also just probably needed a day of rest…Big fellas been playin alot lately.

Game Preview: Boston Red Sox (44-28) @ Atlanta Braves (34-38)

Atlanta’s quest to return to .500 continues as the Boston Red Sox visit Turner Field for a three game series.

LINEUPS
BOSTON
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Youkilis 3B
Bay LF
Ortiz 1B
Varitek C
Kotsay CF
Green SS
Beckett SP

ATLANTA
McLouth CF
Prado 2B
C.Jones 3B
Anderson LF
Kotchman 1B
Francoeur RF
Ross C
Hernandez SS
Jurrjens SP

PITCHING MATCHUP
BOS: Josh Beckett (8-3, 3.74 ERA)
ATL: Jair Jurrjens (5-5, 2.89 ERA)

GAME NOTES
-Atlanta has lost 7 of its last 8 series
-Francoeur has multiple hits in 3 of his last 4 games during which he is 6-16 (.375). He also only has 5 K in his last 17 games.
-Garrett Anderson is the only Atlanta player with career success against Beckett going 9-20 (.450), 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
-Beckett is 4-1 with a 1.44 ERA and 42 K in his last 6 starts.
-Jair Jurrjens is currently riding a 3-game losing streak, during which he has only 5 runs of support.
-Boston will be without its hitting coach Dave Magadan tonight after he was suspended for a game by MLB.

Myrtle Beach Wins Against Locke

Class A Myrtle Beach defeated the Lynchburg Hillcats 6-0 last night. Why is this significant? Well it was former prospect Jeff Locke’s first start against his former organization.

Locke’s line: 7.0 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

Locke has found more success with Lynchburg than he did with Myrtle Beach. The biggest change in performance has been fewer walks with only 4 in 21 IP. With the Pelicans he had 26 BB in 45.2 IP.

Locke was sent to Pittsburgh along with Gorkys Hernandez and Charlie Morton for CF Nate McLouth on June 3.

Julio Franco Begins Coaching Career

Former Brave Julio Franco retired from baseball last year in May after spending time in the Mexican League. Now he’s managing Mets rookie ball.
We certainly wish you the best Julio!

Kotchman Begins Rehab Stint

Casey Kotchman, on the DL with a strained right calf, is scheduled to play for Triple-A Gwinnett tonight. The plan is for him to play 2 games there, and then be activated on Tuesday if all goes well.

Game Review: Atlanta 7, Baltimore 2

Atlanta started their 9-game road trip with a 7-2 win against Baltimore. Tommy Hanson got his first win in the bigs.

Here’s the boxscore.

W:Hanson (1-0)
L:Berken (1-3)

GAME NOTES
-Tommy Hanson’s line: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 R, 5 BB, 5 K, 104 pitches, 60 strikes
-Hanson’s curveball isn’t as good as his slider, but it’s nasty. If he can learn when to throw it, he’ll be in business.
-I feel that Yunel Escobar costs this team an out every game with a baserunning or fielding mistake. If Atlanta had any sort of replacement, I’d be looking to trade him. But alas, Brooks Conrad probably wouldn’t cut it as a starting shortstop.
-Frenchy made a clutch play in the 3rd to keep the score tied 2-2. With Hanson struggling to locate his pitches, Salazar looped a single into right and Francoeur threw a one-hop strike to the plate to get Huff. That’s the one thing that a trade wouldn’t bring this team, an improvement defesnively in right field.
-Brian McCann’s arm is looking good. I don’t know what the glasses have to do with it if anything (probably nothing), but his throws seem to have a little extra juice on them. He did get some help from Laz Diaz on a call tonight.
-Speaking of Diaz… I don’t understand how this guy keeps his job. Brian McCann tried to stretch a single into a double and got in safely (according to replays), but Diaz called him out (maybe a makeup call?). What really upset me was that after McCann gave him a few choice words, Diaz followed McCann a little back towards the dugout. YOU DO NOT DO THIS AS AN UMPIRE. It might suck that players argue with you, but it’s part of the job. Players have adrenaline pumping through their veins… umpires don’t.
-Jeff Francoeur got robbed of extra-bases yesterday by Andrew McCutchen and just missed a grand slam tonight. I’m not saying he’s coming around, but for some reason it provides me with a small glimmer of hope. Ugh.
-After Hanson walked Brian Roberts to load the bases in the 6th, Peter Moylan had a HUGE strikeout of Adam Jones to end the inning and perserve a 4-2 Atlanta lead. Good for him.

Mets Place Maine on DL

By the way, John Maine was placed on the 15 day DL yesterday with shoulder fatigue.

Mets on DL:
Billy Wagner, Angel Pagan, Carlos Delgado, Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes, Ramon Martinez, J.J. Putz, John Maine

Can you imagine where the Braves would be right now if they had experienced the health problems New York has so far?

Game Preview: Atlanta Braves (29-30) @ Baltimore Orioles (25-35)

LINEUPS

ATLANTA
McLouth CF
Escobar SS
C.Jones DH
McCann C
Anderson LF
Canzares 1B
Francoeur RF
Johnson 2B
Prado 3B

BALTIMORE
Roberts 2B
Jones CF
Markakis RF
Huff DH
Mora 3B
Scott LF
Salazar 1B
Wieters C
Andino SS

PITCHING MATCHUP
ATL:Tommy Hanson (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
BAL:Jason Berken (1-2, 7.04 ERA)

Smoltz To Face Braves Twice?

According to David O’Brien, Atlanta will be facing John Smoltz twice over the next 2 weeks.

Yes, if all goes as planned, I heard that Smoltz will likely start against the Braves both in Boston (Sunday) and here (Friday or Saturday), which would be his second and third starts. He’s making his last scheduled rehab start tonight.

If the Braves and Red Sox keep their current rotations, Atlanta will be sending Jair Jurrjens to the mound both times.

Norton DL’ed, Canizares Promoted

The Braves placed 1B Greg Norton on the 15-day DL with a sprained right ankle today, and promoted 1B Barbaro Canizares. With Martin Prado still ailing, Atlanta needed someone who could start in place of injured Casey Kotchman.

Norton had struggled all year and currently sports a .098 average.

Canizares will be making his major league debut today. He’s known as a good hitter with some pop but terrible fielder. He’s going to wear No. 25, Andruw Jones’ old number.

Here’s a quote from the comments on David O’Brien’s blog:

David O’Brien

June 11th, 2009
12:01 pm
One player said this was what he was told about Canizares: “I hear he can’t run, can’t throw and can’t field, but the sumbitch can hit.”

Game Review: Pittsburgh 2, Atlanta 3

Garrett Anderson tried to start a rally in the ninth with a solo homer, but it wasn’t enough as Pittsburgh avoided the sweep winning 3-2.

Here’s the boxscore.

W: Karstens (3-4)
L: Jurrjens (5-4)
S: Capps (14)

GAME NOTES
-Jair Jurrjens started off very poorly throwing 66 pitches in the first 3 innings. He didn’t have much command and was very fortunate to only allow 2 runs. His final 3 innings looked a lot like the Jurrjens from the first month and half of the year, retiring the last 10 batters he faced. Here’s his line: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 74 strikes, 37 balls.
-Brian McCann just missed a game-tying homer. He hit a flyball to left-center that hit off the top of the wall that ended up back on the field. A half-inch further and the game would have been tied.
-Chipper Jones went hitless tonight, but swung the bat well. He just missed a couple homers.
-Greg Norton looks lost at the plate. But can you blame him? This series has been the first time all year he’s seen regular action.
-Charlie Morton looked good, but left after first inning with a sore left hamstring.

Game Preview:Pittsburgh Pirates (26-32) @ Atlanta Braves (29-28)

The Braves take a 3 game winning streak into tonights game as they go for the sweep against the Pirates. Atlanta is now 4.5 games behind first-place Philadelphia.

LINEUPS

PITTSBURGH
McCutchen CF
Morgan LF
Sanchez SS
Ad. LaRoche 1B
An. LaRoche 3B
Moss – RF
Jaramillo – C
Wilson – SS
Morton – SP

ATLANTA
McLouth – CF
Escobar – SS
C.Jones – 3B
McCann – C
Anderson – LF
Norton – 1B
Francoeur – RF
Johnson – 2B
Jurrjens – SP

PITCHING MATCHUP
PIT: Charlie Morton (0-0, 0.00 ERA -
ATL: Jair Jurrjens (5-3, 2.84 ERA)

GAME NOTES
-Charlie Morton is pitching his first game in the majors this year. He was 7-2 with a 2.26 ERA in the minors. In 71.2 IP he had 62 K, 7 BB, 3 HR. He’s pitching on 5 days rest.
-Freddy Sanchez is the only Pirate with multiple hits off of Jurrjens, he is 4-8 with a double, triple and three RBI. He has walked and struck out once.
-Jeff Bennett turns 29 today.
-Chipper Jones is 8 for his last 13, and 29-73 (.397) in his last 23 games

Minor League Injury Updates

David O’Brien gives us an update on some minor leaguers in the comments section of his blog:

David O’Brien

June 10th, 2009
1:08 pm
Jordan Schafer has a deep bone bruise on his left hand. Expected to rest for two weeks.

Brandon Jones has some minor patella tendinitis in his knee, not restricted from playing.

Jason Heyward has a strained oblique, and has stayed with the Myrtle Beach club throughout his rehab, contrary to some reports. He’s expected to be back playing as soon as this weekend.

I wonder if B. Jones gets consideration for a callup once healthy if Frenchy is still struggling. Probably not for a while anyway.