One step closer to the edge

The Braves beat the Blue Jays last night, 4-0, behind a strong pitching performance from Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens pitched 8 innings of shutout ball, scattering three hits and striking out 3. Mike Gonzalez threw a perfect ninth inning to finish the game. Jurrjens is 8-3 on the season. Mark Teixeira led the offense, going 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, and 3 RBI. Gregor Blanco had 2 hits and an RBI. The two teams play Saturday afternoon at 107pm. Tim Hudson pitches for the Braves, and recent AAA call-up John Parrish will pitch for the Blue Jays. Atlanta is only 3 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 5 games behind the Cardinals for the wild card.

Tonight I am going to Hoosier Park Racing and Casino. The $500,000 Hoosier Cup is on the card tonight as well as the $100,000 Indiana Sires Stakes finals in all 6 categories. I will also be checking out the brand new casino that was opened at the beginning of June. I will write a review in my next blog post.

Yummy Yummy

The Braves were off yesterday and they play at Toronto this evening. Game time is 707pm. Jair Jurrjens pitches for the Braves. Dustin McGowan will pitch for the Blue Jays.

I went to Victory Field last night to watch the Indianapolis Indians play the Buffalo Bison. Buffalo scored 5 runs in the second inning and held on to win 7-3. The Indians pitching staff was scrambling as the scheduled starting pitcher for the game was called up to the big club in Pittsburgh. I think there were 5 pitchers for the home team over the course of the night. Anyways, I got the ultimate nachos for dinner. For $5.50, the ultimate nachos is probably the most filling and delicious thing I have had at that ballpark. With a large Diet Mountain Dew for $3.50, you can have a meal at the ballpark for $9, which isn't too bad at all. The best seats in the house cost $13 and parking is usually $5. You can spend a day at one of the best minor league ballparks, have a drink and some good food for $27. Plus, you get to see some up and coming prospects and some former major leaguers trying to make it back to the big show. I'd say that is a pretty good deal.

Big win

The Braves beat the Brewers yesterday afternoon, 4-2, behind the arm of Jorge Campillo and the bat of Kelly Johnson. Campillo pitched 7 innings, scattering 4 hits, striking out 6, and giving up the two runs. Johnson was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. The Braves have an off day today before going to Toronto for a three-game series starting on Friday. Atlanta is 4.5 games behind in the NL East, with a big series against division leading Philly starting next Tuesday.

Fresno State did the unthinkable last night and won the College World Series. By my count, they were the 54th seed in the tourney, but they never played like it. Fresno won the game 6-1. Steve Detwiler had all 6 RBI and Justin Wilson gave up 1 run over 8 innings to get the win. Tommy Mendonca was named the CWS most valuable player. According to ESPN, the Bulldogs became the lowest seed to win a NCAA Championship in any sport. Also, the 31 losses by Fresno was the most by a NCAA baseball champion. The Bulldogs finished 45-31 on the season.

One game for all the marbles

In the CWS last night, Georgia started well, taking a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning. However, Fresno State scored 15 runs over the next three innings and ran away with the game, winning 19-10. The final game of the championship series is tonight at 7pm, winner-take-all.

I'm so frustrated with the Braves that I have demoted them to the second paragraph for today. The Braves started badly and were down 4-0 in the seventh inning before rallying to have the tying run on third base in the ninth. Corky Miller lined out to shortstop to strand the runner and the Braves lost 4-3. Atlanta's fielding was horrible as they committed 4 errors on the night. Charlie Morton had a decent outing only giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings. If we could have that type of performance every night, we might have a chance at the NL East crown. Mark Teixeira and Jeff Francoeur each had two hits. Teixeira had a home run and two RBI. Chipper Jones had a pinch-hit single to raise his average to .395. The Braves try to get on track this afternoon at 105pm in the third game of the series. Jorge Campillo pitches for the Braves, Jeff Suppan for Milwaukee. The Brewers are on a hot streak, winning 8 of their last 10 and 21 of their last 30.

Good pitching beats good hitting

The Braves were beaten by the Brewers last night, 4-1. Milwaukee's Ben Sheets threw a 106-pitch complete game giving up only one run and four hits. Jo Jo Reyes had a slow start for the Braves and only lasted 2 1/3 innings while giving up all 4 runs. Buddy Carlyle threw 4+ innings of scoreless relief and really saved the bullpen. Royce Ring and Jeff Bennett closed out the game. Kelly Johnson led the offense with 2 of the 4 hits for the Braves. Game two of the series is tonight at 710pm. Charlie Morton starts for the Braves and Darren Bush starts for the Brew Crew.

Georgia beat Fresno State last night 7-6 in a back-and-forth game. The game was tied at 3 after seven innings, but Fresno State scored 3 in the top of the eighth with two walks, two doubles, and a home run. Georgia fought back with 4 runs in the bottom of the eighth. First round draft pick Gordon Beckham hit a two-run homer and his teammates contributed a walk and two doubles to give Georgia the lead for good. Georgia closer Joshua Fields retired the side in order to get the save. Game two of the series is tonight. If Georgia wins, they are the 2008 NCAA baseball champions.

Can we do it! Yes we can!

The Braves used their power sticks to beat the Mariners yesterday 8-3. Mark Teixeira was the big kahuna as he hit three home runs and Brian McCann added another. Teixeira had 4 RBI while Ruben Gotay had 2 RBI (and another error...) Tim Hudson shut down the Mariner offense holding Seattle scoreless in seven innings of work. Will Ohman threw a scoreless 8th. Mike Gonzalez made his second appearance since 2006 and gave up 3 runs in the ninth. Atlanta hosts Milwaukee for a three game series starting Monday at 710pm. Jo Jo Reyes pitches for the Braves against Milwaukee's ace Ben Sheets. The Braves are only 4 games behind the Phillies in the NL East, thanks to Philly's 5 game losing streak.

I will make a prediction that the Bulldogs will win the College World Series, since Georgia and Fresno State both have a bulldog for their mascot. I haven't predicted a game right all CWS long, so I won't make one for this series. I would like to see Fresno State win just because they were a #4 seed in their regional. That is like being a 13 seed in the NCAA basketball tourney. The best-of-three series starts tonight at 7pm.

Back on track

The Braves were down 4-1 going into the bottom of the 8th, but scored two in the 8th and two in the ninth to beat Seattle 5-4. It was only the Braves 4th one-run win of the year against 19 losses. The Atlanta fielding led to the early deficit as Omar Infante had two errors and Ruben Gotay had one to allow 3 unearned runs to score. Jair Jurrjens threw 6 innings and gave up no earned runs but did not get a decision. Manny Acosta allowed a single run in two innings and Blaine Boyer pitched a scoreless ninth for the win. Infante had three hits while Greg Norton and Brian McCann each had 2. The rubber game of the series is this afternoon at 135p. Tim Hudson will pitch for the Braves and Carlos Silva will throw for the Mariners.

Georgia beat Stanford in the CWS yesterday to advance to the championship series. Their opponent will be the winner of today's North Carolina/Fresno State game. North Carolina beat Fresno on Saturday with another clutch home run. Chad Flack hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to put NC ahead for good, winning the game 4-3. The best-of-three championship series starts on Monday at 7pm.