Once again, I think we should play in the AL

The Braves beat the Orioles last night 7-2. Atlanta is now 4-0 in Inter-league play this year. Tommy Hanson had a much better outing than his major league debut last weekend, throwing 5 2/3 innings scattering 9 hits and giving up 2 runs. The bullpen was great also, throwing 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Peter Moylan took over for Hanson in the 6th and got out of a jam with a three pitch strikeout with the bases loaded and the Braves up two runs. Brian McCann was 4-for-4 raising his average to .331. Nate McLouth and Barbaro Canizares each had two hits while McCann and Yunel Escobar had 2 RBI each. The two teams play again tonight at 705p. Kenshin Kawakami will pitch for the Braves.

Due to the fact that I can't read the schedule, the College World Series will start TODAY. CS Fullerton will play Arkansas at 2pm and LSU will play Virginia at 7pm.

In Brownsburg baseball news, former Bulldog Lance Lynn pitches tonight for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals. This year, Lance is 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA split between Single-A Palm Beach and his current stint in Springfield. Drew Storen has been placed on the roster of the Single-A Hagerstown Suns. I assume he will get some action sometime within the next week. Drew Anderson is playing for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, batting .217 for the season so far.

I'm so frustrated that I can't think of a title

The Braves lost to the Pirates yesterday, 3-1. It was the same old thing for Atlanta, pitcher gets a quality start, offense has 5 hits and only scores one run. Javier Vasquez pitched as well as he could giving up 1 run on 2 hits in 8 innings while striking out 12 batters. Rafael Soriano gave up 2 runs in the top of the ninth to take the loss. It was the 9th time this year that the Braves have lost a game in which the starting pitcher has earned a quality start. To be fair, we have also won 5 games when the starting pitcher did not have a quality start, but that is still a difference of 4 games that we should have won. With those 4 games, we would be leading the wild card race and only 2 games out of the NL East lead. Something needs to happen to get this offense going. There are rumors that Colorado's Brad Hawpe may be available and he would definitely be an upgrade on Jeff Francoeur in right field. Anyway, inter-league play starts again tonight as the Braves travel to Baltimore for a 705p game. Tommy Hanson will pitch for the Braves.

The College World Series starts today as CS Fullerton plays Arkansas at 2pm and LSU plays Virginia at 7pm. My pick for the series is CS Fullerton defeating North Carolina in the finals.

Brownsburg's Drew Storen signed quickly with the Nationals and was sent to Class A Hagerstown in the South Atlantic League.

Another one-run game

The Braves had their third straight one-run game against the Pirates, but lost this one 3-2. Jair Jurrjens pitched well for the Braves, throwing 6 innings and giving up 2 runs. It was his 8th quality start in 13 games this year. The trouble with that is the Braves have lost 8 games this year when their starter has pitched well enough to earn a quality start. The offense only got 6 hits, but 4 of them were doubles (two by Brian McCann) and one was a homer (Garrett Anderson). The final game of the series is at 110p today. Javier Vasquez will pitch for the Braves.

In the MLB Draft yesterday, 18 players with Indiana ties were selected. Notable choices were Ball State's Jeremy Hazelbaker's 4th round selection by the Red Sox and Brownsburg's Tucker Barnhart selected in the 10th round by the Reds.

Late charge nets another victory

The Braves never led until the 7th inning, but got some timely hits and the bullpen shut down the Pirates to get a 4-3 victory. Yunel Escobar had a 2-RBI single in the 7th to drive in the tying and winning runs. Escobar had 3 hits and 2 RBI in the game. Derek Lowe got the win, pitching 7 innings and giving up three runs. Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the victory. The Braves are 4.5 games behind in the NL East, but only 2.5 games back in the wild card race. The teams play tonight at 710p. Jair Jurrjens will start for the Braves while former Brave Charlie Morton will pitch for the Pirates.

Six players with Indiana ties were selected in the first 46 picks of the MLB draft yesterday. Brownsburg's own Drew Storen (Stanford) was selected 10th by the Washington Nationals. Allen Pollock of Notre Dame was picked 17th, Missouri's Kyle Gibson (Greenfield Central HS) was selected 22nd, and three IU players were chosen (Eric Arnett 26th, Josh Phegley 38th, and Matt Bashore 46th). Current Brownsburg player Tucker Barnhart may be selected during day 2 of the draft, but will most likely go to Georgia Tech to play ball next year.

It took a little longer, but a win is a win

The Braves outlasted the Pirates last night in a 15 inning game, winning 7-6. Kenshin Kawakami threw well enough to get the win, throwing 6 innings, giving up 3 runs and leaving the game with a 6-3 lead. However, the first reliever out of the pen, Peter Moylan, gave up 3 runs to tie the game while only getting one out in the 7th. The other 6 relievers after Moylan, threw 8 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, including Kris Medlen's 3-inning stint to finish the game. The offense was spread around pretty well. Nate McLouth had 3 hits including a homer. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann also homered for the Braves. David Ross had the game-winning single in the bottom of the 15th. The game was the fourth extra-inning game for Atlanta in the past 8 games. The teams play tonight at 710p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves.

Texas beat TCU last night to secure the final spot in the College World Series. The CWS starts on Friday with two games, Cal-State Fullerton/Arkansas and LSU/Virginia.

The MLB Draft starts today, with the Washington Nationals having the first pick. The consensus first pick is Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State. As usual, the draft is basically a coin-flip of getting players to the major leagues. In the Braves drafts from 1996-2005, only 9 of 16 first round picks made the majors. In the next two rounds, only 11 of 26 players made the majors. So, the first three rounds have produced 20 MLBers out of 42 picks....and that gives players at least 5 years to make it to the big leagues.

When rookies struggle, the veterans pick them up

The Braves finally scored against the Brewers on Sunday and won the game 8-7. Top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson took the mound in his major league debut and pitched well the first time through the lineup with three scoreless innings. However, the second time through was not so pretty, giving up 6 earned runs in the next three innings. Chipper Jones had 2 homers and 5 RBI and was 4-for-4 on the day. Yunel Escobar was 3-for-5. Jeff Bennett, Eric O'Flaherty (who got the win), and Mike Gonzalez (his 8th save of the season) each threw a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. The Braves continue their stretch of playing NL Central teams by hosting the Pirates tonight at 710p. Kenshin Kawakami will pitch for the Braves. Plus, Nate McLouth will get to see his former teammates less than a week after being traded from the Pirates to the Braves.

In the NCAA baseball tournament, Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona State, and Southern Miss each punched their ticket to Omaha. Overall #1 seed Texas will play a do-or-die game against TCU tonight at 7pm to fill out the field for the CWS.

You can't win if you don't score

The Braves were shutout for the second straight game last night, losing to the Brewers 3-0. Javier Vasquez gave up 2 runs in 6 innings, but did not get any help from the offense. In fact, he has only had 4 runs of support in his last 3 starts. That would explain why he is 4-5 with an ERA that is a full run below the league average. The offense is getting hits (9 in the last two games), but they are not bunching them together. In the last two games, they are 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position and have left 16 runners on base. But, today may breathe new life into the organization as top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson starts today. Game time is 135p.

In the NCAA baseball tournament, Cal-State Fullerton, Arkansas, and LSU advanced to the College World Series. Ole Miss and Virginia play a winner-take-all game today, while Texas, Southern Miss, Arizona State, and North Carolina can advance with a win.

In high school baseball, Crown Point, Fort Wayne Snider, Westfield, and Castle advanced to the semi-state in class 4A. In class 4A softball, Lafayette Harrison, Floyd Central, Center Grove, and Lowell advanced to the state semi-finals.