One Down, seven (or more) to go

The Braves came out swinging last night, scoring 2 in the first inning, beating the Red Sox 8-2. Nate McLouth hit the first pitch of the game for a home run and the next 4 guys got on base to start the rout. Kenshin Kawakami threw another great game, giving up 2 runs and 2 hits in 6 innings. Kawakami has not given up more than 3 earned runs in a game since April 28th, a streak of nine straight starts. The normal bullpen procession when the Braves have a lead (Moylan, Soriano, Gonzalez) threw an inning a piece and struck out two batters each while holding the Red Sox hitless. Garrett Anderson was 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and is batting .364 in his last 10 games. Tonight's game features another good pitching matchup as Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves and Josh Beckett will pitch for the Red Sox. The Braves are 1-0 so far in their tough June 19-July 1 stretch where they play the best that the MLB has to offer. An 8-5 record during that stretch would put them at .500 on the season.

In the CWS, LSU beat Arkansas 14-5 to advance to the championship series. Texas hit back-to-back homers with two out in the bottom of the ninth to beat Arizona State 4-3 and advance to play LSU. Texas is struggling, but they are winning and that is all that counts, I guess. I'll still pick LSU to win the series.

In classic 1990's fashion, Ken Griffey Jr hit a 2-run pinch-hit homer to tie the DBacks/Mariners game in the bottom of the eighth. He may be struggling this year at age 39 (batting .220), but it is flashes of greatness like this that fans want to see at a ballgame. Of course, if there wasn't a DH in the AL this would not happen. Proponents of the DH state that it allows older hitters to still show what they can do at the plate, so for one day I guess it did work out that way. However, I still don't like the rule....

Young Braves help team to victory

The Braves beat the Reds yesterday afternoon, 7-0 behind a great pitching performance from 22-year-old Tommy Hanson. Hanson threw 6 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 2 while giving up 3 hits and 4 walks. Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, and Mike Gonzalez completed the shutout with an inning of relief each. Nate McLouth had a homer and 4 RBI to lead the offense. Next, the Braves start a brutal stretch of games against the best teams in each league. This weekend, they host the best team in the AL, the Boston Red Sox. After a make up game against the Cubs on Monday, Atlanta travels to the Bronx for three games with the second-best team in the AL, the New York Yankees. Next weekend, they travel to Fenway Park for three more games against Boston. After a day off on June 29th, the Braves go to Philly to play the NL East-leading Phillies. The next four series have teams that are a combined 44 games over .500 (including Boston twice). It would be great if the Braves could go 8-5 over those games, bringing their record to even with a week to go before the All-Star break. We will see what happens tonight as Japanese starters Kenshin Kawakami and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch for the Braves and Red Sox.

Arizona State beat North Carolina 12-5 to advance in the College World Series. North Carolina was eliminated. The final four starts today as LSU plays Arkansas and Texas plays Arizona State. Arkansas and Arizona State must win to stay alive in the tournament.

Lance Lynn was solid, but not spectacular, in his performance on the mound last night for the Springfield Cardinals. He gave up 4 runs in 6 innings and was in position for the win until the Cards gave up 2 runs in the top of the ninth to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. Lance is now 5-2 with a 4.11 ERA at Double-A Springfield. Drew Storen made his professional debut for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns last night and was greeted with a home run by the first batter he faced. He gave up one more hit in the inning, but settled down to retire the rest. Storen pitched one inning, giving up a run on the homer and striking out one batter.

7-8-9 hitters ruin Vasquez's strong performance

The Braves lost to the Reds last night, 4-3. Javier Vasquez pitched a complete game, throwing 8 innings and giving up only 4 hits. However, he also gave up 4 runs. The bottom three hitters in the Reds order created a 3-run inning that pushed the Reds to victory. In the fifth, the 7th hitter in the lineup, Jerry Hairston Jr., walked to start the inning. The next batter was Ryan Hanigan and he blooped a single to right. The pitcher was next. Micah Owings is a good hitter and he proved it by punching the ball just over the right field wall for a three-run homer. That would be all the support that the Reds would need. Yunel Escobar had a two-run homer and Nate McLouth scored on a wild pitch to account for the Atlanta runs. The two teams play at 1235p this afternoon. Tommy Hanson will pitch for the Braves.

In the College World Series, Arkansas eliminated Virginia 4-3 in 12 innings. There is an elimination game tonight as North Carolina plays Arizona State at 7pm.

In the minor leagues, former Brownsburg pitcher Lance Lynn has been named to the Texas League all-star team. He also pitches tonight for the Springfield Cardinals. Drew Storen was supposed to make his first appearance for the Hagerstown Suns yesterday, but the game got rained out. He should make his debut by the end of the week.

A wet, soggy, crappy day....and the loss doesn't help.

The Braves waited through 2+ hours of rain delays to lose to the Reds 7-2. Jair Jurrjens started, but only pitched two innings before the rain ended his night. He took the loss, but only gave up one run as his bad luck continues. Chipper Jones got out of his slump going 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. The bullpen gave up 2 earned runs in 6 innings of work, but also had 4 unearned runs due to Chipper's throwing error in the 8th. Game two of the series is tonight at 710p. Javier Vasquez will pitch for the Braves.

In the College World Series, North Carolina eliminated Southern Miss. Texas advanced to the finals of Bracket Two with a win over Arizona State. There is only one game tonight, as Arkansas and Virginia play an elimination game.

How the Braves can improve

Right now, the Braves have three glaring weak spots on offense, second base, left field, and right field. Omar Infante is out until the All-Star break with a broken hand and when he gets back he would be an upgrade on Kelly Johnson at second base. Left field is currently a platoon situation with Garrett Anderson and Matt Diaz. I think Diaz should be playing more, but for now this situation will work until Jordan Schafer works out the kinks in AAA Gwinnett. I know Schafer is one of the players who will be the future of this franchise and he and current center fielder Nate McLouth can man left field and center field for years to come. Now, the gaping hole in right field known as Jeff Francoeur. His name has been thrown around in trade talks for the past month or so. I would like to get another outfielder for him, since we do not need another starting pitcher right now. Maybe he can be packaged with a prospect or two to get Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, or someone of that ilk. Whatever GM Frank Wren decides to do, I hope he doesn't mess with the starting pitching and that he must trade Francoeur.

In the College World Series yesterday, CS Fullerton was eliminated by Virginia and LSU beat Arkansas. Today, North Carolina plays Southern Miss in an elimination game followed by Arizona State and Texas playing for the first berth in the Bracket Two finals.

Never had a chance

It seemed like no one came ready to play baseball on Sunday as the Braves lost to the Orioles 11-2. Derek Lowe lasted 2 1/3 innings and gave up 7 runs. Kris Medlen gave up 4 runs in 4 innings of mop-up work, and Manny Acosta continued his good season by throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Acosta's ERA is 1.54 on the season. Yunel Escobar was removed from the game in the second inning by manager Bobby Cox for his lackadaisical play in the infield that allowed the Orioles to steal home. David Ross was the only offense for the Braves. He took over the catching duties for Brian McCann in the 5th inning and proceeded to hit two solo home runs in his two at-bats. Chipper Jones was 0 for 3 as he is now hitless in his last 23 at-bats. The Braves are now 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 4 games behind the Giants in the wild card race. Thankfully, the Braves have the day off today before starting a three game series at Cincinnati on Tuesday.

In the College World Series on Sunday, Arizona State beat North Carolina in 10 innings and Texas beat Southern Miss on a bases-loaded walk. Today, CS Fullerton and Virginia play an elimination game at 2pm, while Arkansas and LSU play to see who goes to the finals in Bracket One.

The bullpen giveth and the bullpen taketh away

The Braves played a good first half of the game last night, but was destroyed in the second half, losing to the Orioles 8-4. Kenshin Kawakami threw well for Atlanta, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings, but he did throw 104 pitches. Jeff Bennett threw a scoreless 6th to hold the 4-2 lead for the Braves. However, the 7th inning was a disaster. Eric O'Flaherty gave up 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning and Peter Moylan did the same and a sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game....ha! Manny Acosta had to pitch out of the 7th and also threw the 8th, giving up no runs. The offense had one good inning, scoring 4 in the 4th on RBIs from Matt Diaz, Jeff Francoeur (2), and Kelly Johnson. Francoeur also had three hits on the day to raise his average to .253...ugh, he needs to be traded soon. The final game of the series is at 135p today. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves.

In the College World Series yesterday, Arkansas beat CS Fullerton and LSU beat Virginia. Bracket two begins play today as North Carolina plays Arizona State and Texas plays Southern Miss.

Brownsburg's Lance Lynn pitched for the Springfield Cardinals last night and pitched well, but took the loss. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings, but got no run support as the Cardinals lost 3-0. He is now 5-2 on the season with a 3.86 ERA.