Another big inning puts us behind, but there was a little fight left in them

The Braves gave up 4 runs in the 7th inning to the Marlins to fall behind 5-0, but scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to make the game close. However, it was not enough as the Braves fell to Florida 5-3. Adam LaRoche continued playing good ball for the Braves as he went 2-for-4 with a homer an 3 RBI. He has 7 homers in 18 games with Atlanta while batting .410 with a 1.294 OPS.....he's playing very well. On the flip side, Brian McCann, Reid Gorecki and Matt Diaz combined to go 0-for-10 with 6 strikeouts and 6 runners left on base. Javier Vasquez started on the mound and gave up 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Game two of the series is at 710p tonight. Tommy Hanson gets the ball for the Braves.

Atlanta is 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and one game behind the second place Marlins. The Braves are 4 games behind Colorado in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn is scheduled to pitch on Monday in what will probably be his next-to-last regular season start for Springfield.

Tucker Barnhart was 0-for-4 yesterday afternoon for the GCL Reds. He batted second in the order and was the catcher. He was pinch-ran for late in the game. So far this season, Barnhart is having trouble against left-handed pitchers, he is 0-for-8. He is hitting right-handed pitching at a .263 clip. He is batting .300 with runners in scoring position.

A big win that will hopefully lead to a good weekend

The Braves beat the Mets last night 3-2 behind another great outing by Kenshin Kawakami. He gave up 1 earned run in 7 innings on 7 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. Kawakami has been awesome in the month of August, with a 2.39 ERA in 26 innings over four starts. He is 1-1 over that span due to the 11 runs of support in those games (2.75 runs/game). Rafael Soriano got back on track after getting a little rest, pitching the ninth inning and recording his 18th save of the season. Mike Gonzalez and Peter Moylan combined to pitch the eighth inning. Adam LaRoche and Ryan Church each had two hits and Brian McCann had a solo home run. The Braves have a big series this weekend against the Marlins, a team that they are tied with in the standings. Javier Vasquez gets the ball tonight for Atlanta. Game time is 735p.

Atlanta is 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and tied with Florida for second place in the division. The Braves are 4 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Just like yesterday, except the opposite

On Tuesday night, the Mets had a 9 run inning against the Braves. On Wednesday night, the Braves struck back with an 8 run inning against the Mets that led to a 15-2 victory. The Braves sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning to score the 8 runs culminating with Brian McCann's three-run homer. Matt Diaz and Adam LaRoche also homered in the game. It was LaRoche's third straight game with a home run. In 16 games for Atlanta, LaRoche is batting .389 with 6 home runs and an OPS of 1.233. In the short-term it looks like the LaRoche deal was a good pick up for the Braves. The teams play the final game of the series tonight at 710p. Kenshin Kawakami will pitch for the Braves against "the sounds of the guitar played by" Johan Santana.

Atlanta is 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 1 game behind the second-place Marlins. The Braves and Marlins play a three-game series this weekend that will decide which team will challenge Philly in the NL East. The Braves are 4 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn was a little wild again last night, but kept everything else under control as he got the win for the Springfield Cardinals. Lynn threw 6 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 1 batter. However, he walked 5 batters for the second straight game. He may be hitting a wall, as he has thrown 130 innings this year. I would guess that is the most innings he has thrown in a season. Lance is now 3rd in the Texas League in ERA, 3rd in wins, 7th in strikeouts, and 10th in WHIP.

Drew Storen got his 4th save in as many attempts for the Harrisburg Senators last night. Storen threw one inning and allowed one hit and struck out 1 batter. He has not allowed a run in 5 innings of work in Class AA ball. Opponents are batting .118 against him in AA ball, and .185 in 29 innings of work across three levels this season.

Tucker Barnhart had his best day as a professional yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Barnhart has an RBI in 4 of the 6 games that he has played. His batting average is now .217.

The Braves took a 4-0 lead then.....BLAM....BOOM.....POW....it was over in a flash

The Braves played 8 innings of decent ball last night against the Mets. The problem was that one inning, the 8-run fourth, was the difference in the game. The Braves took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth on a 3-run homer by Matt Diaz and a solo shot by Adam LaRoche. In the bottom of the fourth, it took Derek Lowe 12 batters to get two outs and allow 8 runs. Kris Medlen relived Lowe and got out of the inning. Medlen threw well in his 2 1/3 innings, allowing no runs and striking out 5 batters. The teams continue the series tonight at 710p. Jair Jurrjens will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is now 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 2 games behind the second-place Marlins. The Braves are 4 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn is scheduled to pitch tonight for the Springfield Cardinals. Game time is 810p EST.

Tucker Barnhart was given a day off for the GCL Reds yesterday.

Not too many hits, but they were important ones

The Braves beat the Diamondbacks yesterday afternoon 9-4 while only getting 6 hits. Garrett Anderson and Adam LaRoche each had home runs and Ryan Church had a three-run double that accounted for most of the scoring. Tommy Hanson threw another great game, pitching 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts. The Braves travel to New York for a three-game series against the Mets before hosting a big weekend series with the Marlins. Tonight's game against the Mets starts at 710p with Derek Lowe on the mound for Atlanta.

Atlanta is 5.5 games behind Philly in the NL East and one game behind second-place Florida. The Braves are 3 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn is scheduled to pitch tomorrow for the Springfield Cardinals.

Tucker Barnhart was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout on Monday afternoon for the GCL Reds. Barnhart is batting .158 in his first five games.

Once again, you can't win if you don't score

The Braves managed 7 runs in the three game series against the Phillies, losing two of the three games including a 4-1 defeat on Sunday night. Javier Vasquez kept most of the Phillies lineup under control, with the exception of Ryan Howard. Howard hit two home runs and had all 4 RBI for the Phillies. Vasquez pitched 7 innings and gave up the 4 runs. The only bright spot on offense was Matt Diaz, who hit a solo home run. Overall, it was a poor weekend for the offense. Atlanta scored 7 runs on 19 hits in the three games, and without Brad Lidge's error in Saturday's game would have been swept. The Braves play a make-up game today against the Diamondbacks. Game time is 405p. Two young guns will pitch in this game. Atlanta will go with Tommy Hanson while Arizona will counter with Max Scherzer.

Atlanta is 6 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 1.5 games behind the second-place Marlins. The Braves are 3.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Drew Storen got a two-inning save for the AA Harrisburg Senators last night. In those two innings, Storen gave up only one hit and struck out 2 batters. In four innings of AA ball, hitters are 1-for-13 against Storen with 3 strikeouts.

These teams are pretty close

After losing in the ninth inning on Friday night, the Braves won the game in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon. The Braves were down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth when Garrett Anderson led off with a single. Matt Diaz laid down a bunt, but Phillie pitcher Brad Lidge could not control the ball and threw it into right field, scoring Anderson and moving Diaz to third. The next two batters were walked to load the bases. After a Ryan Church strikeout, Omar Infante singled into left field to score the game winner. Chipper Jones had 2 hits and Brian McCann had a two-run homer to get the offense started. Kenshin Kawakami gave up 3 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings to continue his hot August. In 19 1/3 innings this month, Kawakami has given up 6 runs for a 2.79 ERA. The rubber game of the series is tonight at 805p on ESPN. Javier Vasquez will pitch for the Braves.

The Braves are 5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 1 game behind the second place Marlins. Atlanta is 3 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.