We had our chances, but could not get a clutch hit....again

The Braves lost to the Phillies 4-2 in a game that was started and stopped twice for two 45+ minute rain delays. Tommy Hanson started for the Braves and pitched through the first rain delay, but did not come back after the second one. He gave up 1 run in 2 innings and took the loss, making him 9-3 on the season. The offense could not get a hit when they needed it. Five runners were left in scoring position with two out and the meat of the order (Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Adam LaRoche) left a combined 12 runners on base, the big one being LaRoche flying out with bases loaded and two outs in the 8th. The teams play at 705p tonight. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is now 8 games behind Philly in the NL East and tied for second place with the Marlins. The Braves are 4.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn is scheduled to pitch on Sunday for the Springfield Cardinals.

Sarcasm alert.....One out of three ain't bad

The Braves avoided a sweep by the Padres last night, putting up 5 runs in the second inning and winning the game 9-1. Javier Vasquez pitched 7 shutout innings allowing 5 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts. Vasquez also had a big hit in the second inning that scored the first two runs of the game. Six other players had an RBI and every starter had at least one hit. It was a good performance that was sorely needed after losing the first two games of the series. The Braves start a road trip tonight against the Phillies. Game time is 705p. Tommy Hanson will get the ball for the Braves.

While Atlanta only won one out of three against the Padres, the Phillies did the same against the Pirates. So, the Philly lead in the NL East is still 7 games. The Marlins and Braves are tied for second in the division. The Braves are 4.5 games behind Colorado in the wild card race.

Drew Storen keeps on mowing down hitters for the AA Harrisburg, as he recorded his 7th straight save for the team. He allowed no hits and walked one, while striking out one in his inning of work. In his 9 innings for Harrisburg, Storen has only allowed 2 hits and no runs. Right handed batters are 0-for-14 against him. Could we see a September call-up for Storen?

Tucker Barnhart has started a hitting streak, getting a hit in his third straight game for the GCL Reds. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored on Thursday afternoon. He is 3-for-9 with 2 walks during his streak and is slowly getting the hang of professional baseball after a lengthy layoff following the high school season. The GCL season ends on Monday.

If we can't beat the Padres, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs

The Braves were cruising along with a 3-0 lead after five innings until an offensive onslaught by the Padres scored 6 runs in the sixth inning crushing the Braves to a 12-5 loss. Kenshin Kawakami was masterful through 5 innings of work, giving up 2 hits and a walk, but could not get out of the sixth inning. Kawakami ended with 4 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. The bullpen didn't fare any better, as Moylan, O'Flaherty, Acosta, and Logan gave up 7 runs in 3 2/3 innings. The offense pounded out 12 hits with Brian McCann leading the way, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. The final game of the series is tonight at 710p. Javier Vasquez will pitch for the Braves against Indiana's own Clayton Richard (McCutcheon High School).

Atlanta is now 8 games behind Philly in the NL East and one game behind second-place Florida. The Braves are 5.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

Tucker Barnhart was 1-for-2 with a walk for the GCL Reds yesterday. He batted second in the lineup and was behind the plate. Barnhart has got his average to the Mendoza line, as he is now batting .200 on the season.

I hate Andrew McCutchen, I love him, but wait a minute, it doesn't matter

The Braves wasted a chance to gain a game on the Phillies last night, losing to the Padres 2-1 in 12 innings. But first, I want to talk about the Phillies/Pirates game. The game was tied 3-3 in the 9th, when Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen misplayed a fly ball in center field that allowed the Phillies to take a 4-3 lead. I was not happy with Mr. McCutchen at that point in time. However, he redeemed himself by hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. So, with the Phillies loss the Braves had a chance to gain a game on them, but it was not to be. The Braves pitching was great. Jair Jurrjens gave up 1 run in 7 2/3 innings and 5 pitchers gave up 1 run in 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The offense was not cooperative. The top two hitters in the lineup, Omar Infante and Martin Prado, were 0-for-12 and left 8 men on base, including both players leaving the bases loaded in the 8th inning when the Braves were down 1 run. The team left 10 men on base, but the batters left a cumulative 18 ducks on the pond. On the positive side, Adam LaRoche had a huge hit in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Oh well, the two teams play again tonight at 710p. Kenshin Kawakami will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is 7 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and are tied for second-place with Florida. The Braves are 5.5 games behind Colorado in the wild card race.

Lance Lynn got another win for the Springfield Cardinals last night. Lance pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3 batters. Lance is 2nd in the Texas league in wins (11), 3rd in ERA (2.92), and 7th in strikeouts (91). Also, Lance was named to the Arizona Fall League roster of the Surprise Rafters.

Drew Storen did not pitch yesterday, but he was named to the Arizona Fall League roster of the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

The next ten games are very important

The Braves host the Padres tonight to start a stretch of 10 games that will decide whether they are contenders or pretenders in the NL playoff race. After three games with the Padres, the Braves travel to NL East rivals Philly and Florida. Tonight's game against San Diego starts at 710p. Jair Jurrjens will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is in second place in the NL East, 7 games behind Philly. The Braves are 4.5 games back in the wild card race. After taking a look at the schedules over the next 10 days, we may be able to gain a few games on Colorado (series against LA and SF) and San Fran (series against COL and PHIL), but may lose a few games to the Marlins (series against NYM and SD) and Phillies (series against PIT and SF).

Lance Lynn is scheduled to pitch tonight for the AA Springfield Cardinals. Game time is 800p EST.

Drew Storen continued his dominance in the closer role for AA Harrisburg last night. Storen pitched two innings and recorded his sixth save in class AA and 8th save overall. Drew allowed two walks and recorded a strikeout while not giving up a base hit. Right-handed batters are still hitless against Storen in AA ball, now 0-for-12 for the season.

Tucker Barnhart was 1-for-4 with 2 strikeouts yesterday for the GCL Reds. He was in the second spot in the batting order, as usual, and was the catcher (which seems to be an every-other-day thing between catcher and DH). He is still having trouble with left-handed pitchers as he is 0-for-11 against them. Overall, Barnhart is batting .162 on the season.

It's the Brian McCann show!!!!

The Braves beat the Marlins yesterday afternoon 7-5, thanks to big hits by Brian McCann. McCann had a 3-run homer in the first inning to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. It was a tie game in the 8th when McCann had a two-run single to give Atlanta its final margin. Matt Diaz also had a great game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Derek Lowe did not pitch well, giving up 3 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings. However, the bullpen stepped up only allowing 2 hits in the final 4 innings. Kris Medlen pitched the 6th and 7th, Peter Moylan got his 6th win of the season while pitching the 8th inning, and Rafael Soriano pitched the 9th for his 20th save. The Braves have an off day today before hosting a three-game series with San Diego. This weekend may be the Braves final chance at the division title as they go to Philly for a three-game series starting on Friday.

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

Lance Lynn's start for class AA Springfield has been pushed back one day to Tuesday.

Tucker Barnhart was 0-for-3 for the GCL Reds yesterday. He batted second and was the DH. Barnhart is 0-for-10 in his last three games and is batting .152 for the season.

Got all of the support we needed in the first inning

The Braves scored four runs in the first inning and held on to beat the Marlins last night 4-3. Omar Infante and Yunel Escobar each hit a home run in the first inning to spur the offense. However, the night belonged to the pitching staff. Tommy Hanson pitched seven brilliant innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits while striking out 7. Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect 8th for his 13th hold of the season and Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save. Game three of the series is this afternoon at 135p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves.

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

Drew Storen got his fifth straight save for AA Harrisburg last night. He walked one and struck out one in an inning of work. In his 6 innings for Harrisburg, Storen has not allowed a hit to right-handed batters (0-for-9) while lefties are only hitting .182 against him.

Tucker Barnhart was 0-for-3 yesterday for the GCL Reds while batting in the clean-up spot and was the designated hitter.