Good pitching plus clutch hitting plus poor fielding equals loss

The Braves stole a game in San Fran on Friday night, but could not hold serve on Sunday, losing to the Giants 3-2. Tim Hudson threw a great game for Atlanta, giving up 1 unearned run in 7 innings. Eric Hinske hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

Without closer Billy Wagner, Bobby Cox called on 22-year-old Craig Kimbrel to save the victory. Kimbrel got two outs sandwiched around a walk. He then gave up a single to Freddy Sanchez. At this point, Cox should have had confidence in Kimbrel and gave him a shot at closing out the game in a pressure situation. Instead, he called on left-hander Mike Dunn to face left-handed batting Aubrey Huff. Huff batted just under .300 against left-handers this year, so the platoon advantage did not exist. Yet, Cox went to the bullpen anyway. Of course, Huff singled in the tying run to tie the game at 2.

Peter Moylan relieved Dunn and got a ground ball that should have ended the inning, but Brooks Conrad's third error of the game allowed the go-ahead run to score. This time, Cox didn't make a change when he should have. He had Diory Hernandez on the bench, who has been a great fielder over the past two years. But, instead he leaves the poor fielding Conrad in the game and also puts Nate McLouth and Melky Cabrera in the game. McLouth and Cabrera have been two of the worst fielders on the team according to Total Zone Rating.

Has the game passed Bobby Cox. Is it a good thing that he is retiring? Some of the poor play can be attributed to all of the injuries, but you have to know what players you have and how to use them in critical situations. So far this series, Cox has not done that.

Game four is tonight at 730p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves on short rest. Youngster Madison Bumgarner will pitch for the Giants.