The winds of change

A month ago, the Reds (up 2 games) and Braves (up 2.5 games) were leading their divisions by healthy margins while the Padres (up 5 games) were running away with the NL West. Flash forward to today, and things are much different. The Reds have run away with the NL Central and are leading the division by 7 games, thanks to solid play and the failure of the Cardinals to beat the dregs of the division. The Braves are playing .500 ball over the past month, but the Phillies are 20-10 over the same period and lead the NL East by 3 games. The Padres are 12-16 over the last month, thanks to a 10-game losing streak. The Giants now lead the NL West by a 1/2 game. These last two weeks should be good, as two divisions and the wild card race are pretty close.

The Braves travel to New York to face the Mets this weekend. Atlanta is 3 games behind Philly in the NL East and a half game ahead of San Diego in the wild card race. We really need to take 2-of-3 from the Mets and hope the Phillies struggle against a surging Washington team.

Braves continue to falter down the stretch

The Braves lost the game 4-2 and the series to the Nationals 2-1. A grand slam by Justin Maxwell in the second inning was all the scoring that Washington needed. Atlanta's David Ross hit into a double play with 2 on and 1 out in the bottom of the second that could have helped the Braves get on the board. I know I have written this before, but it seems that the Braves have a tendency to ground into double plays at the worst times in the game. If there is any solace in the Braves loss it's that Brownsburg's own Drew Storen got his fourth save of the season in that game. Matt Diaz led the Atlanta offense with 3 hits. It's good to see Matty-D get back on track. ATL is off today and travel to New York to face the Mets over the weekend.

The Phillies won, again. They are 16-4 in their last 20 games while the Braves are 10-10. That's a good way to lose the division lead and fall 3 games back. The Giants also won, so the Braves are only half a game ahead in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice to keep his average at .340 with a qualifying average of .326. NL hitting leader Carlos Gonzalez raised his average to .341 with a two-hit day. Infante needs 23 hits in his next 65 at-bats over the last 15 games to give himself a chance at the batting title.

Livan Hernandez shuts down Infante, Braves

The Braves lost 6-0 last night due to a dominating performance by Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez. Livan pitched 8 shutout innings on the mound and helped his cause at the plate by hitting a double and a home run with 2 RBI.

The Philies won, leaving the Braves 2 games behind in the NL East. The Giants lost, so the Braves remain 1.5 games ahead in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 0-for-4 last night. Coupled with the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez going 3-for-4, this night was not good for Infante's chances at the NL batting title. Infante is batting .340 with a qualifying average of .325 because he does not have enough plate appearances to qualify. Gonzalez is batting .340 to lead the NL. Infante needs 24 hits in his 69 at-bats over the last 16 games to keep his chances alive in the batting race.

Lowe pitches a great game, Braves win, but so do the Phillies

Derek Lowe shutout the Nationals over 8 innings to lead the Braves to a 4-0 win. All of the Braves runs were scored in the second inning on two walks, two balks, a single (Infante), a double (McLouth), and a triple (Diaz). McLouth has been hitting the ball well since being called up from AAA. In September, he is batting .391 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Even his outs are hit hard as evidenced on Sunday night against the Cardinals.

The Phillies won, so the Braves are still one game back in the NL East. The Giants had an off day, pushing the Braves wild card lead to 1.5 games.

Omar Infante was 2-for-4 last night raising his average to .343 and his qualifying average to .327. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .337 average after going 2-for-5 last night. Infante needs 22 hits over the next 17 games to have a reasonable chance at winning the batting title.

Tough loss on a day when we needed a win

The Braves fell behind early to the Cardinals on Sunday night and could never quite catch up, losing 7-3. They were down 2-0 in the third when Martin Prado singled home a run to cut the lead to one. However, the Cards put up 4 runs in the sixth to take a 6-1 lead that they would never relinquish.

Atlanta is 1 game behind the Phillies in the NL East due to a Philly win on Sunday. The Giants also won on Sunday, so the Braves lead in the wild card was cut to one game. The Braves host a series with the Nationals before traveling to New York over the weekend.

Omar Infante was 2-for-5, raising his average to .342 and a qualifying average of .325. Carlos Gonzalez still leads the NL in hitting with a .337 average. Infante needs 25 hits over his next 77 at-bats in the next 18 games to have a good shot at the batting title.

The comeback Braves do it again

The Braves took 2-0 and 3-2 leads against the Cardinals before the Cards tied it in the 8th inning. In the bottom of the 12th Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to win the game. In the game the Braves also continued their league lead in walk-off wins and wins in their last at-bat.

The Phillies and Giants both lost, so the Braves are tied for the NL East lead with the Phillies and lead the Giants by 2 games in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 2-for-5 with a walk to continue his charge toward the batting title. His average is .341 with a qualifying average of .322. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .335 average. Infante needs 25 hits over his next 81 at-bats to win the batting title.