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Hudson Carves up Nats; Braves Streak on

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

The Braves have won 10 of their first 11 games, giving them the best record in baseball and sending a message to the Nationals that the division will have to be won.  They took advantage of a couple critical mistakes to beat the Nationals for the second straight day 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 41,992.

The Nationals made two crucial mistakes in the loss.  The first was by Denard Span in the first inning.  He led the game off with a single then advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw from Tim Hudson.  With no one out Jayson Werth lined one into centerfield that stayed up for B.J. Upton.  Span did not seem to bother to track the trajectory of the ball and broke for third.  He was standing on third when Upton caught it and threw to second to complete the double play.

The second mistake was another costly throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman.  He made a throwing error in last night’s game that proved crucial in the Braves comeback win from a 4-0 deficit.  Today, Justin Upton bounced a routine two out grounder to the Z-man.  It appeared he rushed his throw, sidearming the ball past Adam LaRoche to bounce against the dugout.  Evan Gattis followed by depositing a Stephen Strasburg fastball into the left field bullpen to prove the difference in the game.

Tim Hudson only gave up four hits in his seven innings of work.  The first two hits were wiped out by double plays.  The fourth hit was a solo homerun by Danny Espinosa into the right field seats in the fifth inning to give the Nationals their only run.  Through nine innings the Nationals only stranded one baserunner with Braves pitchers having to face only two hitters over the minimum.

The Braves scored an insurance run in the ninth off Ryan Mattheus.  Chris Johnson and Ramiro Pena led off the inning with singles.  For Pena it was his third hit of the day.  Andrelton Simmons failed to lay down a bunt, popping it up to Mattheus.  B.J. Upton blooped a single into no man’s land in rightfield, falling just in front of Jayson Werth and behind Danny Espinosa to load the bases.  Jason Heyward grounded a ball to Danny Espinosa and when the Nationals were unable to turn two a run crossed the plate.

Game Notes: The first three hitters in the order are similar.  Leading off are two centerfielders with the uniform number 2, Denard Span and B.J. Upton.  Second in the order are two rightfielders with the same first name, though they spell it differently (Jason versus Jayson).  Batting third both teams have their superstars who occupy leftfield, Juston Upton and Bryce Harper…In the eighth inning Wilson Ramos tried to beat out a grounder that glanced off the pitcher.  He pulled a hamstring trying to beat out the throw from Dan Uggla and will be placed on the disabled list.  Jonathon Solano will be called up to take his place on the roster…Tim Hudson mixed his pitches well to Bryce Harper, throwing a lot of curveballs at him.  Bryce did not get a ball out of the infield going 0 for 3…Dan Uggla made a couple nice defensive plays and looked like a different player from the one myworld witnessed this spring…Jason Heyward made a nice diving catch on an Adam LaRoche line drive curving toward the right field line.  Tim Hudson was one of the first to congragulate him on the catch…In his third at bat Bryce bounced one back to the pitcher.  He seemed a bit frustrated not running the ball out…Stephen Strasburg threw seven straight fastballs to B.J. Upton to start the game.  Upton whacked the seventh fastball to deep centerfield, but Denard Span was able to track it.  The Brave hitters kept Span busy, whacking six balls near the warning track….The Braves third base coach made a poor decision by sending Dan Uggla in the second inning on a ground ball single by Tim Hudson.  Bryce Harper threw a strike to the plate, getting Uggla at home by at least five steps…The error by Ryan Zimmerman cost Stephen Strasburg seven more pitches…Stephen Strasburg is trying to be mindful of runners breaking for second before he even throws the ball.  In the third Justin Upton broke for second.  Strasburg stepped off the bag and instead of turning around to throw to second he threw to first.  Upton beat the throw to second from Adam LaRoche.  If they could have picked off Upton that would have been the third out and Evan Gattis would have to pick another inning to hit his homerun…At the end of the sixth inning Stephen Strasburg had thrown 44 balls and 68 strikes for 112 pitches.  Tim Hudson had thrown 22 balls and 52 strikes for 74 pitches.

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Teheran Tosses Six Innings of No-hit Ball in Braves Win Over Astros

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

The last time myworld watched Julio Teheran pitch he threw five innings of no hit ball, striking out six.  Today he threw six innings of no hit ball, striking out 10.  The Braves only managed three hits, but all three ball travelled over the wall to give the Braves a 3-2 win over the Astros.

Myworld has never been to a game in which no singles were hit.  Myworld has also never been to a game with only five hits, four of them travelling over the fence.  Both hits for Houston were by Rick Ankiel, a double in the seventh and a 2-run homer in the ninth inning off Craig Kimbrel that pulled the Astros to within 3-2.

The only inning in which Julio struggled was in the first when he walked two.  He also struck out three in the inning, his last skipping past the catcher.  Even though Fernando Martinez reached first after the strikeout the umpires still ruled him out, so we can only assume he was running on the inside part of the baseline.  No throw was made, but it appeared Evan Gattis could have made a throw but perhaps yielded so as not to hit the baserunner.

Philip Humber pitched for the Astros.  He pitched well, only giving up three hits in six innings.  All three of the hits were homeruns.  Dan Uggla and Evan Gattis connected on pitches in the second inning to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.  Jordan Parraz connected in the fifth to up the lead to 3-0.

Game Notes: The Astros only two hits were by late inning replacement Rick Ankiel, who doubled in the seventh and homered in the ninth…In all the games we have watched Houston play myworld rarely sees Jose Altuve swing at a poor pitch.  He struck out twice today swinging at poor pitches, one that broke low and away and the other that crossed the plate at his eyes…Andrelton Simmons played some gold glove defense today, robbing Astro hitters of at least two hits…The guy who sang the national anthem at the game sat in the same row two seats down from me.  That is when I thought about buying a powerball ticket…Rhiner Cruz came in to pitch and hit 97 on his fastball.  He retired the Braves in order, one via the strikeout.

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Hudson Sharp in Braves Exhibition Win Over Nats

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Tim Hudson shut down the National bats for six innings in the Braves 4-3 exhibition win.  He may not be able to throw in the mid-90s anymore but Tim hugs the low 90s with good location.  He limited the Nationals to just six scattered hits.  There was only one inning where the Nationals were able to collect more than one hit.

In the second inning Adam LaRoche struck a one out single into right, advancing to second on a wild pitch.  Danny Espinosa stroked a 2-2 pitch into right field.  It is only exhibition so Adam was sent even though he had only touched third as Jason Heyward was coming up throwing.  Adam was out by twenty feet.

Dan Haren had his bouts of inconsistency early for the Nationals.  The second innings was his worst when the Brave bats feasted on his 88-91 mile per hour fastball.  Juan Francisco started the second inning with a single and was advanced to third on a Chris Johnson double.  The hot hitting Tyler Pastornicky, hitting over .400 in the spring, laced one down the left field line to score two.  Haren threw four balls to Andrelton Simmons and Reed Johnson drove in the third run by blooping a single between second and first.

Haren cruised until the sixth.  After the nightmare second inning and the Johnson bloop single he had retired the next ten batters.  His first pitch in the sixth was taken for a ride by Justin Upton over the centerfield scoreboard.  To call it a monster shot would be tame.  It was the farthest and longest homerun myworld has witnessed.

Luis Avilan replaced Tim Hudson and the National bats woke from their slumber.  A leadoff single by Ryan Zimmerman started the seventh inning off.  Adam LaRoche was hit in the hand and survived to trot to first.  Ian Desmond bombed a double to the warning track in right center scoring Zimmerman, this time LaRoche wisely stopping at third.  Danny Espinosa had another critical two strike hit to drive in LaRoche.  Wilson Ramos spoiled the hit parade by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Desmond but clearing the bases.

Anthony Varvaro closed out the Nationals in the ninth.  He gave up one hit but got Micah Owings swinging and missing at 96 and 93 mile per hour fastballs to end the game.

Game Notes: Myworld enjoys the Home Depot tool race.  They held the last one this spring.  Those guys, a brush, a bucket, a hammer and a drill do create a lot of carnage during the race, knocking each other down more than once before they arrive at the finish line…Myworld always mixes up Tim Hudson and Dan Haren.  To have the two face off against each other and be at the ballpark to witness it had my head spinning…Danny Espinosa delivered two clutch hits after getting two strikes on him.  If he wants to be effective and drive in more runs he will have to do a better job of making contact…The Braves seem to be committed to Ramiro Pena as their utility, but Tyler Pastornicky is making it a tough choice.  Tyler had two hits, is hitting over .400 and is playing solid defense.  The Braves may be better off having Tyler play second instead of Dan Uggla…When Justin Upton makes contact the ball travels a long way.  Perhaps it’s a cultural bias, but myworld is a bit turned off by Upton’s approach to the game.  After striking out for the second time, Wilson Ramos struggled to pick the ball up after dropping it.  Upton knew it, made no effort to run to first and allowed Ramos to make a tag.  It’s the attitude that turns me off.  Justin struck out three times, but he made up for it with one big homerun that had to have travelled close to 500 feet.  It had the crowd buzzing…Micah Owings got a hit in the box score but it was a pop up in the infield.  The catcher was in foul ground trying to circle underneath the ball, but it landed in fair ground beyond his outstretched glove for a generous single in the scorebook…Andrelton Simmons made a couple excellent defensive plays, robbing Denard Span of a hit in the third and making difficult plays look easy…The Brave infield has got to be like cement.  Two ground balls that had already bounced along the grassy infield hopped over the heads of the second basemen by two or three feet.

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Braves Beat Phillies by a Touchdown

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Rodrigo Lopez got the start for the Phillies.  The Braves used him for batting practice, raking him for sevin hits and six runs in the Brave’s 17-10 win.  Three of the Braves seven first inning hits went for extra bases, including a 2-run homer in the first inning by Justin Upton that landed above the grassy berm beyond the left centerfield gap.  It would be the first of his two homeruns.

The Phillies came right back against Kris Medlin.  They had five straight hits off him to score five and pull within one.  Myworld was surprised Medlin was allowed to work a full five innings, giving up nine runs on 14 hits.  Last year the Braves treated Kris with kid gloves as he was just coming off surgery, limiting the number of innings he could work by putting him in the bullpen to begin the season.

Darin Ruf gave the Braves a gift in the second.  He stumbled backwards trying to chase a fly ball from Freddie Freeman, had the ball land in the webbing of his glove, but as he was falling backward the ball popped out of his glove and travelled over the wall for a 2-run homer.  Myworld would call it a four base error.

The Braves got another 2-run homer in the third from Justin Upton and were up once again by six 11-5.  The Phillies did get a 2-run homer from Dominic Brown in the fifth that resulted in a four spot to make the score 12-9, but the Braves pulled away again.  Sloppy fielding by the Phillies on relay throws, with Jayson Hayward taking the extra base off Ben Revere twice, with the ball skipping past the cutoff man both times to allow a runner to advance an extra base.  The Braves had only one inning in which they did not score a run.

Game Notes: The poor performance from Rodrigo Lopez may have been his doomsday…The Uptons have talent, but seem to lack the instincts to play the game.  Jason Hayward and B.J. watched a ball drop between them as they chased a routine fly ball.  Justin smashed two homeruns into the upper berm of the grassy knoll, but still seems to take poor routes to fly balls in left field.  It is a new position so perhaps he is still getting used to it..Kris Medlin hit better than he pitched, going 2 for 3.  Everyone in the Braves starting lineup except Dan Uggla got a hit off Phillies pitchers.  Uggla still looks ugly with too many swings and misses…Jason Hayward took advantage of the weak arm of Ben Revere in center, advancing the extra base on shallow hits.  Philly fans should get used to it…Yuniesky Betancourt had four hits and could win a utility job for the Phillies.  Dominic Brown appears to have won a corner outfield job.  He had three hits including a homerun…Craig Kimbrel has not been looking good this spring, but did retire the Phillies in order in the seventh.  He was hitting 94-95 on the radar gun…This is the second spring game myworld has witnessed in which the winning team scored 17 runs.  There does appear to be more offense this spring than last year.  In addition to the two 17 run games there have been a 14 and 13 run games.  Where is the pitching?

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Braves Tomahawk Cardinals

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

Myworld was back in Disney to see the Braves bludgeon the Cardinals 12-3.  The second stringers of Evan Gattis, Joey Terdoslavich and Ernesto Mejia were responsible for the Braves scoring eight runs in the last two innings to run away with the game.

This is the third time myworld has seen Julio Teheran pitch.  He had another solid outing, shutting out the Cardinals in five innings.  He walked two and did not give up a hit.  It appears he has better command of his fastball when he throws it at 90-91.  When it starts hitting the mid-90s he can’t seem to find the plate.  He struck out six in those five innings and walked two.

Jake Westbrook wasn’t as sharp as Teheran, but he battled.  He did not give up his first run until the third when he walked Ramiro Pena and gave up a double down the line to Jason Heyward.  Justin Upton hit a ball too shallow in left to score Pena.  Freddie Freeman hit a shallow fly ball to right, Pena broke for home and the throw from Stephen Piscotty beat Pena at the plate but Tony Cruz could not hold onto the ball.  A single by B.J. Upton scored the second run of the inning.

The Braves scored two more runs off Tylor Lyons in the fifth.  With the rain coming down the Braves replaced their starting outfield so the bulk of the offense was put togther by the scrubs.  Jordan Parraz hit an RBI single, Oscar Taveraz slipping on the wet outfield grass trying to retrieve the ball.  Freddie Freeman drove in the second run of the inning with a single.  With runners on second and third and no out Tylor settled down and retired the next three hitters, two on whiffs to strand the runners.

The Cardinal fans had something to cheer about in the seventh when they scored three to pull within one.  Oscar Taveras started the rally with a double down the left field line.  Tony Cruz drove him in with a single.  Ronny Cedeno singles and Justin Christian drove in two runs with a triple into the right centerfield gap.  It was the first opportunity the Cardinal fans had to cheer.

The Braves pulled away in the bottom frame, scoring five runs off Edward Mujica.  Todd Cunningham started the inning off with a triple to right center.  Ernesto Mejia doubled down the third base line to score one and Jordan Schafer singled to score Mejia.  Tyler Pastornicky hit a perfectly placed hit and run single through the vacated second base spot to send Schafer to third.  Joey Terdoslavich continued his torrid hitting by blasting one over the leftfielder’s head for a double to score the last two runs of the 5-run outburst.

Jason Motte came in to pitch the eighth for the Cardinals and the Braves bashed him for three more runs.  Jason was victimized by poor fielding, an error by shortstop Greg Garcia, who threw the ball high to Matt Adams, but Matt could not handle it to lead off the inning.  Matt Adams also booted a hard ground ball hit at him.  Surrounding those two errors were a single by Mejia, a triple from Matt Lipka and a double from Evan Gattis.

Game Notes: Oscar Taveras may be considered the second best prospect in baseball, but myworld has seen him twice and has not been overwhelmed.  He will be a good ballpalyer, but we don’t see the superstar qualities in him.  Justin Upton challenged Oscar on a single, breaking for third.  A good throw should have had him by ten feet, but the throw from Oscar was high with little velocity on the throw…This was the first game myworld saw in which the pitchers hit…The Braves park is the only one that provides current batting averages for spring.  Myworld would like to see that expanded to other stadiums, but scoreboards are limited at these other stadiums…Daniel Descalso is a smooth defensive second baseman.  All he needs to do is hit and Matt Carpenter will not beat him out for the second base job…Jordan Schafer had a poor swing against a lefthanded pitcher.  This tells me he may not see a lot of time against lefthanded pitching…Matt Adams needs to improve defensively if he wants to play first base…Evan Gattis played some time at catcher and made a poor throw to first, almost hitting the runner who had not quite reached second.  He ducked, then turned the corner to third when the throw missed him and sailed into right centerfield…The Brave game was the 21st game of the spring.  Myworld is getting a good start to the baseball season, but it has been a tough haul to keep a timely blog.

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The Braves Tomahawk the Astros

Saturday, March 9th, 2013

It wasn’t much of a game as the Braves beat the Astros 14-9.  They had an 11-1 lead after two and a 14-2 lead after three.  Houston kept chipping away at the lead, but there was never any threat of them catching the Braves.

Jordan Lyle got the start for the Astros and was victimized by poor defense and poor command of his pitches.  While he did give up a booming double into the leftcenterfield gap to Reed Johnson followed by a mammoth Freddie Freeman homerun that hit the scoreboad in right center, that should have been the end of the damage.  Chris Carter was an adventure in left field as he yielded to George Springer on a lazy fly ball to left center field.  As they both looked at each other the ball nestled helplessly to the grass for a single.  Dan Uggla only got to first.  Joey Terdoslavich got a bloop double over third and Tyler Pastornicky a seeing eye 2-run single to add to the carnage.  Lyle did not complete the inning, getting only two outs and giving up six runs.

The Braves then ripped Sam Demel in the second.  He walked the first two batters, gave up an RBI single to Dan Uggla and a RBI double to Chris Johnson.  Evan Gattis pummelled a ball over the left field fence and the score was 11-1 Braves.

The Astros brought in six pitchers to work the first four innings.  The Braves Jordan Schafer made four of the 12 outs.  John Ely and Ross Seaton worked the last five innings, not allowing the Braves to score another run, but it was too little too late.  Most of the big bats had left the game after the fifth inning.

The Astros got another solid performance from Brandon Barnes.  Brandon singled to lead off the first inning and scored and popped one over the centerfield fence in the third for a solo shot.  He also made a nice sliding catch on a liner hit at him in the fourth inning.  Brandon is fighting for one of the Astros outfield jobs.  Marc Krauss also smacked a 2-run homer in the fifth in the DH slot.  Jose Martinez looks good getting a double and single in his three at bats.  He played third base today and could be a utility option for the Astros.

Game Notes: George Springer went fishing in his two at bats, striking out on pitches far outside of the strike zone.  He also lost a ball in the sun to let it drop for a double and had the miscommunication with Carter…The other dismal performance for the Astros was the defense of Chris Carter.  He looks very non-chalant and unsure of himself as he chases balls in left field.  The American League has a DH.  That is the position where Carter will eventually play…The Astros have a lot of players who can play first base.  Nate Freiman is a big boy who has not really shown the tools to separate himself from the other firstbaseman.  He faild to scoop up a one bouncer from Marwin Gonzalez on a nice stop in the hole, allowing the runner to advance to third and giving Gonzalez an undeserved error…Jake Goebbert made a number of excellent defensive plays out in left field.  Normally a third baseman, he showed a gold glove defense when compared to the work of Chris Carter…William Beckwith played first base in the later innings for the Braves and in this game showed defense isn’t his speciality.  He had a couple balls skip past him down the line for a double that a good firstbaseman would have snagged…Jimmie Paredes booted a ball in right field and struck out on six pitches in his first two at bats.  On his third at bat he flew out to left…Evan Gattis was a triple short of the cycle.  He struck out in his fourth at bat and then was removed from the game.

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Tigers Trounce Braves

Friday, March 8th, 2013

The good news for Braves fans is Julio Teheran pitched four solid innings.  He gave up a run in the fourth when Prince Fielder slapped a single the opposite way to defeat the shift and drive in Brennan Boesch with the first run.  The Tigers trounced on the Brave bullpen, especially Anthony Vavaro in their 9-2 win.

Drew Smyly looked sharp for the Tigers throwing four shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  He struck out four.

The Tigers put the game away against Vavaro in the seventh rapping six straight hits against him.  Tyler Collins had an RBI double and Nick Castellanos roped a 2-run double.  Vavaro was able to get Eugenio Suarez to ground into a double play to get out of the inning without facing Argenis Diaz for a second time.

Diaz started another rally leading off the eighth with a infield single.  Tyler Collins drove in another run with an RBI single and Danny Worth roped a double down the line to score the second run of the inning.  Nick Castellanos tried to score on the hit, slid far too short of home and was tagged out with his foot far short of home.

The Braves scored a run on a homerun from Juan Francisco.

Game Notes: Jeff Kobernus struggled defensively at second.  His bobble in the fourth killed a potential double play, he dropped a ball making the transfer on a double play attempt in the fifth and he bobbled another ball in the seventh, but was still able to turn two.  He also made a snow cone catch on a soft line drive in the sixth, and dropped a throw on a tag when it appeared they had Justin Upton out…Euginio Suarez made a nice play on a ground ball in the hole, still having the arm to gun the runner at first.  He hasn’t shown the ability to hit, but he appears to be an outstanding defensive shortstop…Justin Upton tried to take third when he thought it was not covered, but the pitcher beat him to the bag.  He was fortunate Kobernus dropped the ball on the tag when he tried to return to second.  For some reason no error was given to Kobernus on the dropped tag…Bryan Villarreal has a maximum effort delivery but it generates a 95-97 mile per hour fastball.  He gave up the homerun to Juan Francisco, walked one and was constantly behind in the count.

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Braves Blank Yankees

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

Legends Stadium now named George Steibrenner Stadium is supposed to be loud and raucous.  After all, it is the home of the New York Yankees spring training team.  The crowd was quiet, almost as if on prosac, the announcer sounded too polite, reminding me more of elevator music, speaking in a soft whisper and the bats were silent.  The Braves shutout the Yankees 2-0.

You knew the Yankees were in trouble when it was announced Jayson Nix was hitting third and Eduardo Nunez was hitting fifth.  But then, Robinson Cano is playing with the Dominican Republic and Mark Teixeira came down with a wrist injury while taking batting practice with Team USA.  The injury is expected to sideline him for at least two weeks.  There is not a lot available for the Yankees to put in the spring training lineup.  This says a lot about their depth.

Paul Maholm started for the Braves and was shaky.  He did not give up a run in his three plus innings of work, but he left six men on base.  Chris Stewart smacked a bullet to left field with the bases loaded but it was right at Justin Upton.  In the second, with runners on first and third, a steal of second by the Yankees Brett Gardner got a pump fake to second from Matt Pagnozzi.  Corban Joseph took the bait and moved forward from third, but Pagnozzi picked him off for the third out.  In the third Chris Stewart lined another shot towards Justin Upton who made an awkard backhand shoestring catch.

The Braves scored the only run they needed in the first when Jordan Schafer opened the game with a double.  He advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on a ground out to short.

Tyler Pastornicky was responsible for the second Brave run.  He singled to lead off the seventh, stole second and advanced to third when the throw from J.R. Murphy sailed into centerfield.  A balk allowed Pastornicky to score.  Tyler is getting an opportunity to show what he can do with regular shortstop Andrelton Simmons playing for the Netherlands.

After the second inning the Yankees failed to advance a runner to third.

Game Notes: Corban Joseph had a rough game.  He made two errors at third, got picked off at third and made the last out of the game…The Yankees played taped music for the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America.  It was the first stadium myworld has visited where the Star Spangled Banner was not performed live…Chris Stewart made a poor throw to second on an attempted steal creating this comment from a Yankee fan “keep throwing like that and you’ll be playing in boston.”…Freddie Freeman spoiled a shift by bouncing a ball to the third base side of the infield…Ernesto Mejia appears to be swinging too hard in his attempt to make the roster.  He struck out twice tonight…Adonis Garcia broke his wrist taking batting practice so he won’t be an option to replace Curtis Granderson in the outfield. He was a long shot to begin with.

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Astros Down Braves

Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

J.D. Martinez launched a 2-run homer in the fourth inning off Sean Gilmartin to prove the difference in the Astros 6-5 win over Atlanta.  Sean was smoked for four runs and five hits in his first inning of work, but was allowed to throw an additional two innings and pitched shutout ball, giving up only a double to J.D. Martinez.

Carlos Pena got things started for the Astros with a solo homerun in the first off Kris Medlen.  Freddie Freeman hit a blast in the third off Phillip Humber to tie it up at 1-1.  Freeman was the DH today as Chris Johnson played first base.

Todd Cunningham misplayed a line drive off the bat of Justin Maxwell in the fourth for a double, beginning the nightmare for Sean Gilmartin.  The wind was playing havoc on the outfielders all day.  Fernando Martinez singled up the middle to drive in Maxwell, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead.  J.D. Martinez smacked a rocket to left centerfield for a 4-1 Astro lead.  They added a fifth run when Marwin Gonzalez singled and the pint sized Jose Altuve scorched one over the head of Jordan Schafer for a double.

The Braves took advantage of an error by Marwin Gonzalez to put their leadoff man on in the seventh.  Jason Jaramillo threw a ball into right field on an attempted pickoff attempt on Chris Johnson at first base, advancing him to third.  Joe Terdoslavich stroked his third hit of the game to drive in Johnson.  After a single by Ramiro Pena loaded the bases the Astros allowed a run to score to turn two.  The Braves added a third run on a Todd Cunningham single.  Rudy Owen was the pitcher who gave up four hits and a walk in the Braves 3-run seventh inning outburst.

Craig Kimbrel came in for the Braves and continued to struggle with his command in the bottom of the seventh.  A walk, a hit batsman and a single by Brandon Laird scored one run for the Astros.  Another walk loaded the bases with just one out.  A visit to the mound seemed to straighten out Kimbrel as he struck out George Springer and Jimmy Paredes on six pitches.  It was as if someone had turned the light on for him and he found his way to the plate.  Joe Torre plans on using him as a closer for the United States in the WBC, but the way he has pitched in the three games myworld has witnessed could be scary.

The Braves rallied for a run in the ninth, but a strikeout/throw out double play ended the game.

Game Notes: Joe Terdoslavich has stroked six hits in his last six at bats.  He was 4 for 4 today and 2 for 2 last night against the Nationals…Dan Uggla made progress in his at bats, making contact in two at bats and walking once.  He is 2 for 18 in the spring with 10 strikeouts…Tyler Greene has been a little shaky at short with an error and interfering with Gonzalez at second on another play causing Marwin to boot the ball.  The error was given to Gonzalez but Greene created the error by blocking the sightline to the ball from Marwin…Robbie Grossman forgot how many outs there were when he pinch ran in the sixth.  On a fly ball to right with one out he was halfway to home when the rightfielder threw the ball to second to double him off…Todd Cunningham had a rough day battling the wind in the outfield.  No errors but a lot of adventurous routes…Joe Leonard made a nice diving stop on a grounder in the hole between third and short, robbing Rob Grossman of a hit.

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Nats Rally to Beat Braves

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013

Carlos Rivero, a player out of options ripped a 3-run double off the wall to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.  He did it with Mike Rizzo sitting in the front row.  The Braves rallied to put runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth when Jordan Parraz bounced one up the middle.  Will Rhymes made a diving stop to keep it in the infield, preventing the tying run from scoring, giving the Nationals the victory after Elmer Reyes hit one back to the pitcher for the final out.

Bryce Harper started the scoring off with a solo homer in the first, continuing his hot hitting.  He was batting .600 entering the game.  Jason Heyward responded with his own solo shot in the bottom frame to tie the game up.  Both hitters batted second in the order.

Reed Johnson gave the Braves a 2-1 lead in the second inning with a line single over the shortstops head.  For Jordan Zimmerman it was the fifth hit he had given up.  He worked a perfect third inning to finish the game giving up two runs.  Julio Teheran worked three innings and was perfect other than the Harper homerun, striking out five.  He struck out the side in the third.

B.J. Upton gave the Braves a 4-1 lead when he roped a double over the leftfielder’s head to drive in two.  The double was off the tiring Ross Ohlendorf, who was working his second inning.  The hit had to feel pretty good for B.J. after striking out his first two times up.

Cory Rasmus came on to work the eighth and the Nationals roped him for four hits and two walks to rally for five runs and a 6-4 lead.  Wirfin Obispo came in to get the last two outs.

The Braves rallied in the bottom of the ninth off Jeremy Accardo collecting four hits off him.  Accardo was fortunate for the diving stop by Will Ryhmes from preventing the tying run from scoring.

Game Notes: It was a chilly night in Florida.  It was the second game for myworld so we called it a night before the write up…Justin Upton changed his walkup song from “starting a riot” to a Carlos Santana number.  Perhaps his initial song was not appropriate for Disney fans…Dan Uggla struck out all four times he batted.  He has been having difficulty making contact all spring and his defense has been abysmal.  Fortunately he has the whole month of March to straighten himself out, but Brave fans have been brutal about his struggles, or at least the ones sitting near myworld…Jason Heyward fouled off an attempted bunt effort, then laid down a beautiful bunt for a base hit.  He has been hitting second in the order and has promised more bunting…National hitters struck out 11 times, Chad Tracy and Danny Espinosa leading the charge with two each…Joey Terdoslavich has been making solid contact.  Even his outs have been hit hard.  He went 2 for 2 in his late inning substitution…Julio Teheran struck out the side in the third inning with three swings and misses.  Myworld predicts a big year for Julio…The Nationals played Anthony Rendon at shortstop when he came into the game in the late innings.  He walked and flew out to right….Steven Sousa had a nice at bat for the Nationals, fouling off four two strike pitches before drawing a walk, loading the bases to set up the Carlos Rivero 3-run double.

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