Game 50 Recap: Braves 9, Diamondbacks 3

by royhobbs on May 31, 2009 11:56 PM EDT

The Atlanta Braves salvage the final day of a disappointing road 2-5 road trip, by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks by a final score of 9-3.

Okay - so I was four runs too generous in my fantasized outcome of the game, but the bottom line is that the Atlanta Braves did indeed salvage the final game of what pretty much has been an extremely futile road trip, by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the desert.

The Braves attacked early with doubles from both Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar, with Chipper Jones to add to the scoring, and never looked back. It should be noted that between Johnson, Escobar, and Jones as the 1-2-3 batters went a combined 9 for 15, with both Johnson and Escobar each hitting three doubles, and Jones connected on his 5th home run of the season.

Speaking of home runs, it was the first time all season that viewers at home actually saw our misunderstood left fielder smile during a game, when Garret Anderson connected on his first ever home run in a Braves uniform.

The best part about the offensive outburst today, was not only did the Braves score a lot of runs, but it was done frequently, and drawn out over the span of five innings, instead of blasting away in one or two innings, and then going cold throughout the rest of the game. The 1-2-3 hitters shined, but Matt Diaz (playing in at RF instead of you-know-who) contributed with two hits of his own (and endless hustle), while Brian McCann didn't get a hit, but nursed out FOUR walks.

The only negative about this entire game is when an errant slider by Max Scherzer popped Casey Kotchman in the right shin, and took him out of the game in the 4th inning. The diagnosis was a bad contusion, and X-rays came back negative (a good thing). But it was still a sickening thud to hear, and a concerning moment considering how thinned by injuries the Braves are right now.

Saving the best for last, the offense should not take the least bit away from what was the first Major League win for young Kris Medlen, whom staked with an early lead that only continued to grow, was able to settle in, and steal the show. After walking the first batter of the game, Medlen went five innings, giving up only one hit and striking out seven. Although he lost the shutout in the 6th, he still ended his outing with a solid six innings pitched, one run on four hits, a walk, and a magnificent nine strikeouts. Wonderful game, Kris, we hope to see more of that out of you in the future.

Tomorrow is an off-day, but the Braves come back to Atlanta to begin a 10-game homestand against the NL Central, as the Cubs, Brewers and Pirates come to town. Right back at .500, let's hope the Bravos can pick up where they left off at home, and get back to some winning ways.

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it was the first time all season that viewers at home actually saw our misunderstood left fielder smile during a game

Haha! It is the first time I’ve seen him show…well, any emotion, really.

"If I had a little humility, I would be perfect" - Ted Turner

by Little Lady on Jun 1, 2009 12:26 AM EDT reply actions

The only thing about anderson was that he still wasnt hustling for the ball as much as i would like but it was good to see him get a HR and smile.

Was it me or was the whole team seeming to have a lot of fun between themselves? even KK and his pinch hit strike out

by drumzalicious on Jun 1, 2009 12:30 AM EDT reply actions

I still don’t like Anderson, but I’ll at least admit that he makes our lineup better (which isn’t very hard to do). I hate that he doesn’t ever try to throw runners out at the plate, even when no one else is on base! It’s SO frustrating!

"If I had a little humility, I would be perfect" - Ted Turner

by Little Lady on Jun 1, 2009 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions

I’d rather have him in left and Diaz in right than Diaz in left and Frenchy in right. So he has some worth.

by Weldon on Jun 1, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions

At this point...

Me too. But it’s still not saying much. I’d probably rather have Medlen play right field than Francoeur right now.

"If I had a little humility, I would be perfect" - Ted Turner

by Little Lady on Jun 1, 2009 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Funny how minus Failcoeur we look like a contender…

Q: If on-base pct is so important then why don't they put it on the scoreboard? -Failcoeur

A: Because the Braves don't want to show their fans how bad you suck.

by timmy3 on Jun 1, 2009 1:11 AM EDT reply actions

funny how we dont score 9 runs over 4 or 5 games and then have 9 runs by the 6th inning of the next game.

"Jason Heyward might be the best offensive prospect i've seen in fifteen years. His game is solid. I would trade any of the current players we have on our 25 man roster for Heyward. He's that good." - NL Scout.

by Scott Coleman on Jun 1, 2009 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions

i was at the game today...

i was going to post some pics but my camera decided to die in the bottom of the 1st.

some things from the game:
1. Kris Medlen is TINY. He might be 5’7 at best.
2. Garrett Anderson looked like he was going to cry he was so happy after his homer.
3. Jordan Schafer really is bigger than he appears on tv. hes a pretty good sized rushed-to-the-majors rookie.
4. I was convinced Kotch fractured something after his HBP. It sounded nasty at the stadium and i was 20 rows from the field.

It was nice to see the Braves win a game i attend. I saw them lose 3 last year (one in Chicago, 2 in AZ) and the game 2 years ago i saw.

P.S. Drumzalicious was right on about the team having fun. They were all on the top-row of the dugout the entire game and they were laughing in the field. Nice to see on a struggling team.

by Scott Coleman on Jun 1, 2009 1:39 AM EDT reply actions

I wouldn’t say we are struggling. We would be struggling if we were 21-29.

"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)

by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Jun 1, 2009 8:29 AM EDT up reply actions

true.

but a 2-5 road trip vs the giants and dbacks is horrible.

by Scott Coleman on Jun 1, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Pissed I missed Medlen’s nice performance.

by Smoltz's Beard on Jun 1, 2009 9:26 AM EDT reply actions

Figured you’d be more excited about Heap nursing out four walks.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Jun 1, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

You’ve helped me see the light when it comes to Baby Jesus. I’m not surprised by anything he does anymore.

by Smoltz's Beard on Jun 1, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I like the look of the offense without Francoeur. More of that please. I’d be even more interested in seeing a line up without Jeff and Jordan. I’m not sure what positives the team are seeing in Schafer right now that makes them keep him in the big leagues.

by redwards95 on Jun 1, 2009 10:10 AM EDT reply actions

To Schafer’s credit, his defense is still indispensable to this squad, and it was evidenced yesterday by many of the running grabs he made, in which he demonstrated good jumps, and made the plays look routinely easy. Sure, he’s made some bad routes in the outfield, but Gregor Blanco has had a propensity to make some bad ones himself, and he’s his only possibly internal replacement at this point.

The team’s kind of handcuffed with both Schafer and Francoeur’s offensive ineptitude right now, and without Infante, they can’t really do anything about Schafer without worrying about dinging his confidence. The Matt Diaz experiment in RF, albeit successful yesterday, I can’t see working out on a longer term, but at least they have someone capable of standing there instead of Failcoeur.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Jun 1, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree with your assessment, but I just hope keeping Schafer up doesn’t hinder his development as a hitter. It still doesn’t look like he’s made any adjustments at the plate. I do think he’s gotten better in the outfield though. He’s reading the ball better off the bat and not over running the ball that’s hit over his head.

by Sparhawk on Jun 1, 2009 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Even if your assessment of his defense is true, does that outweigh a .533 ops (.427 in May)? Blanco was better than that last year and has a higher OPS (.635) in Gwinnett. Brandon Jones also has a .765 OPS at Gwinnett. Surely one or both of them could be mixed into the outfield platoons and give the Braves more than they are getting right now.

by redwards95 on Jun 1, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not going to disagree with Schafer’s offense being pitiful right now. But something that can’t be measured by statistics is the mental state of Schafer that is often being discussed as being protected by allowing him to play every day and work things out at the major league level; I can’t necessarily agree with it, as I don’t think some inconsequential AAA at-bats to make some adjustments would hurt, but at the same time, Blanco isn’t putting up much of a case to be a leaps-and-bounds superior replacement, either. I’m guessing that Schafer is in the long-term plans of the team, and a combination of preserving his confidence as well as a statistically slightly better against a lower-level of competition replacement isn’t enough justification to swap Blanco and Schafer.

Brandon Jones is not really a center fielder; he could play it from time to time, but he’s not one I’d want to see out there on a regular basis. In the bigger picture, the lack of ML-ready depth at the CF position in general is slightly concerning at the moment. Compounded by the repetitive notion I frequently make that way too much stock was put into Omar Infante, and his ability to relieve so many positions.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Jun 1, 2009 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions