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Around SBN: Miami Wins Opener Over Boston, 93-79

"K" You Very Much! Lowe Strikes Out 12, Braves Win 4-0

Derek Lowe, yes, that Derek Lowe had arguably his best start as a Brave since Opening Day 2009, and was filthy from the first pitch of the game. Lowe went 8 innings on Monday night and struck out 12 Nationals, and didn't walk anyone for his 2nd straight start. Lowe only gave up one extra-base hit on the night (a Nyjer Morgan double), and continually painted the outside corner from the start. As a matter of fact, Morgan was the only National to reach 2nd base tonight. 

The Braves offense didn't do too much on Monday, but they were helped greatly by two balks in the 2nd inning by starter Yunesky Maya. The first balk moved Brian McCann and Derrek Lee into scoring position, and then the 2nd balk drove BMac in from 3rd. The red-hot Nate McLouth then doubled down the right field line to score Lee from 3rd, and the Braves had an early 2-0 lead. Matt Diaz then tripled off of Maya, and Omar Infante drove him in with a little flare into center field. The Braves scored all four runs in the 2nd inning, and that's all they would need.

Billy Wagner came into the game in relief of Lowe, and was absolutely filthy. He made quick work of the Nats final three hitters, and struck out all of them with a slider in the dirt. Combine his three strikeouts with Lowe's, and you have a grand total of 15 for the night. (That's some Joe Morgan math for 'ya!) 

All-in-all, a pretty great night in front of a small Monday night crowd.

I guess if there was any down side to the game was Jason Heyward not extending his hitting streak to 11 games, but still managed to reach base in two of his four at-bats. Besides that, there's really nothing to complain about.

The Marlins continue to be absolutely worthless and are getting pounded by the Phillies, so we still trail by a game in the East. The annoying Rockies are currently losing to the Padres, and the Giants are off, so we could gain some ground in the Wild Card race tonight. Not that we're aiming for that or anything, though.

It'll be Jair Jurrjens against Livan Hernandez tomorrow night at 7:10. Be there.

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Wagner mad quick work

It should be “made”. Though it was madly awesome.

Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things. ~Robert Frost

by Joseph_C on Sep 13, 2010 9:32 PM EDT reply actions  

12 k's this is why we traded for him

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 13, 2010 9:33 PM EDT reply actions  

Fail.

"Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand."

by kauf67 on Sep 13, 2010 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions  

how is that a fail?

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 14, 2010 7:26 AM EDT up reply actions  

Really?

"Give him the heater Ricky."

by Pavy848 on Sep 14, 2010 8:57 AM EDT up reply actions  

we signed him as a Free Agent didn't we?

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 14, 2010 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions  

now you got it. You don’t “trade” for free agents.

by Mr. Sanchez on Sep 14, 2010 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions  

I never knew he was one

even we we acquired him I didn’t know

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 14, 2010 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions  

Congratuations to Lowe and his Career High of 12Ks!

And his 1500th as well. It was a joy to watch it happen.
 

 

"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West

by NCChopper on Sep 13, 2010 9:35 PM EDT reply actions  

What Lowe and Wagner did to the Nationals tonight just wasn't fair....

I loved it, though.

"Never doubt Derek Lowe's ability to win despite himself."

by EricGreggWasPaidOff on Sep 13, 2010 9:38 PM EDT reply actions  

Combine his three strikeouts with Lowe’s, and you have a grand total of 15 for the night. (That’s some Joe Morgan math for ’ya!)

…..but you added the two numbers correctly.

"Never doubt Derek Lowe's ability to win despite himself."

by EricGreggWasPaidOff on Sep 13, 2010 9:40 PM EDT reply actions   1 recs

Congrats mvhsbball!

One win under your belt in this series! Here’s hoping for a sweep to make your season numbers look better!

by UpstateNyBravesFan on Sep 13, 2010 9:43 PM EDT reply actions  

24-25

and I only have one series left after this one…and it’s against the Nationals.

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 13, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions  

Kenshin has 1 win too...

don’t congratulate him. He’s a proven loser.

by Mr. Sanchez on Sep 14, 2010 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions  

Ouch…..

Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things. ~Robert Frost

by Joseph_C on Sep 14, 2010 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions  

Blasted Rockies. How do they always manage to charge back and be a thorn in everyone’s side every damn September? They always look out of it from April to August, then surprise!

Let’s go Padres, I guess.

by J-Freak on Sep 13, 2010 9:44 PM EDT reply actions  

Great performance by Lowe. We really needed a strong pitching performance after the recent let downs by Huddy and Jurrjens. I do think Lowe is better than people here give him credit for. He’s not worth the 15 million but he’s actually kept us in most ballgames that he’s started, giving us a chance to win. Definitely not a guy we desperately need to get rid of as a lot are proclaiming.

by chopc on Sep 13, 2010 9:47 PM EDT reply actions  

with a day like today,

why not?

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 13, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions  

I'd look up Lowe's record vs the Phils in big games were I you

Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE for them to face Lowe, not trolling. Just saying, Hudson scares us Phans. Not D-Lowe. That being said, hell of a performance for the big guy tonight.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 13, 2010 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions  

Eh define "big game"

It’s probably not too good since you’re bringing it up. But I don’t know, Huddy’s been mortal his past 3 outings. Right now it’s

Jurrjens v. Hamels
Minor v. Halladay
Hanson v. Oswalt.

You probably won’t face Huddy. That will take some maneuvering.

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

Stretch-Run or Postseason

But looking at the line up now, here are my initial thoughts:

1. Cholly tweaking everything so that you guys see H2O TWICE = HUGE respect

Jurrjens… Phils can get to him, but have also been periodically owned by him.

Hanson… similar, but to Jurrjens.

Minor…. He’s a rookie without a lot of experience, which means he will no-hit the Phillies into the 8th inning.

I like out 1-3 a great deal. It will depend entirely on which offense shows up to face you guys… the World Beaters who can hit anyone and make Murderer’s Row look like pussies…. or Mo Vaughn and the K-9’s.

It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 13, 2010 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions  

Hanson – similar, but less of an uncertainty compared to Jurrjens*

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 13, 2010 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions  

Nvm

Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt got it

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 14, 2010 1:59 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah, I know...

from a purely nickname-ish standpoint, I liked it when we had JA Happ, just because the 10-year-old Wrestling fan in me couldn’t resist “Triple H.”

Needless to say, I’m thrilled with how Oswalt’s worked out for us so far, and despite being a good kid with a live arm and some upside, it’s all but a mortal lock that Happ will never develop into the kind of pitcher Roy is, so I’m more than happy to settle for a less than thrilling rotational nickname.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 14, 2010 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions  

Oswalt really has turned out great for you guys.

But before you get too excited, look at his career stats against the Braves (7GS, 0-3, 7.58ERA, .354BAA) and at Turner Field (5GS, 0-1, .697ERA, .341BAA). Not to say he can’t break out in either game he should face the Braves, and he hasn’t faced them this year (amazingly), but there it is…

I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. ~ Crash Davis

by Old Braves' Fan on Sep 14, 2010 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions  

Excellent Point

Then again, you guys have always ate up our aces (I was at Lee’s first bad start last year where you guys shelled him in a rain-shortened game).

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 14, 2010 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions  

How have y'all done against Wagner...

the biggest difference between us, imo, is the bullpen, not the rotation. We both have starters that on any given night can go out and give you that 8 strong innings 1 through 5. But when the starter goes just 6, I’ll take our chances with your bullpen.

by Mr. Sanchez on Sep 14, 2010 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions  

Truth...

The only qualifier I’d add is that Halladay is his own bullpen.

-C

It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?

by cthabeerman on Sep 14, 2010 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions  

This

"Give him the heater Ricky."

by Pavy848 on Sep 14, 2010 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions  

I was hoping he wouldn't pitch well at CPB

but there’s no denying that he’s one of the better pitchers of the last 25 years or so.

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 14, 2010 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Truth

The “Little League park” reputation CBP has gotten is somewhat unfair, especially when you examine the stats – It’s consistently ranked in the middle of the pack for homers given up and most of our bats have more homers on the road than in Philly. All that aside, however, there’s no denying that on a hot, humid night where the wind is driving out, a ball hit high enough has an excellent chance to go out. There’s a reason why the Phils have invested so much in sinker-ballers of late.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 14, 2010 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions  

Which Wagner?

Before his resurgence this year, we killed him (although it was mostly Pat the Bat).

This year, you could power Atlanta with all the wind generated by our swings-and-misses.

I think they could still hit him, but right now he’s in their heads so I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 14, 2010 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions  

im more hoping

we sweep them the 1st series and somehow are 4 games in front by that final set so it wont matter

by drumzalicious on Sep 13, 2010 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions  

That would be ideal

But wouldn’t it be something if they were tied going into the last series? Talk about pressure.

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 14, 2010 2:02 AM EDT up reply actions  

As a Phils fan, we’re hoping you guys catch a couple of bad games and that we can save some heart muscle as well, but I long ago faced the (terrible for us Atlanta & Philadelphia residents who hope to live past 60, fantastic for MLB in general) reality of the situation.. If you don’t think it’s coming down to a breathless, cardiac-inducing, hair-losing final series, you’re out of your mind.

by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 14, 2010 3:31 AM EDT up reply actions  

Mclouth is hitting good at home during all the season

in 96 AB .271 AVG .903 OPS

he has a home/away split like CarGo

by joshant on Sep 13, 2010 9:57 PM EDT reply actions  

Good god you’re right… we should never play him away from home! EVER! haha

by SuperHeyward on Sep 13, 2010 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

Watching replays of Derek’s K’s, and the lateral movement of his slider was absolutely SICK. Pitches looked to be coming in 6-10" off the plate and sweeping across the outside/inside corners.

"C'mon Chip!"

by DuPu on Sep 13, 2010 10:17 PM EDT reply actions  

He was definitely an ace tonight.

Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things. ~Robert Frost

by Joseph_C on Sep 13, 2010 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions  

Gameday also gives some pretty hefty credit to the umpire tonight, lots of wide strikes that probably weren’t.

by Perrinbar on Sep 13, 2010 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions  

This is true

but kudos to Lowe for recognizing it and taking advantage of it

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

this

true sign of an ace. Not necessarily calling Lowe an ace but to utilize the ump’s zone is part of dominating

by traphicg on Sep 14, 2010 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions  

Maybe he has Saito need....

give him an extra rest day….time to bring up another AAA arm for a spot start?….Minor last start was forgetable….wish we could play the Cubs again?

it just felt right and the chance to go to the postseason is hard to pass up. I’ve always respected their orginization… and Bobby…I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it...Derrek Lee (at press conference sayiing he had been traded to the Braves)

by bravestatoo on Sep 13, 2010 10:20 PM EDT reply actions  

Amazing game. Lowe pitched great and Wagner didn’t do too bad himself. If Lowe continues to pitch like this, then we have a greater chance to make the playoffs and find a taker in the offseason. This is great

by Braves24 on Sep 13, 2010 10:24 PM EDT reply actions  

The former

is a pair of teams who are turrble.

The latter is a pair of great teams.

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

Rays win on Brignac HR

Move into sole possession of first place

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions  

in you'r face Donkees

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 14, 2010 7:28 AM EDT up reply actions  

Badres

give up 4 in the 5th to allow Rockies to pull within one.

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:41 PM EDT reply actions  

Surprise

CarGo and Tulo have all 4 RBIs

by DreamWithinADream on Sep 13, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions  

we know all about that

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here" :Strongbad on football season

by southman on Sep 14, 2010 7:28 AM EDT up reply actions  

I'm watching now

and I’m just waiting for the 2-run HR any second…

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 13, 2010 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

Wow…Adrian Gonzalez just saved an RBI-triple.

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 13, 2010 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions  

Not to rain on the parade, but...

Our offense still needs to wake up. I’m sure it will happen soon. Nasty Nate is just a foreshadowing. Before you know it, Brandon Hicks will start hitting bombs.

But seriously, not winning in these situations has really started to worry me:
1) On the road
2) Against horrible pitchers
3) Against teams we should beat (although this has probably been magnified recently)

I have faith we can turn this around. This team looks primed for a streak.

by ryantex on Sep 13, 2010 11:26 PM EDT reply actions  

So maybe

we should skip a Huddy start to get him back on track then?

I mean it worked for Lowe. Plus we all know Hudson was supposed to actually be on an innings limit this year.

by drumzalicious on Sep 13, 2010 11:42 PM EDT reply actions  

I Google searched ‘dead seal’ to put up an example of a ‘seal of disapproval’, but I cried instead.

I hate the Phillies so much...

by frozendesert on Sep 14, 2010 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

Lowe dealing and Nate swinging a hot bat.

Me am feeling like me might in World Bizarro be. Me think hang, me can.

by Sam Jethroe on Sep 14, 2010 12:29 AM EDT reply actions  

MVHS

How about that Austin Collie?

I hate the Phillies so much...

by frozendesert on Sep 14, 2010 12:43 AM EDT reply actions  

Can he play defense, or perhaps be our new defensive coordinator?

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 14, 2010 12:46 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions  

Well

maybe not, but that’s pretty impressive for a fourth-round pick.

I hate the Phillies so much...

by frozendesert on Sep 14, 2010 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

In all seriousness, Collie looked great and he’ll be solid in the slot. Very similar to B-Stoke. I do think we should trade him or Garcon for a middle round pick though, or even Wayne for a #1. Our defense is trash.

'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike

by Scott Coleman on Sep 14, 2010 1:23 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions  

Also

Are you getting Yellow Pages ads in the margins here at TC? I feel like I’m on a freakin’ Pirates blog.

I hate the Phillies so much...

by frozendesert on Sep 14, 2010 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah. I think SBNation finally sold out. Ah well, it’s free…guess some sacrifices had to be made.

by !Vive la Francoeur! on Sep 14, 2010 1:04 AM EDT up reply actions  

i’m using the ad blocker for mozilla and i don’t see anything new

"Sometimes I think it is a great mistake to have matter that can think and feel. It complains so. By the same token, though, I suppose that boulders and mountains and moons could be accused of being a little too phlegmatic."
-Kurt Vonnegut, "The Sirens of Titan"

by Bravely going forward on Sep 14, 2010 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions  

Me too, I never see any of the ads. Just TC content :-)

"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West

by NCChopper on Sep 14, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions  

"I need help" -Lowe

"Without Roger’s help today, today would have never happened. We put a lot of time in before the game. I didn’t want to sound defeated when I told Roger, ‘I need help. My game plan over the last three years isn’t working.’ We watched a lot of video about what I could do differently. I had to write everything down because I knew I’d forget. See my cheat seat. I sat down with Mac and he was completely on board. It was fun to have a game plan that I’ve never used before and see it work. It was a win that we needed to have. We got some early runs which always helped. That’s about the best game I’ve pitched in a long time."
-Post game comments from D Lowe

I’ve been down on Lowe for the past year or so, but after this game and after those comments, I feel a lot better. Here’s hoping he keeps at it!

Morton hit Heyward with an offspeed pitch. Early indication is that the baseball survived the impact.

by award6 on Sep 14, 2010 2:47 AM EDT reply actions  

I respected his blatant honesty and humbleness in that interview. I am happy for him and his performance last night.

"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West

by NCChopper on Sep 14, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions  

That game seemed like it lasted maybe an hour and a half.

Stick with that gameplan, Lowe.

"It looks like The Hound of the Baskervilles out there." - Steve Stone
"...I'm reminded of Wuthering Heights." - Harry Caray
~
Swing and a drive...Belted right! Welcome to the Show!!!

by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Sep 14, 2010 10:12 AM EDT reply actions  

2:20ish

I commented on how short it was last night.

"Never doubt Derek Lowe's ability to win despite himself."

by EricGreggWasPaidOff on Sep 14, 2010 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions  

I would like to see us score in more than 1 inning tonight.

I know it was enough last night, but we never scored after the 2nd inning and even not all of that was our doing (the Balks by the opposing pitcher).

We tend to have 1 inning early in some games where we score and then stop, which concerns me a bit.

"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West

by NCChopper on Sep 14, 2010 11:07 AM EDT reply actions  

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