Hinske's Homer, Hudson's Heart Help Braves Win 3-2
by Jacob Peterson on Sep 28, 2010 10:56 PM EDT
in Braves Game Recaps
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PrintFor the second straight night, the Braves' offense looked like it was going to squander an excellent outing from a starting pitcher. Fortunately, for the second straight night, the pitching held on long enough for the hitting to scratch across just enough runs to win. And tonight it didn't even take 11 innings!
For that, we have Eric Hinske to thank. After trailing 1-0 for much of the game, the Braves finally got on the board in the 7th with a triple by Clutch Dog (Brooks Conrad) that drove in Melky Cabrera. That put the go-ahead run on third with only 1 out, but Rick Ankiel had a terrible at-bat, striking out on a ball that ended up a foot inside. The Marlins elected to keep starter Anibal Sanchez in the game to face Hinske, who was pinch-hitting. That proved to be a huge mistake, as Hinske picked up his teammate with a blast into the right-center-field seats.
The homer* gave the Braves a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish and finally sent Sanchez to the showers. His final line looks a lot worse than it would have if he had been pulled after 6 innings, but that's baseball I guess: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, and 6 K.
* Hinske would say after the game that it was probably the biggest homer of his career. Pretty cool.
Sanchez's counterpart, Tim Hudson, did not have dominant stuff but somehow held the Marlins to only 1 run in 6 innings. He seemed to struggle with his command at times, walking 4 and going to deep counts. He did get a lot of ground balls (13/19, 68%), but 4 of them (all in the first 3 innings) went for infield hits. He also wasn't helped by his defense, as Melky Cabrera did the hokey-pokey around a fly ball in the third inning, leading to a fluke double and the only run Huddy gave up. Oh, and he was pitching on short rest. All in all, it was a very gutsy effort on a night that the Braves needed one. Great job, Huddy.
The bullpen, as usual, was damn good, although Peter Moylan did give up a solo home run to Dan Uggla on a ball that just barely stayed fair down the left-field line and just barely cleared the wall. But the right-handed and left-handed Billy Wagners (Craig Kimbrel and, well, Wagner) struck out the side in their innings. Wagner earned his 421st career save, just 3 back of John Franco for the most ever by a lefty. Here's hoping that he can somehow tie that mark this year (and then come back next year to break the record!). If he does, the Braves are basically guaranteed to be in the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs, the Braves' playoff outlook is starting to look pretty good. With the Giants and Padres playing right now (both games are scoreless early), the Braves are currently a game up on the Padres for the wild card lead. Go, Cubs and Diamondbacks!
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at (**Weird Start Time Alert**) 4:30 eastern. Derek Lowe, who's been awesome in September, throws on short rest for the Braves against Andrew Miller (who has an ERA above 8). This looks like a good chance for a sweep, so let's do it!
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D-backs just took a 1-0 lead on the Giants.
Rodrigo Lopez (of all people) drove in Adam LaRoche with a sac fly.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Sep 28, 2010 11:01 PM EDT reply actions
we have the cubs/padres and giants/d-backs convo going in the overflow thread
for those that want to join
ROBOT HEYWARD: PLAYOFF RACE MODE: RE-ENGAGED. TERMINATION OF AQUATIC VERTEBRATE 'MARLINS' AND SUBHUMAN RACE 'PHILLIES' NECESSARY FOR OBJECTIVE COMPLETION
great game
Hudson pitched good on short rest and Hinske had a huge hit. Let’s try to get the sweep tomorrow
Wow. Insightful.
If Huddy had tried that Call The Fielders In bit that Satchel Paige used to do, he’d have been in a world of hurt.
"Everybody's gotta do what they've gotta do." - Joe Simpson
WOOHOO!
Great win.
P.S. I found this new funny twitter that I think you guys would like. twitter.com/FauxJoeMorgan hilarious!
"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones
by MBL1 on Sep 28, 2010 11:10 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hinske 0 for 10 against Sanchez before that HR.
The bat flip was epic and Sanchez’s reaction was priceless.
The birth of Jason Heyward was God’s punishment for the sins of the people in New York and Philly.
Somebody needs to make a gif of that. That would be awesome.
Coming soon: winningugly visits Atlanta, takes dump in royhobbs’ Braves hat.
Lovely win tonight.
"Thanks Bobby" ------>
"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West
the offense
looks like it needs a couple of 5-Hour Energies…but we won, so I’m not complaining.
Atlanta Hawks=the team that drafted big $$$$$$$$$ instead of big men.
I'll send 'em crates of the stuff it'll get them going again.
What is both surprising and delightful is that spectators are allowed, and even expected, to join in the vocal part of the game.... There is no reason why the field should not try to put the batsman off his stroke at the critical moment by neatly timed disparagements of his wife's fidelity and his mother's respectability. ~George Bernard Shaw
That shit is like a mini-heart attack in a bottle. I drank half of one the other day and could feel my heart racing within a few seconds.
'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike
by Scott Coleman on Sep 29, 2010 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Cubs leading 4-2 in the 6th. Dempster's battling....
Where are the Braves if the Padres win and Giants lose? One game up on the Giants?
And should I be wanting the Giants to win?
Assuming the Padres lose, the Giants would be 1.5 a head of them in the division, Braves would be 1.5 ahead of the Padres in the WC, correct? So I suppose that would be better.
I’m a bit baked, to be honest.
by Undocorkscrew on Sep 28, 2010 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Then again, it would be better for both to lose....
[sigh]
by Undocorkscrew on Sep 28, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
come join us in the game overflow thread
there are several of us in there talking about both games
ROBOT HEYWARD: PLAYOFF RACE MODE: RE-ENGAGED. TERMINATION OF AQUATIC VERTEBRATE 'MARLINS' AND SUBHUMAN RACE 'PHILLIES' NECESSARY FOR OBJECTIVE COMPLETION
yeah... we want them both to lose
the top 2 teams out of the 3 of us make it. so…. yeah, we want them both to be worse than us to maximize our chances
Can we fire Snitker? My god, what a terrible decision to send McSloth. I did have a nice laugh at McCann’s dead man impression once he finally got to the plate.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t think we were going to win that game with only 2 hits through 5 innings but we did what good baseball teams do: we performed in the clutch and scored runs. Let’s get the sweep tomorrow.
DON'T GO TO SLEEP EARLY OR JEFF FRANCOEUR WILL HAUNT YOUR DREAMS AND LOWER YOUR OBP. - Scott
Completely agree on firing Skitker....
He’s been horrible sending and stopping runners this year. And for a team that struggles with RISP, as well as runner at 3B, 1 out situations……it’s the most frustrating thing in the world.
by Undocorkscrew on Sep 29, 2010 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
How the fuck was that Snitker's fault?
Coaches don’t send runners on wild pitches. If anything, blame Prado for it. He was the one who waved down Diaz.
Prado even cried like a baby about it after the game.
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Eric Hinske
has the sexiest bat drop in the league. He has it down to an art.
'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike
by Scott Coleman on Sep 29, 2010 12:31 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
that was quite a strut as well
"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 29, 2010 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Well I'm glad I read this
Or I would have missed the game tomorrow. Why is it a 4:35 start?
Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand.
Cubs WIN / Giants Win
My avatar says it for me...
"Curve: The loveliest distance between two points." ~ Mae West
Oh My God. The Braves lead the Wild Card by 1.5 with 4 games left.
And the Padres are tanking at just the right time.
It’s probably going to happen, isn’t it?
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 1:06 AM EDT reply actions
Once again, we control our destiny.
Let’s just win our games so we don’t have to worry what the other teams are doing.
Nice!
He is probably going to get hit tomorrow though.
by dragonhawk26 on Sep 29, 2010 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Eric Hinske deserves a contract extension for that bat drop alone.
and epic strut
by SouthernPanther on Sep 29, 2010 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions
MAKE IT THE TC PICTURE!
'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike
by Scott Coleman on Sep 29, 2010 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Make it green
If Albert played in the AFL, they’d have to rename it the AZ/NM Fall League, based on where his homers landed.
That home run energized this team, imo
Jason Heyward is so good, he makes David Wright piss in Ryan Howard’s pants
by heap16 on Sep 29, 2010 12:53 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I thought it would be awesome, and i was correct. Well done!
Coming soon: winningugly visits Atlanta, takes dump in royhobbs’ Braves hat.
If we qualify for the playoffs, do you have any preference who we face in the first round?
If the season ended today, we would be playing the Giants because they have a better record than the Reds.
The Reds 100%.
The Reds have actually been scuffling a bit lately and Francisco Cordero has been making a lot of games interesting in the 9th. And of course, they still have nightmares about the Raw Dog.
If the Braves end up facing the Giants, you can forget about it. I know the Braves beat both Lincecum and Cain in August, but these teams are totally different now.
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Giants made a ton of moves recently to make their lineup a lot better
Adding Guillen, Cody Ross and Fontenot (for defense mainly) really helped bolster their very vet and gritty lineup
Combined with Cain, Lins and Sanchez?
Along with a good (with new additions GREAT) bullpen and ace closer?
very very scary.
But we can do it
GSO
None of those guys make their team any better at all offensively. If you shut down Huff and Posey, you shut the Giants down.
'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike
by Scott Coleman on Sep 29, 2010 2:36 AM EDT up reply actions
If you get to their starting pitchers, you beat them.
If you don’t, you don’t. It’s really about that simple.
"Everybody's gotta do what they've gotta do." - Joe Simpson
This is gonna be tricky...
If playoffs started today, the Braves would get the Giants, the Phils would have the Reds (for lunch). San Fran has a one game lead in that race-to-face the Wild Card team. That would put us in the strange position of perhaps rooting for San Diego over the weekend to knock off SF a couple of times so that Cincy could pass them…. while then requiring the Braves to beat Philly once or twice. This is getting a little weird.
Bottom line: I, too, would prefer Philly to face the Giants in Round 1.
[Mets] GM Omar Minaya confirmed to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the Mets aren't going to fire any coaches today. July 26, 2010.
"What was more odd than that pitch being low is that Jeff Francoeur didn't swing at it." -- Jim Powell, Aug. 4, 2010.
Phillies Perspective.... Who would they rather play? Will it make a difference this weekend?
1. If we’re in the playoffs, the Phils get the worst division winner – currently Cincy. They’re probably fine with that, I’m sure. So if that remains the scenario, they’re happy.
2. If San Fran falters, they don’t want the Giants either – meaning that suddenly they might wish to go all out vs. the Braves to knock us out… and then Philly gets the Padres in Round 1.
3. They might want to try and knock us out anyway — our pitching is probably their biggest fear other than that of San Fran’s.
4. If the Pads sweep San Fran — which might be necessary for them to make the post-season — then everybody gets happy. San Diego wins the West, SF is probably out all together, the Braves play Cincy and the Phils get the Padres.
[Mets] GM Omar Minaya confirmed to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the Mets aren't going to fire any coaches today. July 26, 2010.
"What was more odd than that pitch being low is that Jeff Francoeur didn't swing at it." -- Jim Powell, Aug. 4, 2010.
Hinske's homer is coming up on the replay if anyone missed it live.
Ankiel’s fail at-bat is up now.
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 1:12 AM EDT reply actions
WOOO Braves!!!
Nice win tonight. Unfortunately I had out-of-town guests to entertain and just caught the highlights.
We need Lowe to keep it going tomorrow!!
If Albert played in the AFL, they’d have to rename it the AZ/NM Fall League, based on where his homers landed.
Can't say it enough. Tim Hudson came up HUGE tonight.
He’s ready for October. Can Derek Lowe make it 5-0 in September? The Braves are 5-0 in Lowe’s last 5 starts.
Make it #6.
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 1:29 AM EDT reply actions
That's exactly right.
Got it done without exemplary stuff. Very Glavinesque.
"Everybody's gotta do what they've gotta do." - Joe Simpson
The reason the game is on at 4:35EST tomorrow...
it’s on ESPN!
'Terrible preview...pretty weak, didn't learn anything new. pretty sad." - mastermike
So I’m wasted at the bar tonight… and when the Conrad hit happens… i scream at the top of my lungs “Melky, you better score you fat mother F*$%ker”… needless to say I get yelled at, then the bartender realizes i’m sitting next to, and hanging out with teh GM of the great establishment, and he leaves me alone. Then the same thing happens during the Cubs game, all in all…. great night for us!!! I feel like I did a great job on this msg and shouldn’t get yelled at by TC this time, unlike last time i gothome and drunk posted… I <3 the Braves! Go Braves!
by B4TheFlop on Sep 29, 2010 3:00 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Honestly
I was at a bar yelling the exact same thing when Conrad got the hit, and I wasn’t the only one yelling it either
by atlbraves1991 on Sep 29, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Andrew Miller
Braves are facing Andrew Miller tomorrow. He was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his first two starts. The second of those two starts was a win against the Braves on September 3 in Florida. He was pitching on only three-days rest. He only went 5 innings, giving up 7 hits and walking 3, but he struck out 6 and held Atlanta to just 1 run. The Marlins ’pen shut out Atlanta the rest of the way and the Marlins won after battering Kenshin Kawakami 6-1. Kawakami drove in the only run for the Braves.
It’s been all downhill from there. And that’s putting it nicely.
Miller has been spectacularly horrible in the four starts that followed his victory over Atlanta. In his last four starts, he’s 0-4 with a 12.89 ERA. Opponents are hitting a jaw-dropping .443 against him. He’s allowed 4 home runs in those 14.2 innings.
The Marlins are 1-5 in his 6 starts this year.
If the Braves bats can’t come to life against this guy, there may be no hope.
by AnEternalEnigma on Sep 29, 2010 5:47 AM EDT reply actions
I love it when the two guys Bobby has virtually forgotten about in September are the heroes of the game. Captain Clutch and Hinske bailed us out big time. I was hoping for a squeeze when Ankiel was up, but apparently he’s too good a hitter to take the bat out of his hands……
Coming soon: winningugly visits Atlanta, takes dump in royhobbs’ Braves hat.
What was the announced
attendance last night? Sorry dont feel like scouring the OT to find it, assuming someone said it. Looked like a pretty good crowd
Who is LeBron, and where is Miami?
36,000 plus
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Sep 29, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
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