It wasn't a pretty series for the Braves, as they narrowly avoided being swept at home by New York. Atlanta's offense struggled mightily in the first two games of the series, but finally clicked in the finale. Here are some notes from the series:
Jose Reyes continued his hot hitting as he burnt the Braves throughout the three-game series. Reyes went 7-15 at the plate with with two RBI's, four runs, and three steals.
Atlanta's starting pitching struggled in all three games of the series. Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson, and Mike Minor combined for 13.2 innings pitched and gave up 11 earned runs in the process.
More after the jump.
Jonny Venters' scoreless streak ended at 22 innings, as he gave up two runs in two innings pitched in game three of the series. With those two runs, his ERA ballooned to a still minuscule 0.63.
Dan Uggla's struggles at the plate continued in the series as he went 1-13 with four strikeouts. Atlanta needs Uggla to right the ship sooner than later.
Jason Heyward made his triumphant return to the Braves lineup just in time for his own bobble-head night, and went 0-2 with a walk in his first game back. In the finale of the series he went 2-4 with a walk, a RBI, and two runs scored.
Chipper Jones had a huge Thursday night game as he went 3-4 with a run scored and five RBI's before having to leave the game with a strained adductor. He received a shot in it after the game and is said to be day-to-day. He seems to be doubtful for the first game of the Rangers series.
Jordan Schafer had one of his best games at the plate in game three of series, going 5-6 with three runs scored after going a combined 0-8 in the first two games of the series. With Nate McLouth close to coming off the DL, it will be interesting to see how Schafer play's at the plate over the next week or two,
The struggling Jason Bay sat out the first game of the series, but played the final two and showed some signs of emerging out of his season long slump. He went 4-9 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
George Sherrill and Scott Linebrink pitched well in the relief throughout the series, throwing 5.1 innings while giving up only three hits and no runs. Linebrink recorded a win in game three of the series.
The first two games of the series displayed the Braves terrible struggles at the plate. In the two games, the Braves combined for 62 at-bats, and recorded only eight hits. This included the awful game two offensive performance where the Braves managed only two hits.
Brooks Conrad added another big-time homer to his already impressive collection. Conrad homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of game three of the series to tie the game at eight. I don't know how he does it, but let's hope he keeps it going.
Up Next:
The Rangers come to town for a three-game series against the Braves. Randall Delgado makes his Major League debut tonight.