I have to admit I was worried about this series after the Braves lost game one. With a difficult schedule coming up, the Braves needed to take care of business and come away with a series win against San Diego before they headed out for a west coast trip. Thankfully they were able to rally and win the final three games of the series to do just that.
Alex Wood started the first game and got BABIP'd to death as the Braves offense struggled against rookie Jesse Hahn. Wood was leaving balls over the middle but the Padres continually hit grounders that found holes and had their leadoff hitter on seemingly every inning. I am not concerned about Wood, as he kept the ball in the ballpark and walked only one batter. Sometimes balls just find holes, and that is pretty much what happened as he allowed 12 hits over his five innings.
The next game featured a much better offensive output, as Tommy La Stella and Freddie Freeman each added three hits and Chris Johnson came through with a big two RBI double. Julio Teheran threw a quality start but was not as impressive as we have seen him of late, but the bullpen shut down the Padres for the final three innings and Craig Kimbrel earned his 31st save by striking out the side in order.
In game three Mike Minor got back on track, albeit against the woeful Padre offense. Minor threw 6.2 innings while allowing three runs with six strikeouts, one walk, and two home runs allowed. The latter part is the worrisome part with Minor, but at least he was able to pitch deep into the game and give the Braves an opportunity to win. Offensively the team exploded in the third inning, scoring six runs off starter Eric Stults. Justin Upton added a nice insurance two run double late in the game to essentially seal the deal.
In the deciding game four, Ervin Santana matched his career high in strikeouts with 11 and Evan Gattis provided all the offense against converted outfielder Jason Lane. Gattis hit a home run and added another RBI to put the Braves up 2-0. Kimbrel came in yet again and struck out the side in order for his 32nd save of the year.
Up next the Braves play the Dodgers and then another series against the Padres. My hope is that they go 4-2 in that stretch, whether it be a series loss 2-1 to the Dodgers and a sweep of the Padres or winning both series is something I am almost indifferent about, but if they want to keep up with the Nats I expect they will have to go 4-2 over the next six games.