BRAVES NEWS
Atlanta Finally Gets One Over On Los Angeles
For the first time since the 2013 NLDS, the Braves beat the Dodgers. It definitely wasn't easy, but they pulled it off. Despite going down early, the Braves were able to get RBI hits from Evan Gattis, Andrelton Simmons, and Justin Upton to give the Braves the 3 runs that ended up being enough to win. Even though the Dodgers went into this situation 0-42 in 2014 when trailing after 7 innings, they nearly made it 1-42 as the game came down to a bases-loaded situation in the top of the 9th with Craig Kimbrel on the mound. Fortunately, he escaped that jam with a double-play ball that ended the game and gave the Braves a rare (as of late) victory.
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The cup of coffee has once again run dry for reliever Juan Jaime, as it was announced shortly after last night's game that Jaime would be going back to the suburbs. After making 4 relief appearances in June, the International League All-Star made 5 more appearances. His ERA is at 2.25 and he'll be headed back to AAA with a 2.38 xFIP. Meanwhile, his replacement on the roster should be announced today.
B.J. Will Probably Break The Braves' Single Season Strikeout Record
One of the recurring themes of this season has been B.J. Upton striking out. After putting up a career-high K% of 33.9%, his K% is still in the 30s for 2014, as it is currently at 30.9%. The strikeouts have been coming at such a rate that B.J. might not just break the Braves single-season strikeout record (which, surprise surprise, belongs to Dan Uggla), he may shatter it. From David O'Brien:
Uggla set the franchise individual strikeout record of 168 in 2012, then broke it last season with 171 strikeouts.
B.J. Upton is on pace to break Uggla’s record by early September and finish with a whopping 201 strikeouts. He already had a majors-leading 148 strikeouts before Wednesday, when the Braves played their 120th game.
Heyward Ready To Do "Whatever It Takes To Win" As Leadoff Hitter
Last night marked Jason Heyward's return to the leadoff spot of the Braves' lineup, a spot which he manned earlier this season and a spot that he manned during an extremely hot run of team form for the Braves last season. Fredi Gonzalez said that he's put Heyward at the top as an effort to spark the lagging offense. Although 3 runs isn't exactly an offensive explosion, it did help lead to a win against a very tough starting pitcher. Hopefully this is a sign of a future turnaround.
Harang Believes Team Has One Good Run Left In Them
Speaking of a future turnaround, one man who is confident in his belief that the Braves can still get hot and launch a serious run at the division and the postseason is Aaron Harang. He cited his experience as a rookie way back in 2002 when the Oakland Athletics went on a 20-game winning streak (famously depicted in the film adaptation of "Moneyball") that helped propel the A's into a playoff spot. Although nobody's expecting a 20-game win streak for the Braves (not even Harang himself), Harang still has confidence that the young squad has a hot streak left in them:
"We’ve just got to get a string of guys going at once," he said. "It seems like a lot of the year we’ve had one guy or two guys going. One guy can’t carry a ball club. If we can get three or four guys hitting and playing soundly together, that’s how you are going to win ballgames and go on a big run.
"Different guys have to step up every night and get that big hit, make that big play, throw a good solid inning, get a pitcher out of a rough situation."
MLB NEWS
Tulowitzki Out For Rest Of Season With Hip Injury
It's always disappointing to see one of the top talents in baseball go down due to injury, and this situation is no different as Colorado Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki will be out for the rest of the season once he has surgery on his left hip tomorrow. Instead of potentially having a career year for the Rockies, Tulo will instead end his season with 5.1 fWAR, which was good for 3rd in all of baseball. Now, enjoy some highlights of what could have been a great season for Tulo. Hopefully we'll be seeing this once he returns from injury next season.
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Twins Prospect Suffers Concussion Following Outfield Collision
Outfield collisions almost never end well. We were lucky last season when the Upton Brothers had a collision that started out scary but ended up hilarious. Twins prospect Byron Buxton wasn't as lucky, unfortunately, as he ended up getting the worst of the collision with his teammate and had to take a trip to the hospital, which is where he was diagnosed with a concussion. Buxton is one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and here's hoping that he will be able to make a full recovery following this ugly moment.