The Braves broke out of a mini-slump with basically a one-inning barrage.
After a rough weekend in Philadelphia, the Braves bounced back against a team they needed to beat. A quick first three innings made everyone wonder if this game was going to be like the last several, but the Braves found a little mojo in the fourth. Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, and Evan Gattis all hit doubles to start the inning, and after a Brian McCann walked, Chris Johnson flared one off the end of the bat to add another run. Elliot Johnson added a single, and after he then stole a base, a wild pitch allowed the Johnson named Chris to score, bringing the score to 5-0.
Kris Medlen supported the offensive outburst with a strong outing that continued his run of brilliance lately. After an excellent first six innings, Medlen seemed to run out of gas in the seventh, allowing two runs to score before Luis Avilan came in to strike out a couple hitters after giving up a harmless single. Medlen has made it at least 6 innings in each of his last 8 starts, and 6.1 innings of 2-run ball with 6 Ks and 2 BBs.
Luis Ayala and Craig Kimbrel - in for the first time in almost a week - would clean up the last two innings and give the Braves an 86-57 record.
Win Expectancy Chart