Braves News
Offense Shows Life But It's Still Not Enough To Win
The Braves losing streak is now at 7 after their latest loss to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 4-3. Tonight, it was mostly bum luck that did the home team in, as it seemed like nearly every ball that the Braves hit hard was right at a Cardinal. Meanwhile on the other side, defensive miscues from Andrelton Simmons of all people, among others, played a big role in the Cardinals going up 4 runs, which would be enough for them to win and doom the Braves to yet another defeat.
Fredi Batted The Pitcher In The 8-Spot Again
In a move that Tony LaRussa made famous and a tactic that Fredi Gonzalez has adopted as one of his own, the Braves manager decided to bust out the old "bat the pitcher 8th" trick. Fredi hasn't done it since 2012, though, which is when he employed that particular lineup 6 times during the 2012 campaign. Although his first use of the unorthodox lineup resulted in a victory back on May 29th, 2012, this time the Braves didn't win. With that being said, all indications point towards this not being an isolated incident as the season moves forward.
Floyd Ready To Return As Wainwright Watches
Gavin Floyd will be making his 2014 debut and return from Tommy Johnson surgery exactly 365 days after the procedure was done, and one person who is excited to see Floyd return to the field is Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, who knows all about the road to recovery from that surgery. Wainwright and Floyd have developed a bit of a bond centered around the surgery, and Wainwright has tried to use his experience to help give Floyd an idea of what to expect once he returns.
Second Base Situation Is Considered Murky
Once again, Dan Uggla spent a game on the bench, as Ramiro Pena took Uggla's spot at 2nd base for the night and batted 9th in the lineup as well. Although Fredi Gonzalez gave the cliche answer along the lines of "We're just going with whoever gives us the best chance to win," you have to believe (and Mark Bowman pointed it out) that Tommy La Stella's promotion to the Major League squad is now imminent and that Uggla's days as a regular starter are now numbered, if not over.
The Braves Have Got To Start Scoring, And Fast
Big League Stew shined a light on the Braves' offensive struggles as of late and put it very bluntly: "They need to score some runs." Also, they noted that if they don't get it together offensively, the Braves could not only be out of first place, with the way the rest of the division is playing, they could be in last soon enough.
League Wide News
Rockies Beat Rangers With Tulo And Arenado Leading
Colorado Rockies star SS Troy Tulowitzki celebrated being named NL Player of the Month in auspicious fashion; He hit 2 HRs to help lead the Rockies to an easy 8-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, Colorado's 3B Nolan Arenado extended his league-best hitting streak to 25 games with a 2-run HR. He's now 2 games with a hit away from tying Michael Cuddyer's club record.
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Giants Beat Pirates 11-10 In Wild 13-Inning Affair
What's better than extra-inning baseball? Extra-inning baseball when the score is tied at 10 going into the 10th, which was the case at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, as the Giants picked up their 6th win in a row with an 11-10 victory over the Pirates. The game featured 36 hits and, according to our friends at Bucs Dugout, a whole host of other weird things. After what we've seen at the Ted as of late, I'm just shocked that both teams could score more than 10 runs in a single game without breaking a law of some sort.
Is Big Papi The Last Of A Dying Breed?
Our partners over at Beyond The Box Score tried to answer a question that, on the surface, is very simple: Is David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox the last true Designated Hitter? In using the term "true Designated Hitter," Scott Lindholm means a specialized power hitter who hits in the 3-5 spots of the lineup. If you've paid close attention to the usage of DHs in the AL, then the answer to this question may not shock you, but it's still pretty informative to see how the attitude towards the DH has changed.