We've reached the end of a series that most people in these parts were loathing, and it's gone pretty well. In fact, it's been pretty doggone nice. The Braves had an offensive renaissance on Friday night, and jitterbugged their way to a victory on Throwback Night on Saturday.
Now it's Sunday, and the Braves have the opportunity to possibly sweep one of the best (albeit struggling) teams in the Oakland Athletics.
However, tonight will probably be tough sledding for Atlanta. The A's will be starting Jon Lester, who is pitching some of the best baseball of his career and has looked pretty dominant in the process. On the other hand, the Braves will be starting Mike Minor who is absolutely not pitching some of the best baseball of his career.
However, all we can do as fans is get behind the pitcher (and the rest of the team) and hope for the best. I'm not betting on a sweep, but stranger things have happened. Here's the lineups, and further data on Lester.
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">OAKLAND A'S</th>
<th align="left">ATLANTA BRAVES</th>
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<tr><td class="td-last td-name">Coco Crisp - CF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Jason Heyward - RF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Jonny Gomes - LF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Phil Gosselin - 2B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Josh Donaldson - 3B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Freddie Freeman - 1B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Derek Norris - C</td><td class="td-first td-name">Justin Upton - LF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Brandon Moss - RF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Chris Johnson - 3B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Nate Freiman - 1B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Evan Gattis - C</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Alberto Callaspo - 2B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Andrelton Simmons - SS</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Andy Parrino - SS</td><td class="td-first td-name">B.J. Upton - CF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Jon Lester - LHP</td><td class="td-first td-name">Mike Minor - LHP</td></tr></tbody>
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Trajectory and Movement - from 01/01/2014 to 01/01/2015
Pitch Type | Count | Freq | Velo (mph) | pfx HMov (in.) | pfx VMov (in.) | H. Rel (ft.) | V. Rel (ft.) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fourseam | 1199 | 45.19% | 93.12 | 6.17 | 9.35 | 2.67 | 5.77 |
Sinker | 171 | 6.45% | 91.80 | 9.57 | 4.37 | 2.71 | 5.71 |
Change | 82 | 3.09% | 85.99 | 9.87 | 3.30 | 2.68 | 5.76 |
Curve | 382 | 14.40% | 76.27 | -4.50 | -4.21 | 2.64 | 5.79 |
Cutter | 819 | 30.87% | 88.82 | 0.34 | 4.49 | 2.69 | 5.74 |