The Braves made a trade today, sending tonight's scheduled starter Jhoulys Chacin to the Los Angeles Angels for minor league pitcher Adam McCreery.
McCreery won't impact the current team soon, if ever, so let's take a look at last night. Even when the Braves get a great performance on the mound -- like they got from Matt Wisler -- they just can't seem to put the pieces together to earn a win at home.
Atlanta is 1-16 in the confines of Turner Field so far this season, putting them on pace to go approximately 5-76 at home this season (and that's rounding up).
Granted, the team isn't going to finish that poorly. The numbers should level out, at least a little, soon enough. But for now, it looks bad.
In last night's contest, Freddie Freeman smacked a ninth-inning home run, and maybe that can be spark for this bunch. Jeff Francoeur and others have spoken in recent days about how frustrating the team's record is so far, but there has been no indication that the Braves aren't fighting their butts off each day. The fact of the matter is that the 25-man roster is simply not equipped to compete in the big leagues on an everyday basis.
Ender Inciarte has returned to the lineup and has already proven to be a lift, including a spectacular "deke" play last night to create a double play.
For tonight's contest, the Braves will send Williams Perez to the mound for a spot start after calling him up from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Jerad Eickhoff is one of the young pitchers Philadelphia is counting on to develop in the coming years. Kelly Johnson has a pair of hits and Nick Markakis is 1-for-3 against him. He gave up three runs in six innings against the Cardinals his last time out, and is 1-4 with a 4.21 ERA this season.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, May 11, 7:10 p.m. ET
Location: Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: FOX Sports Southeast
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM, WYAY 106.7, Braves Radio Network