Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

(Injured) Beast: Chipper Jones.  Chipper hit .478….yes…… .478 this week.  It’s almost mid-June and he’s hitting .420.  He had 6 RBIs but couldn’t stop the Braves from losing 3 in a row to the Phils.  Jones sat the last two games with a right quad strain.

Runners-Up: Mark Teixeira, John Anderson

Least: Kelly Johnson.  Well, Friday’s game was enough of a reason.  He dropped the game winning out in the 9th against the Phillies, leading to an eventual sweep.

Runners-Down: Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann

-Greg Berlin

Beast (and least) of the East

Congrats to Chipper Jones, who becomes the second-ever two-time Beast of the East.

And shame on you Brett Myers, you’re the least of the week.

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: Chipper Jones, 3B. Last week the Beast went to Brian McCann with apologies to Chipper. This week, the Beast is Chipper, with apologies to McCann. Chipper hit .474, upping his average for the year to .416. McCann hit .529, by the way. But Chipper gets it for his historic start to the season as a whole. Let’s not forget Kelly Johnson who hit .429 on the week and raised his average for the season to .297.

Runners Up: Kelly Johson, Brian McCann, Mark Teixiera

Least: Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP. Reyes is having trouble finding any sort of consistency in the bigs. 8 runs, 7 earned in only 5 innings is not going to cut it. Reyes has gotten progressively worse in virtually every start. Perhaps a little bit of scouting and film has given hitters the edge over the young lefty.

Runners Down: Tom Glavine, Mark Kotsay

Around the Beast

Braves 4-Mets 2

Atlanta starter Tim Hudson pitched masterfully, surrendering just 2 earned runs in 8 innings, striking out 4 and walking none on 100 pitches. Hudson got the win and is now 7-3 on the year. His only mistakes came in the second inning, when he served up home runs to Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.

The Mets needed Johan Santana to pitch a gem, but their ace didn’t come through, allowing 3 earned runs on 12 hits in 7 innings on just 90 pitches, walking none and striking out only one. He drops to 5-3 on the season.

The damage came in the 7th, when Beltran misplayed a ball hit by Kelly Johnson, leading to RBIs by Omar Infante (who had been 0-19 against Santana), Chipper Jones, and Mark Teixiera. Willie Randolph didn’t take Santana out of the game, and the inning was only finished by a beautifully executed 1-6-3 double play.

Talk about teams headed in different directions; the hot-hitting Braves have won four in a row and are crusing while the mediocre Mets have lost 7 of 10 and are reeling.

Phillies 7-Astros 5

The Phillies scored early but almost blew it in their first game of the year at Minute Maid Park. Starter Kyle Kendrick did not pitch a great game, giving up 5 earned runs on 8 hits in just 5 innings of work on 91 pitches, walking one and striking out 2. But Astros ace Roy Oswalt was not much better, also giving up 5 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work, walking 2 and striking out 4 on 95 pitches.

Ryan Howard had a very good night, going 3-5 with a home run (his 14th) and 2 RBIs (and 2 strikeouts, as well). After the Astros had tied the game in the 6th, Pat Burrell hit a go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the 8th off of rookie Wesley Wright. Also driving in runs for the Phillies were Carlos Ruiz, Pedro Feliz, Geoff Jenkins, and Chase Utley (his 33rd of the year). Chad Durbin picked up his first win of the year, and Brad Lidge notched his 12th save of the year, this one against his former team.

Driving in runs for the Astros were Berkman, Brad Ausmus, Ty Wigginton, and Geoff Blum. Wright took his second loss on the year.

Marlins 4-Diamondbacks 0

The red-hot Marlins completed their sweep of the Diamondbacks in an outstanding performance by young Andrew Miller, who shut Arizona out in 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, striking out 9 and walking just one batter on 107 pitches. Miller, who picked up his 4th win, was opposed by Dan Haren, who allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, striking out 8 and walking none on 94 pitches.

Wes Helms drove in two on a pinch-hit double in the 7th to drive Haren from the game. Jorge Cantu also drove in two runs for the Marlins.

 

Pregame: Mets at Braves [BEAST-OFF]

The Game: New York Mets (22-19) at Atlanta Braves (22-21)

The Matchup: John Maine (5-2, 2.81) vs. Tom Glavine (1-1, 4.41)

The Story: The Mets face Tom Glavine for the first time since the last game of last season, when Glavine pitched only a third of an inning but surrendered….okay there’s no need to repeat what happened, the words “monumental collapse” do it justice enough. If last year’s collapse hasn’t been talked about enough this year, just wait until the broadcast today; it’s going to be nonstop. The Mets roll into Atlanta having taken two-straight from the Yankees, after losing three of four to the Nationals. New York’s core players, Jose Reyes and David Wright, have finally started to turn a corner and hit consistently, which is necessary for the Mets to succeed.

Consistency has been hard to come by for the Mets but also for the Braves, who have seen flashes of brilliance from pitching (Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson) and hitting (Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Mark Kotsay), but not from their bullpen, which has suffered greatly from the losses of Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan.

John Maine takes the mound for the Mets as the Amazin’s second most valuable starting pitcher. Maine hasn’t allowed more than two runs in his seven last starts. Glavine has had less success this year, and just picked up his first win of the season in his last start. He hasn’t been bad by any means, though, and looks to pick up his 305th win today against his old club.

The Lineups:

Mets: Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Church (RF), Alou (LF), Delgado (1B), Schneider (C), Maine (P)

Braves: Escobar (SS), Kotsay (CF), Jones (3B), Teixiera (1B), McCann (C), Francoeur (RF), Johnson (2B), Blanco (LF), Glavine (P)

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

The Braves Beast of the Week is…

Brian McCann, C (.345, .387, .655, 1 HR, 9 RBI on the week).  We award this honor to Brian with apologies to Chipper Jones, who also had a stellar week (.462, .548, .654, 1 HR, 3 RBI). But come on, Chipper, you can’t win every week. Chipper, who hits right in front of Brian in the Braves lineup, is a big part of McCann’s success, giving him plenty of RBI opportunities. Both players combine to make for a formidable middle of the Atlanta lineup.

Runners-Up: Chipper Jones, Kelly Johnson, Mark Kotsay

We bestow the least of the week distinction upon…

Chuck James, LHP. James optioned to Triple-A Richmond after a terrible start last Thursday against the Phillies, in which he surrendered 5 earned runs on 6 hits in 4 innings, walking 5 and striking out none. He’ll be replaced by Jorge Campillo in the rotation.

Runners-down: Royce Ring, Mark Teixiera

 

Around the Beast

Here are last night’s wrap-ups from the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins.

Braves 8-Phillies 6

Tom Glavine picked up his first Braves victory since 2002 as the Braves rolled over Brett Myers. The opening-day starter drops to 2-5 after surrendering home runs to Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar in the first, just a couple of the 6 earned runs he would give up on the night (4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 3 HR, 75 P). For the Braves, Kelly Johnson added a home run, Gregor Blanco drove in two runs, and Brian McCann added another.

The Braves bullpen could barely contain the Philadelphia offense, allowing two earned runs in the last two innings, including a 2-out Ryan Howard home run in the 8th. Chase Utley also homered for the Phillies (2 runs in the 6th off of Glavine), Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs on the night and Shane Victorino drove in one. The bright spot for the Phillies was their bullpen, with Ryan Madson, Clay Condrey and Rudy Seanez combining for 4.2 scoreless innings in relief of Myers.

Reds 7-Marlins 6 (F/10)

Rookie shortstop Paul Janish hit a walk-off single in his Major League debut as the Reds defeated the Marlins in the 10th inning. That came after Cody Ross tied the game on a three-run longball off of Reds closer Francisco Cordero in the ninth. Cordero’s first blown save of the year was an ugly one–the Marlins scored all six of their runs in the top of the ninth. Reds pitcher Mike Lincoln was charged with four runs, Cordero with two. This after Bronson Arroyo shut the Marlins down, going 7 full innings allowing no runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 and walking 3 on 111 pitches.

The Marlins were plagued by ineffective pitching all night, first from starter Ricky Nolasco (4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 97 P), then from relievers Logan Kensing, Justin Miller, and Renyel Pinto. NL Beast has said it over and over again, the Marlins are only as good as their pitching.

Ross, Luis Gonzalez and Matt Treanor drove in runs for the Marlins. Adam Dunn homered and Jerry Hairston Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Brandon Phillips, Edwin Encarnacion and Janish plated runs for the Reds.

Postgame: Phillies 5-Braves 4 [BEAST-OFF]

The Phillies fell behind 3-0 to the Braves in the first inning after RBI hits by Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur.  But Kyle Kendrick quickly calmed down after the first inning.  He ended up going the next five innings without allowing a run.  That gave him his third 6 inning, 3 earned run outing in a row.  From a guy fifth in the rotation, the Phillies should be happy that he gives them a chance to win.

Offensively, the Phillies came to play tonight.  Facing Jo-Jo Reyes, the Phillies started their attack in the 4th, when Jason Werth singled to center, driving in Chase Utley and big-man Ryan Howard.  Howard, who was part of the action all night long, notched an RBI of his own in the fifth, knocking in Shane Victorino.  Later in the inning, Werth continued his barrage, hitting in Howard.  And, in the 7th, Werth would grab yet another RBI to give the Phillies their fifth run.  Werth ended the night with 4 RBIs.

In the 9th, things got a little bit shaky as Brad Lidge faced adversity for one of the only times this season.  With one out, Mark Kotsay walked and then advanced to 2nd base after fielder interference.  At this point, Chipper Jones, who already had 3 hits on the night, hit a bomb just short of the fence in left.  Eric Bruntlett, who pinch-ran for Burrell in the 7th, caught the ball right in front of the wall, saving Phillies fans and Brad Lidge a lot of grief.  But the fight wasn’t over from the Braves.  Brian McCann came up next and doubled, driving in Kotsay and making it a 1 run game.  It should be noted that Jason Werth misplayed the ball, first breaking in and then running backwards as the ball flew well over his head.  He probably should have made the play.

Lidge was having trouble finding the plate at this point and walked Greg Norton, bringing up Francoeur, who was 0-4 lifetime against Lidge.  Falling behind quickly in the count, Francoeur finally lifted a ball between Werth and right fielder Shane Victorino.  Victorino called Werth off at the last second and caught the ball to end the game.  Not a moment too soon for Lidge, who let up his first earned run of the year in 18 innings of work.

The Phillies started their homestand with a thorough game all around, while the Braves continue to struggle on the road.  They are now 5-15 away from Turner Field.  Also, the Phillies have to be outright elated that Ryan Howard finally looks to be coming out of his slump.  He was 2-4 with a long double to center field and now has an RBI in each of his last three games, as well as in 4 out of his last 5 games.  He’s upped his average to .181 for the season.

-Greg Berlin

Teixiera injured

Braves 1B Mark Teixiera had to leave today’s game against the Pirates in the fourth inning with back spasms. He joins Chipper Jones and Kelly Johnson as Braves who have missed time with back spasms so far this season.

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

And for the second week in a row, the Braves Beast of the Week is 3B Chipper Jones. Chipper was great again this week, hitting .304 with 7 RBIs and 2 long balls for a team-leading OPS of 1.060. You can’t say anything bad about this guy–he just does everything right.

Runners-Up: Mark Kotsay, Brian McCann, Jair Jurrjens

The Braves’ least of the week is RF Jeff Francoeur. Jeff didn’t hit well this week, going just 3-22 (.136, .296, .182), walking 4 times and striking out 7. He still did manage to drive in 2 runs, amazingly, and remains a threat in the bottom of the Atlanta lineup despite the bad stretch.

Runners-Up: Jo-Jo Reyes, Tom Glavine

Braves and Marlins recaps

Braves 5 – Padres 3

Jair Jurrjens has established himself as The Man in the Braves rotation, and he continued his dominance last night. Jurrjens went 6 strong innings last night, striking out eight, walking one, and giving up just one run on seven hits. He is now 4-2 on the year. Padres starter Chris Young couldn’t keep the ball in the park, giving up home runs to the Braves two hottest hitters, Chipper Jones (10 HR, 29 RBI) and Mark Kotsay (3 HR, 14 RBI). The Braves had three pitchers close out the game, pulling Manny Acosta after giving up two hits in favor of a combination of Royce Ring and Jeff Bennett (who picked up the save).

——-

Marlins 3-Brewers 0

The Marlins continue to win on starting pitching that has far exceeded expectations, this time on the back of Scott Olsen. Olsen was masterful, limiting Milwaukee to 2 hits over 8.2 before turning the ball over to Kevin Gregg for the final out and his sixth save of the year. Olsen’s line on the night: 8.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 8 SO. Keep in mind this is a Brewers lineup that includes players like Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Mike Jacobs hit his ninth HR of the year off of Jeff Suppan.

How about them standings

Great week for the division. The NL East is hot; only the Marlins came in at under .500 for the past 10 games. The last-place Nationals are just 4 games out, and are 8-2 in their last 10. The Phillies may still lead the division, but the Mets and Marlins are just a half a game out.

Some of the league’s finest talent plays in the division, and this cream of the crop is setting the pace in 2008. Chipper Jones leads the league in Batting Average with a whopping .421 so far. Chase Utley leads in home runs, with 13; Pat Burrell is tied for second with 9. Burrell is also second for RBIs, with 28. Utley and Jones lead the league in OPS, with 1.193 and 1.189 respectively. Marlins starter Mark Hendrickson is second in the league for wins, with 5 so far. Of the pitchers with WHIPs in the top 10, 4 are in the NL East: Johan Santana, Tim Hudson, Jair Jurjjens, and Cole Hamels. Billy Wagner leads the league in Batting Average Against (.070). And Wagner, Brad Lidge, and Jon Rauch are tied for fifth in the league for saves, notching 7 to this point.

As expected, the division is shaping up to be extremely competative down the stretch. Look for the Marlins to cool off as their young pitching exhausts itself, and for the Braves to heat up as key players such as John Smoltz and Mike Hampton return. The Mets have nowhere to go but up, the Phillies continue to be led by career years by both Chase Utley and Pat Burrell, and even the Nationals are playing good baseball at present.

Here are the standings through Monday May 5:

Philadelphia: 18-14

New York: 16-13, 0.5 GB

Florida: 17-14, 0.5 GB

Atlanta: 15-15, 2 GB

Washington: 14-18, 4 GB

-Jonathan Kraft

Beast (and least) of the East

Congratulations to Chipper Jones, who is this week’s Beast of the East

And shame on you, Ryan Zimmerman, for earning this week’s Least of the East honor.

Sunday Division Roundup

Mets 5-Diamondbacks 2

One of the better pitching matchups of the year as Johan Santana squared off against Dan Haren in a pitchers’ dual that exploded in the 9th for the Mets. Santana was his classic self, going 6 full innings striking out 8 and walking 4, giving up just 1 earned run. Haren was almost as good, going 6 full giving up 2 runs on 2 hits (one a homer to David Wright in the 4th), striking out 7 and walking 1.

Jorge Sosa picked up the win for the Mets (he’s 4-1, unbelievably) and Billy Wagner notched his seventh save of the season after Arizona 1B Connor Jackson made a crucial throwing error in the top of the 9th that started a 3-run rally for the Mets. Bringing in runs for the Mets were Jose Reyes, Wright, and Marlon Anderson. Chad Qualls took the loss for Arizona. What a statement for the Mets, as they take the series off of the NL-leading D-Backs.

Phillies 6-Giants 5.

Charlie Manuel got his 500th win as the Phils took the game on a San Francisco error in the bottom of the ninth that brought in the winning run. Carlos Ruiz tied the game up in the 8th, allowing Brad Lidge to pick up his first win of the year. Cole Hamels allowed 4 runs on 7 hits through 6 innings, but he did have 5 strikeouts and no walks. Young Giants starter Tim Lincecum was better, surrendering no earned runs in 6 innings of work, striking out 5 and walking 2. But it was errors that would prove costly to the struggling Giants, who drop to 14-18. The Phillies remain a half-game up on New York and Florida.

Marlins 10-Padres 3

The big bats came to play today as Dan Uggla hit an RBI double and a home run to keep the Marlins tied with the Mets for second place in the division. Hanley Ramirez was 2-4 and scored 2 runs, and Matt Treanor was 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Young southpaw Andrew Miller finally pitched well for the Fish, getting his 2nd win and allowing 2 runs on 6 innings of work, striking out 4 and walking 2. Greg Maddux dropped to 2-3, allowing 11 hits for 5 runs, 4 earned, for 5.2 innings of work.

Braves 14-Reds 7

The Braves had 19 hits on the day, outhitting the Reds almost 2:1 and surviving a rocky outing by Tom Glavine. Chipper Jones contributed his fair share with a 3-run home run and a 2-run single. Also coming through big for the Braves were Mark Kotsay who homered and had 3 RBIs and Kelly Johnson, who was 4-6 with 2 RBIs. Glavine lasted just 4.2, surrendering 6 earned runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 and walking 5. Royce Ring picked up his first win of the season for Atlanta. As bad as Glavine was, Reds starter Bronson Arroyo was far worse, pitching just an inning and a third, giving up 7 earned runs. Josh Fogg came in for mop-up duty and didn’t pitch much better, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits in 2.2 innings.

Nationals 5-Pirates 2

Tim Redding continued his dominant streak, picking up his 4th win and allowing just 1 earned run on 6 innings of work, striking out 5 and walking 1. He was opposed by Pirates ace Ian Snell, who dropped to 2-2 after allowing 4 earned runs on 10 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk. Aaron Boone hit his first home run as a National, filling in at third for the day as Ryan Zimmerman ended his Major League leading 205 consecutive game streak. Also driving in runs for the Nats were Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Wily Mo Peña. The Nats are red-hot, having gone 8-3 on the last homestand.

-Jonathan Kraft

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

The Braves Beast of the Week is…

Chipper Jones, 3B. Chipper has easily been the Braves MVP of the season, leading the team in Batting Average (.425), Home Runs (9), RBIs (27), and OBP (.472). This week alone, he went .353, .421, .588. This year, Chipper can really take advantage of a lineup that includes players like Yunel Escobar above him and Mark Teixiera, Brian McCann, and Jeff Francoeur after him.

Runners-Up: Mark Teixiera (OPS of 1.033), Jair Jurjjens (WHIP of 0.29), Tim Hudson (10 SO in 9 innings)

The least of the week is Kelly Johnson. Kelly did not hit well this week (.176, .222, .294) and only walked once, which is not acceptable for a leadoff hitter (see: Jose Reyes).

Runners-Up: Blaine Boyer, Manny Acosta, Gregor Blanco

Braves at Nationals BEASTOFF Postgame

Nationals 6-Braves 3

W: Rivera (2-1)   L: Boyer (0-3)

Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals with 3 RBIs, bringing runs home on a solo shot and a 2-run RBI double. The Z-Man provided the spark that the Nats offense has been lacking. Nick Johnson also homered for the Nationals and Lastings Milledge drove two in as well.

Tom Glavine returned to the hill for Atlanta and pitched well, going 6 full innings (6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO) but did not get the run support he needed to defeat the last place DC club. Glavine came away with a no-decision (the loss was awarded to Blaine Boyer) For the Braves, Mark Kotsay, Chipper Jones, and Kelly Johnson drove in runs, with Chipper going yard in his return to the lineup.

For the Nats, Tim Redding continued to pitch well, also going 6 full innings (4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO), but did not pick up the win. The bullpen was mostly flawless, with Saul Rivera picking up the win, and combining with Luis Ayala, Chad Cordero, and Jon Rauch for 1 earned run over three.

The Nationals have now won five of their last seven and have reason to be celebrating tonight (NL Beast may have spotted Ryan Zimmerman at a DC bar after the game).

Braves at Nationals Pregame: 4/29 [BEAST-OFF]

The Game: Atlanta Braves (12-13, 4th place NL East) at Washington Nationals (9-17, 5th place NL East)

The Matchup: Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.38 ) at Tim Redding (3-2, 3.67)

The Story: The Braves return to Nationals Park for the third time this season. This is the tale of two teams that are still finding themselves this season. The Braves’ revolving door of pitchers keeps on going, with Glavine returning from the DL tonight and John Smoltz likely headed there in his place. The Braves get two of their stars back in the lineup tonight in 3B Chipper Jones and young SS Yunel Escobar. 

The Nationals are coming off of an impressive weekend series win against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Zimmerman is still not hitting, but the lineup keeps getting bailed out by impressive pitching and unlikely hitting from contributors like 2B Felipe Lopez (who is hitting .300 since reclaiming his starting spot) and C Wil Nieves, who will not start tonight. The Nationals get C Johnny Estrada back, which should boost offensive production.

Lineups:

Braves: Johnson (2B), Escobar (SS), Jones (3B), Teixiera (1B), McCann (C), Francoeur (RF), Kotsay (CF), Diaz (LF), Glavine (P)

Nationals: Lopez (2B), Guzman (SS), Zimmerman (3B), Johnson (1B), Milledge (CF), Kearns (RF), Estrada (C), Peña (LF), Redding (P)

Smoltz injured, Hudson off, Jones, Escobar and Glavine back

As per the AJC, Braves ace John Smoltz will have his shoulder examined after lasting just 4 Saturday against the Mets.

Not another pitcher! Sabernomics explains why something may be wrong with Tim Hudson.

At least Tom Glavine feels better, and is expected to start (along with Chipper and Yunel Escobar) in Washington on Tuesday night.