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

Beastly Braves

Mark Teixiera had quite the game for himself today in Atlanta’s 8-1 win over Milwaukee, going 2-3 with 4 RBIs (including a 3-run HR) and 2 walks. And in his third start of the year, Jorge Campillo shut down the Brewers offense, going 5 innings surrendering just one run on 4 hits, striking out 6 and walking none on 73 pitches. He is 2-0 with a 0.99 ERA.

This was an important win for the Braves, preventing a Milwaukee sweep and improving the Braves’ abysmal road record to 7-18 (compared to 22-7 at home).

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.

 

Postgame: Braves 6-Mets 1 [BEAST-OFF]

It was clear that Tom Glavine would have to face his former team at some point this season. Glavine’s first start against the Mets ended in his second win of the year and an outing far better than the last time Tom Glavine pitched in a game that included the New York Mets.

Glavine was very effective, surrendering just one earned run in six innings of work on a home run to Luis Castillo, of all people, in the first inning. He walked one and struck out four on just 82 pitches. The Mets countered with John Maine, who did not pitch well. Maine was unable to keep his fastball down in the zone and paid dearly, surrendering four earned runs in just four innings of work on eight hits, walking three and striking out two on 99 pitches–hardly the dominant stuff he showed in his last few starts. Maine drops to 5-3 on the year.

Aaron Heilman continued his fascination with giving up the long ball, giving up his fifth of the year in just 22.2 innings of work, this one a three-run shot to Brian McCann in the 7th. Also driving in runs for the Braves were Mark Teixiera, Yunel Escobar, and Kelly Johnson.

David Wright and Jose Reyes combined to go 2-8 on the day. Once again, when Jose doesn’t get on base, the Mets don’t score runs. The Jekyll and Hyde season continues.

-Jonathan Kraft

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

 

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.

Will the Mets sign Teixiera?

According to SI’s Jon Heyman, the Mets are the second-most likely destination for Mark Teixiera (who becomes a free agent after this season), after the Yankees.

I’ve long been a proponent of the Mets signing Mark. But competing with the Yankees…how could the Mets ever beat out the Bombers for a star player?

-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