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)

Around the beast

Marlins rally not enough against Reds

Despite three early homers by Jeremy Hermida, Hanley Ramirez, and Dan Uggla, the Marlins were not able to hold a lead against the Reds.  The Reds scored a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 4-3 lead, but Uggla tied it up with a sac-fly in the 7th.  In the top bottom of the 7th Taylor Tankersley gave up two 2-run home runs to Jeff Keppinger and Brandon Phillips.

In the top of the 8th the Marlins gave their best effort to tie the game, rallying with two outs.  Luis Gonzalez scored two on a single to center and Mike Rabelo knocked in another after an error by Ken Griffey Jr. But that would be all for the Marlins, who left two on base to end the inning.  Francisco Cordero notched his sixth save of the season, securing the Aaron Harang‘s first win since April 10th.  Tankersley picked up the loss, breaking a 7 game winning streak for the first place Marlins.

Final score: Reds 8-Marlins 7

Braves split double header against Pirates in two lopsided affairs

In game 1, the Pirates shutout the Braves, needing only a Freddy Sanchez bases clearing double in the 3rd to get the job done.  Despite 5 walks and 3 fielding errors, Zach Duke let up no runs and only 5 hits in six innings of work to get his second win of the year.  Jair Jurrjens only lasted five innings and recorded his third loss of the year.  Adam LaRoche knocked a ball out of the park in the 8th inning against Jeff Bennet, icing the win.  It was the sixth in a row for the the streakingPirates.

Final Score: Pirates 5-Braves 0

The Pirates would not have as much luck in game 2.  Tim Hudson pitched a gem, going 7 innings, allowing no earned runs, only 2 hits, two walks and striking out 5.  The only runs the Pirates managed all day was on an error in the first inning Braves first baseman Greg Norton. The Braves shook off their offensive struggles from game 1 and crossed the plate 8 times in the win.  Steady hitting throughout the lineup helped the Braves break a three game losing streak; a streak that came right after winning 6 in a row at home.

Final Score: Braves 8-Pirates 1

-Greg Berlin

How ’bout those standings

It’s May 12, and the Florida Marlins are in first place.

That’s right, for the second week in a row, the team that just unloaded its sensational third baseman and its pitching ace is atop a division that includes the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

A fluke? Not at all.

This is just one of the surprising storylines that has made this start to the 2008 season one of the more interesting that I can remember. Here are the storylines, one per team, that are making baseball fans scratch their heads right now:

Division Roundup [South of the Mason-Dixon Line Edition]

Almost everyone in the division won tonight (thanks for spoiling the party, Washington).

Braves 5-Padres 2

Tim Hudson had another good start, going 7 full innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. He was helped by an all-around offensive effort, including the go-ahead RBI single by newly acquired Greg Norton. Also driving in runs for the Braves were Mark Kotsay, Kelly Johnson, and Yunel Escobar. Manny Acosta shut the door for Atlanta, saving his third of the year.

Marlins 6-Brewers 2

The Marlins keep surprising, well, everyone with their starting pitching. Rookie Burke Badenhop had a strong outing, going 5.2 and surrendering just 2 runs on 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 7. His team backed the effort well, with Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla each going yard. Mike Jacobs‘ two-run double in the third started the Marlins rally, but Jacobs soon had to leave the game with tightness in his quad. Milwaukee sluggers Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder combined to go 1-8 on the night.

Astros 4-Nationals 3

The Nationals dropped their second straight in Houston, despite a coming-out party by Ryan Zimmerman. The Z-Man homered twice, in the first and in the sixth, driving in 3 RBIs on the night. Odalis Perez didn’t pitch badly (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) but he was simply outmatched by Houston ace Roy Oswalt (7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO). Outside of the Nationals first three batters, the team combined for one hit on the night (Wily Mo Peña). Paul Lo Duca left the game after re-injuring his right hand (see previous post). Joel Hanrahan took the loss for Washington.

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

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

The Rest of the East [Postgame Wrapup]

Pirates 11-Nationals 4: The lights went out on the Nats tonight–both literally and figuratively. This one started ugly for John Lannan, and ended ugly for the Nationals overworked bullpen. Lannan lasted only 3 innings, giving up 6 runs, 5 earned, on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out none. For the record, NL Beast called the meltdown. Manny Acta decided to employ the starter by committee approach, as Mike O’Connor pitched 3.2 in relief for Lannan. For the Pirates, Jose Bautista homered twice on the night.

Braves 2-Reds 0: Nice pitchers dual in Atlanta tonight, as Tim Hudson squared off against young Edison Volquez. Any question of Tim Hudson’s health was resolved tonight as the sinkerballer pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and walking no one. Wow. Brian McCann‘s 2 run blast was all the offense the Braves needed to defeat the Reds.

Marlins 6-Padres 4: Dan Uggla homered twice, notching 4 RBIs on the night as the Marlins defeated San Diego. Mark Hendrickson got the win, going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. Justin Germano got knocked around by the Fish, letting up 6 runs, 5 earned, including 3 home runs, in 5.2 innings of work.

The Rest of the East [Pregame Roundup]

San Francisco at Philadelphia: The Phillies are in first place and the Giants are not, which should say something about this series. Aaron Rowand returns to Citizen’s Bank Park for the first time since the Giants signed him to a [ridiculous] deal. Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 5.13) tries to find his groove for the Phils against Pat Misch (0-0, 3.00) who makes his first start after being recalled from AAA.

San Diego at Florida: The Marlins will take the field tonight without Josh Willingham, who was placed on the DL today with soreness in his back. Hanley Ramirez moves to third in the order to compensate for the lack of power. The ageless Luis Gonzalez get the start in left. Justin Germano (0-2, 6.04) goes against Mark Hendrickson (4-1, 3.68).

Cincinnati at Atlanta: Young Edison Volquez (4-0, 1.23) is just one of the few bright spots for the Reds this season, and he takes the mound tonight against Tim Hudson (3-2, 3.74), who many suspect might have a nagging injury that has affected his performance this year. We’ll see if he can last more than three innings tonight.

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.