The Braves Blog

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Braves (1-1)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	1	5	11	0
Giants (1-1)	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	10	2

Boxscore

I like the Braves chances after picking up this game. As the team with the best home record in the NL this year, we definitely have the advantage going back home with the ability to clinch the series while there. Winning this game the way we did will hopefully add some extra drive.

Glaus’ great defensive play in the 10th inning just shows how much it hurts not having an experienced 3B manning the hot corner right now. Our offense is just struggling too much to put in another guaranteed out, not to mention the fact that he’s range at 3B would be limited.

Before the series began, I had predicted Heyward would hit a splash down. If I had to pick someone else, I probably would have said McCann or Hinske. The name I probably wouldn’t have come up with is Rick Ankiel. He did hit one though, and it won the game last night. When asked about it after the game, he said “This is the pinnacle of everything I’ve ever done, to win a playoff game with a home run.” I really like the way Mark Bowman summed it up when he said “10 years after he couldn’t throw a strike against the Braves, he delivers the strike that they desperately needed.”

Clubhouse Comments

The rosters for this years All Star game were announced earlier today. Jason Heyward was the only Brave voted in by the fans, but a few more were selected as reserves.

Brian McCann will be making his 5th appearance in his 5 seasons as the lone back-up catcher, and Tim Hudson will be making his 3rd trip as the only pitcher from the Braves. Martin Prado and Omar Infante were both selected for the first time in their careers, and it has been announced the Prado will start in place of the injured Chase Utley.

One player some thought had a shot but not selected was Troy Glaus. Albert Pujols will be starting at 1st base, while Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez were selected as his back-ups. Below is a comparison of the all stars and Troy Glaus:

Player	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
Albert Pujols	.305	20	60	.413	.567
Ryan Howard	.293	15	59	.349	.502
Adrian Gonzalez	.294	16	51	.389	.522
Troy Glaus	.260	14	56	.364	.458

In my opinion, the right guys were picked. I think there were two things that went against Glaus. First of all, his stats are low because of a slow start. Second, every team has to have at least 1 player, and Gonzalez is that guy for San Diego. I’m curious what everyone else thinks though.

I’ve re-tweeted the AJC article, so make sure you check that out. Per Dave O’Brien: “When Frank Wren called Omar Infante at 8:30 a.m. this morning to tell him he was an All-Star, Infante at first thought he’d been traded.”

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nationals (34-44)	0	0	0	0	3	1	2	1	0	7	11	0
Braves (45-33)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	5	1

Boxscore

A few newsworthy items worth noting. Martin Prado’s chances of starting in the all-star game increased dramatically when Chase Utley was placed on the disabled list today. At the same time, Jason Heyward announced that he would not play in the game even if selected as a starter due to his injury. And finally, Matt Diaz was activated from the disabled list today, to be followed by Jair Jurrjens’s activation tomorrow.

Links to stories on all of the above items, and more, can be found on the twitter feed.

Clubhouse Comments

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nationals (33-44)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Braves (45-32)	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	X	5	8	2

Boxscore

Lots of news in relation to Heyward, Jurrjens, Kawakami, and Medlen. Check the twitter feed for links to the various stories.

Clubhouse Comments

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tigers (39-34)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	3	0
Braves (44-31)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	X	4	6	0

Boxscore

It was a bit scary at the end, but Kenshin Kawakami finally got his first win, and Chipper hit his 200th home run at Turner Field. The home run, his career 431st, tied him with Cal Ripken Jr. for 38th  on the all-time list.

In other news, Jason Heyward finally admitted that his thumb has been bothering him. Personally, I’m glad. I think its obvious that its been an issue, and trying to play through it has not been working. Even if it means a stint on the DL, I’d rather lose him for a little while and get him back playing like he did in May, than go the entire season with him playing like he’s been playing this month. You can read more on the situation here: Jason Heyward admits he’s hurt

Clubhouse Comments

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves (34-26)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0
D-backs (24-36)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	X	2	6	0

Boxscore

Disappointing ending. Kawakami pitched a really good game, and the Braves finally scored a run, only to lose the lead (and the game) when McLouth and Heyward collided in the outfield allowing Gerardo Parra to score on an inside the park home run. The home run also ended Moylan’s streak of consecutive appearances without giving up a home run at 123.

The good news is that McLouth appears to be okay. He was probably going to sit out today anyway since we’re facing a left hander. Maybe it will have knocked the slump out of him too?

Check out David O’Brien’s Clubhouse Comments for more insight on the above topics and more.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves (34-25)	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	7	14	0
D-backs (23-36)	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	5	7	0

Boxscore

Good game last night. It was nice to see Chipper back in the lineup. Medlen hurt himself sliding into home, but thankfully it doesn’t look like anything serious.

In other news, the latest results in the all star voting are out, and Heyward, McCann, and Prado are all in 2nd place at their respective positions.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves (32-22)	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	8	2
Dodgers (31-23)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	7	1

Boxscore

This one got a little interesting near the end, but the Braves held on for the win. Medlen pitched a great game but got into trouble in the 8th. Moylan came in with the bases loaded and gave up 3 runs before being replaced by O’Flaherty who struck out Andre Ethier to end the inning and stranding the tying and go-ahead runs.

Billy Wagner was given the night off and Saito was called on to pitch the 9th. After getting the first two batters out and getting a quick 0-2 count on , Saito was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury. Venters replaced him and struck our Martin with his first pitch, ending the game.

As for Saito, David O’Brien at the AJC had this to say:

It was a potentially costly win for the Braves, who watched reliever Takashi Saito hobble off the field in the ninth inning with a left-hamstring injury. The 40-year-old setup man hopes to avoid the disabled list, but if he’s not doing better in a few days the Braves would probably DL  him. [source]

On a better note, congratulations to Troy Glaus on being named the NL Player of the Month for May, and to Jason Heyward for winning NL Rookie of the Month for the second time (the first time since Ryan Braun in 2007 that the same player has won it in back to back months).

Lastly, one of the game’s greats, Ken Griffey Jr., announced his retirement on Wednesday. In his recent column, Griffey always played the right way, Mike Bauman sums up my thoughts better that I could do myself.

Not to diminish the contributions from guys like Prado and Glaus over the last month, but I wanted to highlight where Heyward falls in some of the offensive categories. The reason I am singling him out, obviously, is because he is a rookie. To be at the position he is at on most of these lists is a pretty big accomplishment for any player, but to be there as a rookie is just amazing in my opinion.

Category	Position	Heyward	Leader
Runs	T-27	29	42
Triples*	T-9	3	5
Home Runs*	T-8	10	13
RBI*	6	38	41
Walks	T-10	29	39
AVG	28	.292	.327
OBP*	3	.410	.438
SLG*	5	.578	.603
OPS*	3	.988	1.004

* indicates categories in which Heyward is the team leader

Keep in mind that if 10 people are tied for 1st in a certain category, that everyone that is one spot behind them is tied for 11th, not tied for 2nd.

One stat not on the list above is strike outs. Heyward is 40 out of 95 qualified players with 36. However, only 10 of those took place in May. I can’t find where that ranks among qualified players, but its pretty low on the list, I can tell you that much.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Phillies (28-22)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	6	2
Braves (29-22)	3	0	3	0	0	0	3	0	X	9	11	0

Boxscore

Granted, we still have a long season ahead of us, but I think things look good. My prediction is that if we are still in 1st place by the end of the long road trip we have coming up, we’ll stay there the rest of the season.

The Braves went 20-8 in the month of May, taking them from last place in the division to first in the span of just a few weeks. All of this was done with Chipper, McCann, and Escobar playing way below what’s expected of them for most of the month. Add to that the fact that McCann and Chipper have both started to show marked improvements, and even Escobar has shown signs he is coming out of his slump. We also can’t overlook Cabrera’s recent performance which has been much better than how he started the season.

Then there are the guys that have been performing on a high level the entire time. Heyward, Glaus, and Prado are the everyday players that top the list. Then there are guys like Hinske that seem to perform as a starter, pinch hitter, or late inning replacement. Even Ross is providing solid offense from a position that you don’t usually expect such things from (backup catcher).

Things are looking good Braves fans!