Well the second game of the series was not exactly one of those feel good wins so to speak. After the Braves lost the first 3 games of the series it’s kind of hard to get excited when they win 1 out of 4. Teams like the Pirates are the teams the Braves supposed to beat up on, not lose the series against. This is a trend that has carried over from last season. The Braves always stepped it up for competitive teams and they always seemed to slack off against the less competitive teams. And the same holds true this year. The Braves have gone 2-5 against the Pirates this year and 2-3 against the Washington Nationals. The Braves are 3-2 against the Mets and 3-0 against the Dodgers. The Braves have got to beat up on the teams that they are supposed to or else there will be no playoff baseball in Atlanta for the 3rd straight year.
Well the offense busted out in this game putting up 8 runs on the board. I know that you are all thinking “Where in the world has that been this whole series”? To be honest with you I wish I knew. Mark Kotsay (Andruw who?), Yunel Escobar, Chipper Jones, and Brian McCann all had rbi’s. McCann provided the Braves with a comfortable lead when he blasted his 7th home run of year (a three run shot). That put the Braves ahead of the Pirates 7-1. The Braves would only score one more run the rest of the game.
On to the pitching Tim Hudson was brilliant going 7 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 run (earned), 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. Hudson did what an ace is supposed to: Stop a losing streak! Huddy looks like he has gotten over his little funk because he has been pretty good his last couple of outings. Boyer pitched a perfect 8th giving up 1hit, no runs or walks, and striking out 2. Ohman pitched an eventful 9th giving up 2 hits but none of them would score. Braves finally win 8-1. That win makes the Braves an incredible 5-15 on the road. Boy that’s a horrible home and road split!! Good to get a win before heading to Philly to face the always tough Philadelphia Phillies. And by the way Mark Teixeira hurt his back in today’s game. I’m not sure how long he’s going to be out though. I’ll update as soon as I know.
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