The Braves start another three game road series in Cincinnati versus the surging Reds. The Reds have been playing very good baseball as of late, lead by their very good starting pitching and prized rookie Jay Bruce. If the Braves are going to win 2 of 3 from the Reds this series they’re going to have to work for it. The Reds have some good homerun hitter’s and they have a great hitters ball park. It’s going to crucial for the Braves pitchers keep the ball down in the zone and not to hang too many pitches.
The Braves have put veteran center fielder Mark Kotsay on the 15-day DL because of back problems. Kotsay just couldn’t get is back straighten out and instead of being short handed, Cox choice to put him on the DL. Kotsay has been a great addition to the Braves in so many ways this by his play in the outfield, leadership in the clubhouse, and he is really hitting the ball well. To counter the move to put Kotsay on the DL, the Braves have called up speedy outfielder Josh Anderson from class-AAA Richmond. He is expecting to be in the starting lineup today versus Edinson Volquez and the Reds.
Future Hall of Famer John Smoltz pitched two great innings for low-A Rome on Thursday and impressed a great deal of people. Smoltz started and pitched two innings while giving up one fluke hit, and struck out three batters. He threw a total 27 pitches in his rehab assignment and threw 17 strikes. His new three quarters side arm delivery had Asheville hitters in awe. One of the reasons why Smoltz went to this new delivery was to get more groundball outs. So far so good, he induced three ground ball outs in two innings in his last rehab assignment. In his next assignment he will pitch the eighth and ninth innings for the Rome Braves on Saturday. He is expected to come off of the DL on Monday as the Braves return to Turner Field to take on the surging Florida Marlins.
Another injured reliever pitched last night for the Braves in a rehab assignment. Mike Gonzalez returned and pitched “ok” for the Mississippi. He is coming back from Tommy John Surgery and was a bit rusty in his return. He pitched one scoreless inning, gave up two hits and zero strikeouts. The announcers for the Mississippi Braves said that Gonzalez was fallen behind most of the batters he faced last night. Gonzo is taking a different approach to return to the Braves unlike Rafael Soriano and John Smoltz. Gonzalez is going to take 10-day rehab assignment to see how well he feels or not. He is scheduled to make another rehab assignment on Saturday.
Pitching Matchup
CIN: RHP Edinson Volquez (7-2, 1.31 ERA)
Volquez right now should be the leading the candidate for the Cy Young in the NL. He has a low to mid 90’s fastball and a great changeup. Rarely does Volquez give up more than one run in his starts. The Braves just have to stay patient and get the pitch they want and they can’t miss it. It’s also going to be crucial for the Braves to stop hitting into double plays. We rank third worst in the majors by grounding into 54 double plays (Toronto then Boston is next in that same order). The Braves have beaten Brett Myers, Randy Johnson, Johan Santana, and Brandon Webb over the past two weeks so anything is possible.>
ATL: LHP Tom Glavine (2-2, 4.76 ERA)
Glavine has to start throwing more strikes and to get ahead of batters. Glavine for the most part this season hasn’t pitched all that well for the Braves. Glavine has to command both the inside and outside part of the plate to keep the Reds hitters off balanced. Knowing that he is going to pitch in a small ball park he has to keep the ball down if he wants to been an affective pitcher for the Braves tonight.
Key Hitters
Mark Teixeira
Jay Bruce
