Atlanta Braves Clippings Sunday, May 3, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Sunday, May 3, 2015 Braves.com Braves can't overcome Reds' power By Jon Cooper and Aimee Sachs / Special to MLB.com | May 2, 2015 ATLANTA -- The Reds hit three home runs and Jay Bruce added a pair of triples in an 8-4 win over the Braves on Saturday night at Turner Field. Bruce's first triple off Braves starter Eric Stults helped set up the first two runs in the fourth, and he drove in two more with his second triple. Marlon Byrd and Todd Frazier hit solo homers off Stults in the sixth and seventh, respectively, and Zack Cozart added a two-run shot in the ninth. "There were a lot of good things," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "The eight runs and the continuing, we got up 4-0 and then they get the two-run homer from [Cameron] Maybin and we were able to get to 6-2, then 6-3 and was able to squelch that rally in the seventh." Maybin hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning for Atlanta, his fourth of the season, and he added an RBI single in the ninth. "When we score and we let the other team come back and score, it's hard to keep doing that," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "And [the Reds] added on late." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Bruce's Triple Crown: On Kentucky Derby Day, Bruce went triple crazy. The Reds' right fielder, who didn't have a triple all season, belted two in consecutive innings. Both were integral to Cincinnati jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Red-y to launch: Cincinnati used the long ball to put the game away, with homers by Byrd and Frazier answering Maybin's dinger, and Cozart's shot sealing it in the ninth. Frazier has struggled at the plate of late, but his last four hits have left the yard. Stults falters with two outs: After escaping a jam in the second inning, Stults couldn't contain the Reds in two-out rallies in the fourth and fifth innings. Stults, who had allowed three home runs before Saturday, later gave up two more. Simmons hit by ball in play: Andrelton Simmons ripped an RBI double just fair down the right-field line to cut the Reds' lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh. But he was quickly eliminated when he was hit by Jace Peterson's grounder and called out for runner interference. The Braves' inning fizzled after the play. JASON TAKES ATLANTA Jason Marquis, who broke into the Majors with the Braves back in 2001, held them at bay on to get the win, even surviving a comebacker off his pitching elbow. The win was Marquis' fifth against the Braves, all with different teams (Chicago in 2008, Colorado in '09, Washington in '11 and San Diego in '13). It's nothing personal against the Braves. "I've been on nine teams now. So I think you lose that after three or four of them," he said with a laugh. THE PEN IS MIGHTIER! Cincinnati's bullpen has had its share of struggles in 2015, but over the last two nights, the 'pen has been all but untouchable. The relievers have allowed only one run -- Kevin Gregg's run in the ninth Saturday, with the Reds up five entering the inning -- on three singles in 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking two. All this has been done without calling on closer Aroldis Chapman. QUOTABLE "I played with Jason. He's one of the toughest guys around. He's a no excuse-making type of guy. Something has to be broken for him to come out of a game, so I wasn't surprised. That's just the kind of guy he is. He's a bulldog out there." -- Maybin on Marquis SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS With Brandon Phillips' successful steal of second base in the third inning, the Reds have now been successful on 29 of 30 stolen-base attempts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cincinnati is the first team since stolen base information began being recorded to go 29 for its first 30. WHAT'S NEXT Reds: Cincinnati sends ace Johnny Cueto (2-2, 1.95 ERA) to the hill in Sunday's 1:35 p.m. ET series finale. Cueto, who has pitched at least seven innings in all five starts, has won back-to-back outings, pitching to a 1.69 ERA over his last two outings (three earned runs in 16 innings). He is 0-2 with a 2.77 ERA all-time at Turner Field. Braves: Julio Teheran (2-1, 4.67 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season Sunday, and he hopes to bounce back from his rough outing against the Nationals on Thursday. Teheran got a no, decision but surrendered seven runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in Atlanta's 13-12 loss to Washington. Simmons can't dodge grounder, called out By Aimee Sachs / Special to MLB.com | 12:30 AM ET ATLANTA -- Nothing seems to be bouncing the right way for the Braves these days. Just ask Andrelton Simmons. With the Braves down four to the Reds on Saturday night, Simmons snuck an RBI double just fair down the right-field line, pulling Atlanta within three and putting a runner on second with no outs. But Simmons was promptly eliminated when he was struck by Jace Peterson's ground ball, making the first out of the inning on runner's interference. The rally fizzled after that, and the Braves fell, 8-4. "That situation right there, I was trying to get to third," Simmons said. "Jace hit the ball well, and I took my first step. And as I read the ball, I knew I [couldn't] go to third on that one. But by the time I was trying to get back to the bag, the ball already got to me. I tried to stall because the shortstop was right behind me. And I didn't want to make the first out at third, but I wasn't fast enough to get out of the way." That play was one of several tough breaks for the Braves during a difficult stretch in which they have lost nine of their last 12 games. After Jay Bruce's two-out triple in the fourth inning, Simmons had no chance to make a play on a well-placed ground ball hit by Brandon Phillips, which drove in Bruce. "It's frustrating, but you gotta do the stuff you can control better," Simmons said. "We have to have better at-bats. I mean, you can't prevent the bloop singles or the balls right in the middle of two players, and you've gotta just be able to score runs when you're hitting. You gotta produce, and we haven't been doing a great job lately. We haven't been up to par." Triples at heart of Stults' two-out trouble Looking to escape frames, lefty allows three-bagger to Reds' Bruce twice in two innings By Aimee Sachs / Special to MLB.com | May 2, 2015 ATLANTA -- Braves lefty Eric Stults found himself pitching to the Reds' Jay Bruce with two outs in both the fourth and fifth innings Saturday night, and both times Bruce -- who is not known for his speed -- tripled. With two outs in the fourth, Bruce hit a drive off the left-field wall just over the reach of a leaping Kelly Johnson. "He hit it well," Stults said after Atlanta's 8-4 loss. "I think obviously Kelly got back as fast as he could, and I think he felt the wall was there, so you can't blame him for his effort. That was probably one of the mistakes I made." Stults made the pitch he wanted to the next batter, Brandon Phillips, who hit an infield single in the hole to drive in the game's first run. Brayan Pena followed with an RBI bloop single to center. "When you execute a pitch and you don't get the result that you think you should get, then obviously it's frustrating," Stults said. "So I definitely think it was frustrating to not get the results, but like I said, you gotta give them credit, and that's just the way it goes some days." Bruce got the best of Stults again in the fifth inning, this time with a two-run triple to right field to extend Cincinnati's lead to 4-0. Stults later gave up solo home runs to Marlon Byrd and Todd Frazier. The 35-year-old went seven innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and a walk. "He gave us some length," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "They hit some balls not real hard [early], and then they did hit some balls hard. They had two triples and three home runs. But he gave us seven innings, kept us hanging around, and we didn't get anything going off [Jason] Marquis, really." One month later, Ciriaco gets callup Versatile infielder impressed in spring, but Maybin trade kept him off Opening Day roster By Aimee Sachs / MLB.com | May 2, 2015 ATLANTA -- Pedro Ciriaco impressed as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training, so much so he joined the Braves on their flight to Miami before Opening Day. But a late trade with the Padres that brought Cameron Maybin to Atlanta sent the utility man down to Triple-A Gwinnett.