Atlanta Braves (13-14-2) Vs
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Atlanta Braves (13-14-2) vs. Houston Astros (10-10-4) March 31, 2015 u Champion Stadium u Lake Buena Vista, FL u WFOM (1230)/WALR (1340) LHP Wandy Rodriguez (2-0, 2.50) vs. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 1.50) u YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Braves got back in the win column yesterday afternoon at Lakeland, topping the Detroit Tigers 4-2 after a pair of eighth-inning runs snapped a 2-2 tie...RHP Mike Foltynewicz turned in his longest start of the spring, going 3.2 innings and holding Detroit to a pair of runs on five hits, fanning two...LHP Eric Stults turned in 5.0 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief, striking out three to earn the win...OF Todd Cunningham and 2B Jace Peterson each totaled three hits atop the Atlanta lineup, with Peterson scoring a pair of runs...C Christian Bethancourt slugged his first home run of the spring, a solo shot in the seventh inning...With the win, the Braves have now won six of their last eight games. u BRAVES VS. ASTROS: Tonight serves as the fifth of five meetings between the Braves and the Astros this spring and the first since 3/23 at Kissimmee, when Atlanta slugged its way to a 14-10 win...Atlanta and Houston have played to a pair of ties, including a 2-2, 10-inning tie in their first matchup on 3/8, when nine Braves pitchers combined to no-hit the Astros...Atlanta has earned wins in each of the only two games between the clubs this spring to not end in a draw...The Braves and Astros played a three-game series during the 2014 regular season at Houston, with Atlanta taking two of the three games. u PITCH PERFECT: LHP Wandy Rodriguez gets the ball for his sixth start of the spring and his first since surrendering four runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings on 3/26 at PIT, snapping his string of three straight scoreless starts...He played his first 14 professional seasons with the Astros organization and ranks first among all lefthanders in Astros history with 1,093 career strikeouts, while ranking second in wins (80), starts (218) and innings pitched (1,306.2)...He was named the Astros Pitcher of the Year in both 2009 and 2011 by the Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America...LHP Luis Avilan and RHP Craig Kimbrel are slated to appear in relief for the Braves...RHP Asher Wojciechowski gets the start for Houston, followed by RHP Samuel Deduno and RHP James Hoyt...TOMORROW’S STARTER: The Braves make their only trip of the spring to Clearwater tomorrow afternoon to face the Philadelphia Phillies, with RHP Julio Teheran scheduled to start for Atlanta...The Phillies will counter with LHP Cole Hamels. u JOHNSON AND JOHNSON: After a 2-for-2 day at the plate Sunday afternoon, INF Chris Johnson has now collected hits in eight of his last 15 at-bats with a double and a pair of home runs, boosting his spring average to .267 (12-for-45)...Both of Johnson’s spring home runs have come against right-handed pitchers after he connected on just seven homers in 468 at-bats against right-handed pitching last season...He appeared in a career-high 153 games with Atlanta last year, stroking 153 hits and 27 doubles, both of which were third-most on the Club...INF Kelly Johnson went 1-for-3 yesteday after poking a second-inning double and reaching base three times Saturday at TOR, giving him 11 hits (5 extra-base hits) and seven walks in hist last 28 at-bats...He scored a pair of runs Saturday and has 10 runs on the spring, third on the club and tied for 15th in the Grapefruit League...Since 2010, he ranks fifth among Major League second basemen with 86 home runs, and has two on the spring this year...FOREVER YOUNG: OF Eric Young Jr. has multi-hit efforts in four of his last six games after a two-hit day Saturday at TOR, and is hitting .317 (20-for-63) on the spring, ranking tied for second in the Grapefruit League with 20 base hits...He also paces the Braves with 12 runs and six steals...He’s combined to steal 76 bases over the last two seasons, tops in the NL and fourth-most in the majors in that span. u BACK IN THE DAY: A pair of Atlanta hurlers pitched on the back fields in a minor-league camp game yesterday, asRHP Cody Martin and RHP Juan Jaime both pitched for Triple-A Gwinnett in a matchup with Double-A Mississippi...Martin allowed a pair of earned runs on three hits and two walks over 4.2 innings of work, while Jaime tossed 1.0 scoreless frame with one strikeout...Martin has yet to allow a run in four Grapefruit League appearances (9.0 IP), while Jaime has yielded five earned runs over 5.2 innings spanning seven appearances. u NIGHT MOVES: Atlanta undertakes its fifth night game of the spring tonight vs. HOU and its third at Champion Stadium...The Braves have dropped three of their four night games on the spring slate, but topped Houston 6-5 on 3/14 for their only night victory of the Grapefruit League season....A pair of night games remain on Atlanta’s spring schedule, back-to-back matchups with the Baltimore Orioles on 4/2 at Lake Buena Vista and 4/3 at Sarasota...Since 2011, Atlanta’s 257 regular-season wins in night games are the most in the Major Leagues. u ROSTER MOVES: The Braves trimmed their spring roster by two players yesterday morning, optioning RHP Arodys Vizcaino to Triple-A Gwinnett and reas- signing RHP Michael Kohn to minor league camp...WHO ALL’S HERE? Atlanta has filed its roster down by seven players over the last six days, and the Braves now have 36 players in camp, including seven non-roster invitees...18 of the 36 players are pitchers (6 LHP, 12 RHP), three are catchers, eight are infielders and seven man the outfield...A LITTLE HELP? Six players from minor league camp will be with the Club for tonight’s game vs. HOU, including RHP John Cornely (#78), LHP Brady Feigl (#84), RHP Justin Jackson (#75), RHP Aaron Kurcz (#76), C Joe Odom (#88) and OF Joe Benson (#98). u THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Three of the Braves top 10 prospects as rated by Baseball America remain in camp with the club, including No. 2 overall prospect and yesterday’s starter RHP Mike Foltynewicz...Foltynewicz, tabbed by the publication as possessing the “Best Fastball” among Atlanta farmhands, has pitched to a 6.35 ERA (8 ER/11.1 IP) and fanned 12 batters through five spring starts...C Christian Bethancourt, Atlanta’s fifth-best prospect and the farm system’s “Best Defensive Catcher,” is batting .306 (11-for-36) with four runs and seven RBI through 13 Grapefruit League games, with a team-lead-tying seven extra-base hits (6 2B, 1 HR) on the spring...INF Jace Peterson (No. 9, “Best Strike-Zone Discipline,” “Best Athlete”) ranks among Grapefruit-League leaders in hits (T4th, 19), walks (T4th, 9), OBP (7th, .444) and average (9th, .352)...Twelve of Atlanta’s top 18 prospects opened camp with the Braves this spring, including six of the top 10...INF Jose Peraza (No.1) was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on 3/16, while RHP Jason Hursh (No. 6) and INF Rio Ruiz (No. 10) were reassigned to minor league camp on 3/14. u START IT OFF: Manager Fredi Gonzalez tabbed RHP Julio Teheran as his Opening Day starter for the second consecutive season this spring, after Teheran sur- rendered a pair of runs over 6.0 innings in the 2014 season opener at MIL on 3/31/14 and went 14-13 with a 2.89 ERA over 33 starts on the season...In four Grapefruit League starts this spring, Teheran has gone 2-1 with a 5.79 ERA (9 ER/14.0 IP) and fanned 11...The Braves have five games remaining on their spring schedule before breaking camp and will begin the 2015 season on Monday, 4/6 at MIA (4:10, SPSO). SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE/RESULTS Time/ Probable Pitchers/ Date/Opp. Result Winner-Loser-Save Record Attendance Braves HRs Highlights Wed., 3/4 vs. NYM+ L, 8-2 Velasquez-Capps-None 0-1 5,804 None Wang (2.0 IP, 3 K), Peterson (2B, 2 BB, R), Young Jr. (2 BB, R, SB) Thur., 3/5 at DET+ W, 6-4 Hursh-Wilson-Marimon 1-1 7,935 None Stults (2.0 IP, 2H), Buck (2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Perez (R, BB, 2 SB) Fri., 3/6 vs. WSH+ L, 9-8 Hill-Vizcaino-Delcarmen 1-2 5,936 Ciriaco (1), Freeman (1) Jenkins (2.0 IP, 2H, K), Ciriaco (HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R), Freeman (HR, 2B, 3 RBI) Sat., 3/7 vs. DET (SS)+ L, 12-6 Verlander-Miller-None 1-3 6,870 None Cunningham (2-for-3, 2 BB, RBI), Avilan (1.2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K) at NYM (SS) L, 3-1 deGrom-Banuelos-Goeddel 1-4 5,148 None K. Johnson (1-for-3, 1 3B), Bethancourt (1-for-3) Sun., 3/8 at HOU+ T, 2-2 (10) None 1-4-1 3,264 None Nine pitchers throw combined no-hitter (10.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 BB, 9 K) Mon., 3/9 at WSH+ W, 2-1 Rodriguez-Roark-Brigham 2-4-1 5,611 Young Jr.