Atlanta Braves Clippings Thursday, August 27, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Thursday, August 27, 2015 Braves.com Back-to-back HRs can't end Miller's woes By Mark Bowman and Jon Cooper / MLB.com | 1:51 AM ET ATLANTA -- Jose Reyes' two-run triple capped a four-run seventh inning that extended Shelby Miller's winless streak to 18 starts and propelled the Rockies to a 6-3 win over the Braves on Wednesday night at Turner Field. Miller had retired 14 consecutive batters and held a 3-0 lead before he surrendered five hits, including three extra-base hits, during Colorado's decisive seventh. Ben Paulsen and Brandon Barnes recorded doubles ahead of Reyes' triple off Miller, whose winless streak now stands as the longest ever by an Atlanta pitcher in one season. "We missed a couple of opportunities early on, and when that happens, you're always wondering if you're ever going to get another one for the rest of the game, especially against a guy like Miller," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "You're hoping another opportunity shows up at that point, and when it did, we took advantage of it." Rockies starter Yohan Flande exited after allowing the Braves to begin the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back homers from Jonny Gomes and Adonis Garcia, and Jace Peterson's ground-rule double. But Atlanta was unable to do any further damage as Colorado's bullpen escaped bases-loaded threats to end both the sixth and seventh innings, with closer John Axford stranding two baserunners in the ninth for his 18th save. "[Miller] was lights out the whole ballgame," Peterson said. "We go up right there and we get three runs. We could have gotten more, but we didn't. That's baseball and it happened. But hopefully, we can get him a win his next time out." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Barnes a noble: Barnes came into the night batting .111 with four hits in August. He nearly matched that total, going 3-for-4, with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that gave the Rockies some breathing room. Barnes finished a triple short of the cycle in recording his second multi-hit game of the month, and fourth three-hit game of the season, his first since July 18. Out of nowhere: Miller needed 37 pitches to complete the first two innings and he escaped a bases-loaded threat in the second inning with Charlie Blackmon's double-play groundout. He then found a groove, retiring 14 straight batters through the sixth. But he encountered some tough luck in the seventh, as Barnes' double bounced in front of diving left fielder Michael Bourn and Blackmon's two-out RBI single bounced high off the plate, creating no chance for an out. This marked just the fifth time Miller has received at least three runs of support during his winless streak. "I just got in a rough area and the momentum kept going for [the Rockies]," Miller said, after allowing more than three earned runs for just the fifth time during the streak. Reyes of hope: Reyes had driven in more runs at Turner Field than any other visiting park, yet, was 1-for-11 in the series before he delivered his decisive seventh-inning triple. The Rockies shortstop now has 27 RBIs in the 76 games he's played in Atlanta. Great penmanship: The Rockies' bullpen didn't allow a run in the entire three-game series, covering nine innings. On Wednesday, they turned the momentum, by escaping the bases-loaded jams in the sixth and seventh innings. Colorado's relievers entered Wednesday with a National League- high 4.96 ERA. QUOTABLE "That's what happens with this lineup. We have a pretty good lineup, and when one guy gets going, it picks up the next guy and the next guy gets going. We feed off each other." -- Barnes, on the four-run rally in the seventh inning "I haven't seen anything like this before, but by no means is this guy having a bad year." -- Gomes on Miller, who is 5-11 with a 2.62 ERA through 26 starts SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS When Colorado second baseman DJ LeMahieu batted cleanup, it made him the first Rockies player ever to hit in all nine positions in a season and the first player to do so in the National League since Will Venable did it for San Diego in 2013. WHAT'S NEXT Rockies: Colorado has an off-day on Thursday then heads to Pittsburgh for a three-game weekend series with the Pirates to wrap up its six-game road trip. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. MT. Braves: Atlanta will welcome Brian McCann and the Yankees to Turner Field for a three-game series that begins on Friday at 7:35 p.m ET. This will mark the first time McCann has played in his hometown since he left the Braves as a free agent after the 2013 season. Williams Perez will face New York's Masahiro Tanaka in the series opener. Miller's winless rut reaches record level All-Star's streak of 18 starts without 'W' sets Atlanta mark By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 12:46 AM ET ATLANTA -- For the first time in more than three months, Shelby Miller seemed to have everything he needed to end the most frustrating span of his young career. But after being reintroduced to the comfort of a multi-run lead during Wednesday night's 6-3 loss to the Rockies, the Braves right- hander endured an ugly seventh inning that extended his winless streak to an Atlanta-record 18 consecutive starts. "We don't really talk about [the streak]," Braves second baseman Jace Peterson said. "Everybody knows it's going on. It's one of those things that is terrible. But I know he's going to keep battling and we're going to get him a win soon." Though Miller earned his first All-Star selection justifiably this season and has proven he has the stuff and makeup to serve as the Braves' ace for years to come, Miller now owns the distinction of having gone winless in more consecutive starts during a season than any other pitcher in Atlanta history. He had shared the dubious record with Carl Morton, who had 17 winless starts to begin the 1976 season. "I don't think I've seen anything like it," Braves left fielder Jonny Gomes said of the streak. "If we had a playoff game tomorrow, I'd want that guy on the hill. His stuff and composure, it's all there. He's obviously getting frustrated. That's understandable." Miller had every reason to be frustrated after he squandered the only three-run lead he has been given since this winless streak began on May 23. The 24-year-old right-hander entered the seventh inning with a shutout bid in place and the momentum of retiring 14 consecutive batters. But he exited the frame with just two outs and the Rockies holding a 4-3 lead. "You give up some good at-bats and then you go out there and make some pitches and it doesn't show for you," Miller said. "At the same time, that is part of the game and that's what happened." If it's hard to explain how Miller has gone winless in the 18-start stretch -- during which he has surrendered two earned runs or fewer 11 times -- it was harder to explain how quickly the momentum shifted Wednesday night, after Gomes and Adonis Garcia gave the Braves a 3-0 lead with the back-to-back homers to begin the bottom of the sixth. Ben Paulsen began the seventh with a double, and Brandon Barnes extended the frame when he delivered a double that landed in front of diving left fielder Michael Bourn. Jose Reyes capped the decisive frame with a go-ahead, two-run triple. But the most frustrating development for Miller came moments earlier, when Charlie Blackmon cut Colorado's deficit to 3-2 with a two-out single that bounced high off the plate. "In my mind, I'm thinking this is his game," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I'm not thinking about anybody else in that bullpen for a lot of different reasons. This guy hasn't won a game in a long time. I'm going to give him every single opportunity to do it." Braves eye Olivera for expanded roster Cuban infield prospect, 30, acquired in July from Dodgers By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | August 26th, 2015 ATLANTA -- The Braves are looking forward to introducing Hector Olivera to the Major Leagues. Before doing so, they want to give the 30-year-old Cuban third baseman a chance to immerse himself in professional baseball in the United States and make up for time lost while recovering from a strained left hamstring. Olivera -- who is not expected to be called up until Major League rosters expand Tuesday -- has produced meager offensive results since he began a Minor League rehab stint on Aug. 13. The struggles he has encountered in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, Class A South Atlantic League and Triple-A International League have allowed the Braves to face the reality that there is no reason to rush him. "We're not going to leave him down there forever and at some point if he's not quite ready, we're still going to bring him," Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said.