Atlanta Braves Clippings Thursday, June 4, 2015 Braves.Com
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Atlanta Braves Clippings Thursday, June 4, 2015 Braves.com Braves let 6-run lead slip away, fall to D-backs By Steve Gilbert and Jake Rill / MLB.com | June 3rd, 2015 PHOENIX -- The D-backs overcame a six-run deficit, using a three-run rally in the seventh inning to get past the Braves, 9-8, on Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field. Chris Owings tied the game at 7 with an RBI single, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia pushed the D-backs ahead with a sacrifice fly to center off Braves reliever Jim Johnson, who took the loss. Yasmany Tomas collected three hits, and A.J. Pollock went 2-for-4 with a home run for the D-backs, who trailed, 6-0, in the second and matched the largest deficit they have come back to win from in club history. "Proud of the offense for not giving up or not trying to do too much," Pollock said. "We were really just out there trying to scratch and claw." Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs. Starter Mike Foltynewicz gave up five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, as the Braves finished a 4-6 road trip by dropping two of three to the D-backs. "We had a chance to go 6-4 or maybe even better than that if ... those innings that they scored, those middle innings, if we get some shutdowns there," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. D-backs starter Rubby De La Rosa gave up a season-high seven runs on nine hits in five innings. Reliever Andrew Chafin earned the win for the second consecutive day, pitching a scoreless seventh inning. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Early offense: For the second consecutive game, Nick Markakis hit an RBI double in the top of the first to put the Braves up, 1-0. They struck for five more runs against De La Rosa in the second. Cameron Maybin laced a two-out single down the right-field line with the bases loaded to score two, and Freeman followed with a three-run blast to right to stretch the lead to 6-0. Comeback kids: The D-backs' rally from six runs down matched the largest deficit they've come back from to win in franchise history. The D-backs accomplished the feat by chipping away, scoring a run in the second, two in the third, one in the fifth, one in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth. "It's hard, but you've got to keep the same mindset you came into the game with, which is we're trying to get guys on base and not try to do too much," Pollock said. "You can kind of get into a little bit of a trap when you get down that big that early, and I thought we did a really good job. We were satisfied with getting one run in an inning and getting back after it the next inning, and it really paid off late in the game." Twice as nice: Freeman went deep for the second time with two outs in the fourth, his first multihomer game of the season and sixth of his career. The Braves' first baseman has a 13-game hitting streak against the D-backs, batting .393 with five homers and 19 RBIs during that stretch. "It's a nice dark background for the batter's eye and the ball carries here," Freeman said of hitting at Chase Field. "So it's always a nice place to go." A.J. a hot hitter: Pollock homered in the fifth inning to cut the Braves' lead to 7-4. It was the second homer in as many days for Pollock, marking the first time in his career he has homered in consecutive games. It was also Pollock who started the winning rally in the seventh with a double. UNDER REVIEW Gonzalez used a challenge on the second play of the game when Maybin was called out on a close play at first after hitting a grounder to short. The call was overturned, and shortly after Maybin scored from first on Markakis' double. Gonzalez used another challenge in the seventh, when Owings was called safe stealing second with two outs on Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt. The call was confirmed and Owings remained a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen-base attempts this season. WHAT'S NEXT Braves: After Thursday's off-day, the Braves open a seven-game homestand with a three-game series against the Pirates on Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET. Williams Perez (1-0, 2.66 ERA) takes the mound looking for his third straight quality start. It's the right-hander's fourth start after beginning his season in the bullpen. D-backs: The D-backs open a four-game series against the Mets on Thursday at 6:40 p.m. MST with Jeremy Hellickson on the mound. Hellickson has won his last two starts, allowing five earned runs over 12 2/3 innings. Bullpen endures rough road trip Atlanta's relievers allow 22 runs in 22 innings By Jake Rill / MLB.com | June 3rd, 2015 PHOENIX -- From Los Angeles to San Francisco to Phoenix, the Braves' bullpen had its struggles along the way. During the 10-game road trip, the Braves' relievers had a 9.00 ERA, allowing 22 earned runs in 22 innings. That culminated in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the D-backs when the bullpen allowed four runs, all coming after the sixth inning, in a game Atlanta once led, 6-0. "We need to fix that," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We need to figure out a way, I need to figure out a way, a combination to get the ball to [closer Jason] Grilli's hands somehow. It's tough losing games like that." Cody Martin allowed a pair of runs in two-thirds of an inning, followed by Jim Johnson allowing a pair of runs in an inning and taking the loss. In the seventh, Johnson gave up the game-tying single to Chris Owings and a sacrifice fly to Jarrod Saltalamacchia that put the D-backs ahead, 8-7. Johnson had been one of the team's better relievers in May, giving up just one run in his first 11 innings of the month. But on this 4-6 road trip, the right-hander allowed four runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings. Johnson also made a defensive miscue that prevented the Braves from keeping it a one-run game. He made an errant throw over the head of third baseman Chris Johnson after catching Nick Ahmed in a rundown between second and third base. Ahmed scored on the play to stretch the D-backs' lead to 9-7 in the eighth. "That one run made a big difference because [A.J.] Pierzynski hits a home run [in the ninth] and it would've been tied," Gonzalez said. Entering Wednesday, the Braves' bullpen had allowed 86 runs in the seventh inning and later, the most in the Majors, adding four more runs to that total in the loss to the D-backs. "We know they'll come around, they've always been there," Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman said. "[Pitching coach] Roger [McDowell] will work his magic. This bullpen takes pride in their jobs and we know they'll get going." Freeman, who hit two home runs, has helped the bats get going of late, but the club has been unable to capitalize because of the bullpen's struggles. The Braves scored six runs or more in each of the last five games on the trip, including all three games in the series loss to the D-backs. "A week from now, we're going to be pitching lights-out and our offense is not going to be scoring, that's usually the way it goes," Gonzalez said. "We've got to ride this wave of our bullpen struggling a little bit and we'll come out on the other side." Morton faces rookie Perez as Bucs head to Atlanta By Tom Singer / MLB.com | June 3rd, 2015 The arrival of Charlie Morton, on May 25 following his recovery from September labrum surgery on his right hip, launched the Pirates' rotation on one of its sharpest extended stretches ever. On Friday, in the opener of a three-game series with the Braves in Atlanta, Morton will try to extend the Pirates' sharp coast-to-coast road trip. To do so, Morton will have to cope with a hot-hitting team, as the Braves have scored at least six runs in each of their last five games, matching the best such streak in the Majors this season (the Astros and Tigers also had similar streaks). And he will have to outpitch rookie right-hander Williams Perez -- the Pirates' third encounter in five games with a pitcher they had never faced before. Perez notched the first win of his Major League career his last time out, tossing seven shutout innings against the Giants. Three things to know about this game • The Pirates will be back at the scene of their 2014 postseason clincher, a 3-2 victory over the Braves on Sept. 23. • Atlanta's bullpen is staggering home after being tagged with an eight-plus ERA during the club's 10-game West Coast swing. • Morton will make this start against his original team in the wake of the sixth anniversary of his trade to Pittsburgh, on June 3, 2009.