I was hoping to make my return to blogging about the Braves a day following a triumphant win, but instead it’s a on the heels of a shut-out. (I know where was I during the Blue Jays series?)
Tim Lincecum looked every bit of the 2008 Cy Young Award winner he is. Lincecum fanned eight in eight innings to pick up his first win in almost a month. Aaron Rowand continued his hot streak which began about the time the Mets came to town 10 days ago, driving in two runs and scoring on an Edgar Renteria single. The same single by the former Brave that also scored Lincecum in the Giants four run second inning.
The good news for Braves fans is that after giving up four runs in the second, Melden was able to settle down a bit, not allowing another run in 3 and third inning while the bullpen trio of Eric O’Flaherty, Jeff Bennett and Manny Ascosta were able to keep the Giants scoreless over the remainder of the game. Not so great, a continued lack of scoring. But with almost two months in the books, the Braves remain just 2.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East.
Rewind
A lot has happened in the week I went on a work imposed hiatus from blogging. First we being with last night’s losing pitcher Kris Melden. In two starts, the youngster has been the victim of the one huge inning. In Tuesday’s case, a surmountable four run deficit as compared to the disastrous fourth inning of the Braves 9-0 loss to the Rockies last Thursday. During that inning, Melden threw 18 pitches, just three for strikes. His night came to a merciless end after he struck Rockies pitcher Aaron Cooke to force in a run.
While his current 0-2 record with an ERA of 9.72 is a far cry from his 5-0 start with a 1.19 ERA at Gwinnett, you have to remember he’s just 23. I am not ready to write him off. In a way, he kind of reminds me of a Mike Pelfrey, the right handed pitcher for the New York Mets. Since I happen to be in the NY metro area, I end up watching a lot of Mets games (Gary, Keith and Ronnie are an incredible 1-2-3 punch in the booth) and obviously Pelfrey comes up every fifth day. In his young career, Pelfrey has fallen victim to that one big inning many a time, but as he’s grown as a pitcher and has been able to reduce the damage of that one big inning, learning to adjust to the batters and shake things off when something doesn’t go his way. Of course, he’s gotten a little shaky as of late (three balks in one game will do that to you), but it still proves that with time Melden could adjust and become more effective. After all his ERA dropped from 15.00 to 9.72 in just a game.
Another Braves pitcher that looks to be turning things around is Kenshin Kawakami. It seems he’s answered my pleas especially after his 8 inning shut-out of the Blue Jays on Friday.
In other news, the Braves are being hit hard by the injury bug. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup after missing four straight starts with a toe injury. Yunel Escobar has been out of the lineup as well with a hip injury, while Omar Infante has been placed on the DL with a fractured hand. Joining Omar on the DL are Buddy Carlyle (upper back strain) and Jo-Jo Reyes (strained hamstring).
News&Notes: After placing Buddy Carlyle on the DL, the Braves activated Jorge Campillo…Tim Hudson threw off the mound for the first time since spring training. Hudson is recovering from Tommy John surgery…Jordan Schafer is really trying to improve at the plate. At least he still has his defense…People are coming out to cheer on the AAA-Gwinnett Braves in droves…Speaking of Gwinnett get to know a little bit more about their two brightest pitchers Tommy Hanson and Kris Melden. Well, Melden was pitching for Gwinnett at the start of the season…The Braves 1-0 win over the Blue Jays was their first 1-0 win at home since September 25, 2004.
While his current 0-2 record with an ERA of 9.72 is a far cry from his 5-0 start with a 1.19 ERA at Gwinnett, you have to remember he’s just 23. I am not ready to write him off. In a way, he kind of reminds me of a Mike Pelfrey, the right handed pitcher for the New York Mets. Since I happen to be in the NY metro area, I end up watching a lot of Mets games (Gary, Keith and Ronnie are an incredible 1-2-3 punch in the booth) and obviously Pelfrey comes up every fifth day. In his young career, Pelfrey has fallen victim to that one big inning many a time, but as he’s grown as a pitcher and has been able to reduce the damage of that one big inning, learning to adjust to the batters and shake things off when something doesn’t go his way. Of course, he’s gotten a little shaky as of late (three balks in one game will do that to you), but it still proves that with time Melden could adjust and become more effective. After all his ERA dropped from 15.00 to 9.72 in just a game.
Another Braves pitcher that looks to be turning things around is Kenshin Kawakami. It seems he’s answered my pleas especially after his 8 inning shut-out of the Blue Jays on Friday.
In other news, the Braves are being hit hard by the injury bug. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup after missing four straight starts with a toe injury. Yunel Escobar has been out of the lineup as well with a hip injury, while Omar Infante has been placed on the DL with a fractured hand. Joining Omar on the DL are Buddy Carlyle (upper back strain) and Jo-Jo Reyes (strained hamstring).
News&Notes: After placing Buddy Carlyle on the DL, the Braves activated Jorge Campillo…Tim Hudson threw off the mound for the first time since spring training. Hudson is recovering from Tommy John surgery…Jordan Schafer is really trying to improve at the plate. At least he still has his defense…People are coming out to cheer on the AAA-Gwinnett Braves in droves…Speaking of Gwinnett get to know a little bit more about their two brightest pitchers Tommy Hanson and Kris Melden. Well, Melden was pitching for Gwinnett at the start of the season…The Braves 1-0 win over the Blue Jays was their first 1-0 win at home since September 25, 2004.
(Photo: AP)
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