Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Braves Blank Cubs; Pick up first series win since May 24th



The Braves had little trouble getting on base; it scoring that was a puzzler. Luckily, Javier Vazquez was able to wiggle out of trouble, keeping the Cubs scoreless in the Braves 2-0 victory. Nate McLouth continued his five game hot streak, singling in Diory Hernandez in the third and then scoring in the seventh off of a Chipper Jones sacrifice fly.

McLouth appears to be settling in very well with the Braves. After a bit of a shaky start, McLouth has been hitting .381 with eight RBIs in the last five games.

As for Vazquez, he has proven to be more than what the Braves asked for. Not only is he second in the Majors in strike outs with 117 (one behind the Tiger’s Justin Verlander) but minus a few starts, he has been very consistent, posting an ERA of just 3.18. I think when the Braves look back at their offseason acquisitions, they’ll count their trade with the White Sox for Vazquez as one of their best moves along with signing Derek Lowe. (Kawakami on the other, probably not.)

News&Notes: Yunel Escobar missed Monday’s game with a hip injury…Kelly Johnson left Monday’s game early with crampsTrade Chipper Jones? I don’t know about that.
(Photo: AP)

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