2006 Atlanta Braves Replay Assn

[motnahp]

For the second straight day, the Braves got outstanding starting pitching, as John Thomson went 7 scoreless innings, allowing only 5 hits. Andruw Jones added his 4th homer as the Braves blanked the Nats 3-0. Chris Reitsma earned another save.

SAT APR 22

ATL_____3___6___0
WAS____0___5___3

[motnahp]

John Smoltz took a shutout into the 8th inning and the Braves swept Washington 5-3. The record is now 9-10 as the team heads to Milwaukee for a 3-game set.

SUN APR 23

ATL_____5___9___8
WAS____3___8___0

[Frozen Stiffer]

motnahp, when are the scheduled to play the Marlins?

[motnahp]

May 9, 10, 11 @ FLA, then May 15, 16, 17, 18 @ ATL. The Braves should take 5 of the 7 games [;)]

[motnahp]

A four-game winning streak to even the record at 10-10, with a 2-1 win over the Brewers in 11 innings. Both teams were scoreless through the 9th. The Braves broke through with a run in the 10th, but Chris Reitsma could not nail it down and the Brewers tied the game at 1-1 after 10. In the top of the 11th, Jeff Francoeur and Ryan Langerhans singled. Tony Pena failed to execute the sacrifice and Francoeur was nailed at third. Todd Pratt followed with an RBI double off Dan Kolb. Oscar Villarreal picked up the save with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th.

Time to hold my breath, as I send lefty Chuck James to the mound in his first start. James has allowed a whopping 15 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings, spanning 4 relief appearances.

[motnahp]

Milwaukee's Chris Capuano and two relievers combined to shut out the Braves on six hits, 2-0. Atlanta activated Chipper Jones before the game. Chipper went 0-for-3 with a walk.

TUE APR 25

ATL_____0___6___0
MIL_____2___5___2

[motnahp]

Milwaukee won another low-scoring game. Behind 7 shutout innings from Ben Sheets, the Brewers took the game and the series 2-1. Sheets struck out 12 and walked one. Jorge Sosa was impressive for the Braves, as he allowed only 1 run in 6 innings. Adam LaRoche homered off Brewer closer Derrick Turnbow in the 9th.

WED APR 26

ATL_____1___7___0
MIL_____2___5___1

Following an off-day, the Braves return home to face the NY Mets in a three-game series.

[motnahp]

Jeff Francoeur belted a walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the 9th as the Braves took the opener from the Mets 8-7. New York enjoyed a 7-3 lead after six innings behind Tom Glavine. Andruw Jones hit a three-run shot in the 7th off a tiring Glavine to cut the Mets' lead to 7-6. Pinch-hitter Adam LaRoche tied the game with a solo homer off Met reliever Chad Bradford in the 8th. Francoeur's blast made a winner out of Lance Cormier, who pitched a scoreless top of the 9th for the Braves.

Atlanta sends Smoltz and Hudson to the mound in the next two games.

FRI APR 28

NYM_____7___14___0
ATL_____8___12___0

[motnahp]

Pedro Martinez out-dueled John Smoltz and the Mets took the middle game of the series, 1-0. Jose Valentin doubled and Xavier Nady drove him in with a single in the 6th for the game's only run.

Manager-wise, every move went wrong this game. Ryan Langerhans led off the bottom of the third with a triple. Smoltz hit a deep fly ball to left field. I selected YES when prompted. In this case, I would have selected "H**L YES" if there had been such a box. Langerhans tripped over some chalk between third and home and was thrown out by Cliff "I should be a DH" Floyd.

With runners on 1st and 3rd and one out in the bottom of the 6th, I called for the hit & run with Chipper Jones at bat. Expecting the best, I got a pop-up to shortstop for out #2 and failed to score.

To put the icing on the cake, Smoltz was due up with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th. Smoltz was definitely coming out down 1-0 and over 100 pitches. Who would I bring off the bench? In hindsight, I should have gone with Betemit. He's been back on the bench since Chipper returned, but I literally forgot about him! I went, instead, with Brian Jordan. 5-4-3, inning over!

Facing the combo of Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner over the 8th & 9th innings, 5 of 6 Braves struck out.

Manager motnahp locked himself in the manager's office for a few minutes after this one!

SAT APR 29

NYM_____1___7___0
ATL_____0___8___0

[motnahp]

Apparently still smarting from yesterday's heartbreaker, the Braves were bombed by the Mets 11-3. Tim Hudson was charged with 9 ER in 6 2/3 innings, allowing 9 hits and walking 4. The Braves' runs came via the homer, a Wilson Betemit solo shot leading off in the bottom of the 1st and a two-run homer by Andruw Jones in the 6th.

Colorado comes to town for a two-game series, before the Braves head off to absorb some more humiliation at the hands of the Phillies and Mets.

SUN APR 30

NYM_____11___13___0
ATL______3____8___1

The record stands at 11-14 at the end of April.

[motnahp]

Jorge Sosa, Ken Ray, and Chris Reitsma combined on a two-hit shutout as the Braves blanked the Rockies 3-0. Edgar Renteria smacked his first homer of the year and Marcus Giles added an RBI double. Sosa pitched seven innings, allowing only two singles and two walks.

MON MAY 1

COL_____0___2___0
ATL_____3___6___0

[motnahp]

The Braves won a wild one, 12-10, sweeping the two-game series. Trailing 10-9 going into the bottom of the 8th, the Braves scored three times, tying the game on a Pete Orr sacrifice fly and going ahead on a two-run pinch-hit double by Brian Jordan.

Lance Cormier made his first start of the season, but could not get out of the 2nd inning, allowing 6 earned runs. He was relieved by Chuck James, who allowed 4 runs of his own in 5 1/3 innings of relief. Oscar Villarreal picked up the win and Chris Reitsma earned his 6th save. Chipper Jones was "rested" and did not get in on the fun. Since returning from the disabled list on April 25th, he is 3-for-22 with no homers or RBI. Jones is hitting only .222, with one home run and one RBI on the season.

TUE MAY 2

COL_____10___15___0
ATL_____12___16___1

The Braves leave Atlanta after a 3-2 homestand. They now travel to Philadelphia for two games and then on to New York for three.

[motnahp]

The Phillies won the bullpen battle and outslugged the Braves 10-8. The Philly bullpen threw 3 perfect innings, while the Atlanta pen allowed 6 hits and 4 earned runs in 3 innings. The bullpen failure spoiled a great day for Andruw Jones, who belted a two-run homer in the first and a grand slam in the second. He now has 8 HR and 23 RBI on the season. Chipper Jones once again did not play.

WED MAY 3

ATL_____8___10___1
PHA____10___14___1

[motnahp]

John Smoltz dominated the Phillies, tossing a one-hitter, while striking out 10 and walking no one. The only baserunner for the Phillies was Sal Fasano, who singled cleanly to center field in the second inning. For good measure, Smoltz added an RBI triple and a single. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Jones batted sixth in the order.

THUR MAY 4

ATL_____7___12___0
PHA_____0____1___0

[motnahp]

The Braves bested the Mets in 10 innings, 5-3. Marcus Giles led off the top of the 10th with a double. After an Andruw Jones strikeout, Adam LaRoche drove in Giles with a single to right. LaRoche took second on the throw home, then was replaced by pinch-runner Pete Orr. Jeff Francouer drove in Orr with a single. Macay McBride picked up the win in relief. Chris Reitsma earned the save.

With the win, the Braves get back to .500 and are now 3 games behind the Mets in the NL East.

FRI MAY 5

ATL_____5___12___0
NYM____3___10___0

[Frozen Stiffer]

motnahp,

What are the current standings?

[motnahp]

Darren Oliver took a shutout into the 9th inning as the Mets built a 9-0 lead and won the game 9-4. The Atlanta pen allowed 5 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. The loss drops the Braves to 15-16 and 4 games behind the Mets.

SAT MAY 6

ATL_____4___10___1
NYM____9___13___0

[motnahp]

........and the rest

[motnahp]

Horacio Ramirez made his first start of the season for the Braves, allowed 6 earned runs in only 4 innings, then went back on the DL. The Mets took two of three from the Braves, 9-6. After a much-needed day off Monday, the team travels south to face the Marlins in a three-game set.

SUN MAY 7

ATL_____6___12___1
NYM____9___11___0

[KG Erwin]

Now, THIS is the kind of dedication and perserverance that inspires awe, especially considering that we all have real lives. This begs the obvious question: motnahp, do you ever sleep?