2006 Atlanta Braves Replay Assn

[motnahp]

The Atlanta Braves scored 5 times in the 7th inning and defeated the Phillies 6-2. In the decisive 7th, Chipper Jones led off and reached on an error. Andruw Jones singled. After Adam LaRoche struck out, Brian McCann drew a walk to load the bases. After a wild pitch brought home Chipper, Jeff Francoeur walked to again load the bases. Pinch-hitter Matt Diaz singled to right, scoring Andruw Jones. Wilson Betemit, pinch-hitting, struck out for the 2nd out. Marcus Giles then cleared the bases with his league-leading 36th double. Tyler Yates picked up the win in relief, while Arthur Rhodes was tagged with the loss. New Brave Bob Wickman pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning in his Atlanta debut.


FRI JUL 21

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[motnahp]

The Braves thumped the Phillies for the 2nd straight day, 11-2. Jorge Sosa pitched 7 strong innings. He also homered and doubled at the plate. Andruw Jones, Adam LaRoche, and Matt Diaz also homered. Brian McCann was 2-for-5 with 4 runs batted in.

SAT JUL 22

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[motnahp]

Andruw Jones hit his 20th home run and drove in two runs. Matt Diaz hit a pinch-hit two-run homer and the Braves won their 5th straight game, 4-1 over the Phillies. Horacio Ramirez and four relievers combined to stymie the Philly offense. Bob Wickman picked up his first Atlanta save. With the win, the Braves stay in the thick of the race for the wild card, trailing Colorado by 1 1/2 games.

SUN JUL 23

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[motnahp]

John Smoltz and Bob Wickman combined to shut out the Phillies, 2-0. The Braves swept the four game series at Philadelphia and have now won 6 in a row. Smoltz knocked in the first run with his 3rd inning ground out. Jeff Francoeur drove in the other run with a 4th-inning double. The Braves now welcome the Florida Marlins for a 3-game series.

MON JUL 24

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[motnahp]

The Braves played pepper with fans in the bleachers, swatting five home runs and pounding Dontrelle Willis and the Marlins, 10-3. Brian McCann hit two home runs, his 6th and 7th. Edgar Renteria smacked his 7th, Chipper Jones his 15th, and Adam LaRoche his team-leading 21st. Chuck James had his best outing on the mound thus far. The lefty went 6 innings, allowed only 3 hits and one run. He did, however, escape several jams, due to 6 walks.

TUE JUL 25

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[motnahp]

Josh Willingham's 8th-inning homer snapped a 3-3 tie as the Marlins beat the Braves 4-3. The loss brings Atlanta's 7-game winning streak to an end.

WED JUL 26

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[motnahp]

Manager motnahp rested Chipper Jones, Adam LaRoche, and Brian McCann. While they rested, Braves' pitchers were sleepwalking. Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, and Reggie Abercrombie all homered as the Marlins bombed the Braves 13-1. Ramirez was 2-3 with 3 RBI. Cabrera was 3-5. Josh Willingham was 3-4.

There was a bit of controversy in the top of the 8th inning. With one out and Florida comfortably ahead 11-1, Hanley Ramirez walked and stole second[:-], his third stolen base of the game. Perhaps the rookie missed a sign? Surely, he was not running on his own. The Braves' bench came to the top step, but cooler heads prevailed. It will be interesting to see how the Braves react to Ramirez the next time the two teams meet, which will be August 18th in Florida.

THUR JUL 27

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ATL______1____7___0

This incident is one of the things that makes PS a thrill to play. I remember a past update where the AI base stealing was tweaked to make this type of thing rare. Happening once in almost 100 games seems to be just right! Although the game has no ejections, fights, or hit batsmen, a little imagination goes a long way. I love it!!!

[motnahp]

Horacio Ramirez went 7 strong innings, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks as the Braves beat the Mets 4-1. Marcus Giles led off the bottom of the 1st with a homer off former teammate Tom Glavine. The Braves traded infielder Wilson Betemit to the Dodgers for relief pitcher Danys Baez and infielder Willy Aybar. Baez and Aybar will join the team on the 30th.

FRI JUL 28

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[motnahp]

The Braves dropped a tough one to the Mets, 6-5. In a battle of Pedro Martinez vs. John Smoltz, it was Smoltz getting the better of things. The Atlanta ace left after 8 innings with the Braves leading 5-1. Macay McBride allowed 3 runs in the 8th and the Mets closed to within 5-4. Bob Wickman blew his first save chance in the 9th as Paul Lo Duca's two-out single brought home the eventual game-winner. Billy Wagner went through the top of the Braves' order in the bottom of the 9th with a quick strikeout-strikeout-popout.

Odd sidebar: The first time I attempted to play this game, I had a crash going into the top of the 9th with the Braves ahead 4-3. I got the ".....encountered an error......." message and had to re-start the program. I installed the 1.66b patch before continuing. In that 1st game, the one that disappeared into the electronic netherworld, John Smoltz hit a 414-foot solo homer to center field off Pedro. He would've gotten no decision in that game, also, as the Braves had squandered a 3-1 lead, allowed the Mets to tie in the 8th, then gone back ahead in the bottom of the 8th. Anyway.........

SAT JUL 30

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ATL_____5___14___0

[motnahp]

About once a week, I'll look at the assn. stats to see who's on top. I got quite the chuckle when I looked this time:

The assn's leading hitter is Barry Bonds at .358.

Jason Giambi leads in homers with 38 (Bonds has 30).

Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi are tied for the lead in RBI with 94 apiece!

Is there a way to put an asterisk in the Almanac when the season is over?[;)]

[motnahp]

"One of the most humiliating games I've had the displeasure to be a part of". That was the quote in the local paper the morning following the Braves' 16-3 loss to the Mets to close out the homestand.

The Mets hit 8 home runs, led by Endy Chavez, who hit 3 homers and drove in 5. Carlos Delgado smacked two homers of his own, also driving in 5 runs. Carlos Beltran, Jose Valentin, and even pitcher Orlando Hernandez hit solo shots. Five Atlanta pitchers toiled. Only Tyler Yates escaped unscathed, pitching one scoreless inning. Starter Chuck James allowed 4 ER in 5 innings. Newcomer Danys Baez allowed 5 ER in his one inning. Jason Sheill allowed 4 ER in his only inning, and Ken Ray allowed 3 ER in his only inning. The Mets played no favorites, either. James, Baez, Sheill, and Ray each allowed two homers!

SUN JULY 30

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[motnahp]

After an off-day, the Braves traveled to Pittsburgh for a 3-game set. Tim Hudson went 8 strong innings and the Braves came up winners, 6-1. Jeff Francoeur collected 3 of Atlanta's 13 hits.

TUE AUG 2

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[motnahp]

Edgar Renteria drove in two with a double in the top of the 9th, as Atlanta enjoyed an improbable comeback win over the Pirates, 6-5. Pittsburgh took the lead in the bottom of the 7th, as Jason Bay's 2-run double broke a 3-3 tie and gave Pittsburgh a 5-3 lead. The Bucs took that lead into the top of the 9th and turned it over to closer Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez entered the game having converted 19 consecutive save chances and was un-scored upon in his last 14 appearances, sporting an ERA of 1.01. Gonzalez retired Matt Diaz on a grounder, before allowing consecutive singles to pinch-hitter Tony Pena, Jr., Willy Aybar and Brian McCann. With the bases loaded, Marcus Giles hit into a force play at 2nd base, scoring Pena and making the score 5-4 Pittsburgh. Renteria then doubled down the right field line, scoring both Aybar and Giles. Bob Wickman allowed a two-out walk in the bottom of the 9th, but earned the save.

WED AUG 2

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[motnahp]

Five Pittsburgh pitchers combined to shut out the Braves, limiting Atlanta to only 3 hits as Pittsburgh took the final game of the series, 2-0. The game was scoreless through 6 innings, before Pittsburgh scored single runs in both the 7th and 8th innings. Pirate closed Mike Gonzalez fared much better this time out. He walked lead-off hitter Brian McCann, then retired the next 3 in order.

THUR AUG 3

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[motnahp]

The Braves auditioned Tyler Yates as the 5th starter and Cincinnati hit him hard. Yates went only 2 + innings, allowing 5 earned runs on 8 hits. The Reds totaled 19 hits and pounded the Braves, 10-5.

FRI AUG 4

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[motnahp]

Jeff Francoeur homered twice and drove in 3 runs. Andruw Jones added a solo homer as the Braves edged Cincinnati 4-3. Chuck James pitched 5 innings, allowed 2 runs, and picked up the win. Bob Wickman allowed a leadoff double, but retired the next 3 in order for the save.

SAT AUG 5

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[motnahp]

Edwin Encarnacion's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th forced in the winning run as Cincinnati beat the Braves 2-1. With two out and a runner on 2nd, manager motnahp called for the intentional walk of 8th-place hitter Royce Clayton. Cincinnati was out of bench players, so relief pitcher Jason Standridge was forced to bat. Atlanta reliever Chad Paronto walked both Standridge and Encarnacion and the game was over. This is a tough stretch for the Braves, as Chipper Jones is on the disabled list. Atlanta recently added lefty Wayne Franklin, giving the Braves another candidate for the 5th starter's spot. The Braves return home tomorrow and open a 3-game series against the Phillies. Horacio Ramirez and John Smoltz are scheduled to pitch the first 2 games. Wednesday's starter is undecided. It could be newcomer Franklin, Oscar Villarreal, or Tyler Yates. There's also the possibility manager motnahp could go with Chuck James on 3-days' rest.

SUN AUG 6

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[motnahp]

The standings after play on August 6th:

[motnahp]

...and the rest:

[motnahp]

The Phillies scored 4 in the 4th off Horacio Ramirez and make them hold up in a 4-3 win over the Braves. Tom Gordon pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

MON AUG 7

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