Braves Sweep Brew Crew To Finish Road Trip; Take Two of Three From Snakes

Call it lazy if you must, but I need to play a little catch-up.

ATLANTA 8, MILWAUKEE 2

ATLANTA 11, MILWAUKEE 3

ATLANTA 9, MILWAUKEE 2

Each of these games were eerily similar:

Each game featured good starting pitching on both sides.

All three games featured just enough offense to give Atlanta the lead by the time Ken Macha brought in his relievers.

Milwaukee's bullpen was pounded for a bunch of runs in all three games.

ATLANTA 6, ARIZONA 5

The Braves came back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game with a Brian McCann solo homer in the seventh and Nate McLouth's three-run shot in the eighth. Nate's home run prevented Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami from losing his seventh game in seven starts. Arizona took the lead off of Billy Wagner in a non-save situation, but Atlanta won the game with a bases-loaded single by Martin Prado.

ARIZONA 11, ATLANTA 1

Tommy Hanson was smacked around in the fifth inning for four of the face runs he allowed, but he went seven innings. Arizona hung a five-spot on mop-up reliever Jesse Chavez, including a solo home run by Kelly Johnson, his 11th Rodrigo Lopez went eight for the D-Backs, who got to avoid using their terrible bullpen for most of the game.

ATLANTA 13, ARIZONA 1

The Braves delivered their own smackdown on the Diamondbacks by peppering them with four home runs, two by Martin Prado and one each for Eric Hinske and Troy Glaus. The Braves had 14 hits in total, four by Prado and three by Glaus. Tim Hudson pitched eight innings of three-hit ball, allowing just one run.

Making Most Of Being Home; Braves Sweep 'Stros

ATLANTA 4, HOUSTON 2

The Braves had the kind of game they envisioned having a lot this year: just enough offense to win and the starting pitching absolutely dominating the opposition. Tommy Hanson pitched brilliantly for eight innings, got some offense support, and Billy Wagner held off the Astros in the ninth to break Atlanta's nine-game losing streak.

A few notes about the losing streak:

• It was the longest road losing streak for the Braves since 1949, when the Boston team lost two straight four-game series against the Phillies and Dodgers.
• In nine games, the Braves scored just seventeen runs, one more than the amount they scored on Opening Day.
• Four quality starts, two by Tim Hudson, were blown by the Braves. Atlanta also lost four games where they took the lead first.

Hanson threw all that out the window in the 4-2 victory.

The Braves struck instantly when leadoff batter Nate McLouth homered to center on the first pitch from hurler Brett Myers. Martin Prado singled, Chipper Jones walks and Brian McCann hit into a double play, moving Prado to third. Troy Glaus then bounced a grounder to short which rolled up shortstop Tommy Manzella's arm and struck him in the throat. He stayed in the game, but was charged with an error on the play. He committed another error which allowed Jason Heyward to reach base. After Melky Cabrera walked, the Braves were held off the board when Omar Infante lined to second.

After an RBI single by J.R. Towles tied the game at two, Hanson retired 20 of the 21 batters he faced, giving up just a single to Carlos Lee to lead off the fourth inning. Heyward provided all the support Hanson would need when he smacked a two-run homer to right in the third inning. Jason would have had a second home run in the eighth inning off of lefty reliever Tim Byrdak, but Hunter Pence leaped up at the wall in right and snagged the ball just as it was about to disappear behind the yellow line.

Astros starter Brett Myers tossed seven innings, allowing just one other single and walk after Cabrera's two-out single in the third.

When the ninth inning rolled around, Hanson was pulled in favor of closer Billy Wagner, who had just two save opportunities up to that point. The situation mirrored an infamous game from September of last season:

The Braves were up 1-0 on the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Hanson had just pitched eight innings, walked no batters and struck out seven men. Cox lifted him for closer Rafael Soriano. Soriano struck out Michael Bourn, but Kazuo Matsui hit a single to right. Lance Berkman then hit a double on the next pitch. Carlos Lee then was intentionally walked to set up the double play. However, Miguel Tejada spoiled that with a single up the middle, scoring two runs and winning the game for the Astros.

This time, Billy Wagner got Jeff Keppinger to ground to Glaus at first base. He then walked Pedro Feliz on four pitches. Lee ended the game by hitting into a double play, preserving the win for the Braves.

ATLANTA 10, HOUSTON 1

After going down early, the Braves broke out their bats and Houston lost their gloves, leading to a 10-1 Atlanta win.

The Astros struck first off Braves starter Tim Hudson when Michael Bourn singled, stole second, moved to third on Keppinger's single and scored on Berkman's groundout.

It didn't take the Braves long to answer off of Wandy Rodriguez. Hudson led off the third inning with a single and moved to second on Martin Prado's single. The two moved up one base on Chipper's fly ball to center and both scored on Glaus's fly ball double that went over Pence's head in right field.

The Astros didn't mount a serious threat after the third inning while the Braves just kept on scoring. Houston didn't get a runner to second base until the ninth inning, when they were down nine runs. The Braves scored three in the fifth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh.

Heyward led off the seventh with his seventh home run and Prado had a bases-loaded double. Omar Infante scored three runs and went 3-5. Prado also had three hits scored two runs.

Hudson pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. Peter Moylan finished the seventh inning with a strikeout and Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters finished the game with a scoreless innings each.

ATLANTA 7, HOUSTON 1

Once again, Derek Lowe got more run support. This time, however, he didn't have to work so hard to help the Braves complete their first three-game sweep of the Astros in seven years. Atlanta scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings off of Astros starter Bud Norris to cement a 7-1 victory.

McCann walked to lead off the second inning and moved to third on Glaus's liner to left that was hit so hard, Troy had to settle for a single. Heyward then launched a ball to right field, but Pence corralled it at the warning track. That scored McCann and gave the Braves the lead.

In fourth, Hewyard doubled home McCann, moving Glaus to third base, and Cabrera singled home both runners. Infante also reached with a single and then Derek Lowe tried to bunt the runners over. Instead, he popped up the ball to the on-rushing first baseman Berkman. Lance then let the ball drop to start a 3-6-5 double play. It would have been possible for him to get a triple play because Lowe wasn't running out of the box, but the attempted sac bunt turned into two outs anyway.

Atlanta loaded the bases in the fifth with one out for Heyward. The rookie hit a bouncer to the left of the mound that Norris was able to cut off with a stumbling roll. He then tried to throw home, but the toss went to the backstop, allowing Chipper to score. However, the ball bounced right back to Towles and he was able to tag out McCann attempting to score. Cabrera then completed the scoring by hitting a ground ball between first and second that rolled all the way to the wall because Pence was positioned in right center. This gave Melky a two-run double and ended Norris's day.

Both the Braves and Astros bullpens pitched scoreless stints. Kris Medlen, Takashi Saito and Wagner pitched four scoreless innings (Medlen had two), while Chris Sampson got one strikeout, Jeff Fulchino pitched two shutout innings and Lyon had a scoreless eighth frame.

Miracle on Hank Aaron Drive: Late Long Bombs Lead Atlanta

ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 3

The Phillies have now had their Tommy Hanson-Rafael Soriano moment. After a dominating performance by starter Kyle Kendrick, Charlie Manuel turned the 3-0 game over to his closer and could only watch as the Braves went on to win the game 4-3.

Kendrick, who had an ERA of 17.27 in 5 2/3 innings over two starts, simply dominated the Braves with his sinker. The one inning he ran into trouble in was the fourth. Martin Prado singled with one out and Chipper Jones hit a double off the right-field wall to move Martin to third base. Brian McCann was intentionally walked to get to Troy Glaus. Glaus to grounded to Polanco at third to start an inning-ending double play.

The Braves didn't have another base runner until McCann singled in the seventh. A walk to Nate McLouth in the eighth inning provided the Braves with their only other baserunner against Kendrick. The Phillies starter went eight innings and allowed four hits and two walks, striking out two Braves hitters.

Tommy Hanson, on the other hand, had a strange game. He pitched well, but the Phillies lineup made him throw a lot of pitches and got a couple of runs thanks to some funky hits. With one out, Chase Utley checked his swing on a full-count pitch and ended up grounding the ball down the line past third base for a freak double. Ryan Howard then grounded into the overshift, but the ball kicked off of Glaus's glove for a single, allowing Utley to score. In the fifth, Placido Polanco had a similar double to Utley's hit.

Hanson was removed after 4 2/3 innings in favor of Eric O'Flaherty to face the lefty Phillie mashers. Utley foiled that plan by singling up the middle, scoring Polanco and putting the Phillies up 2-0. O'Flaherty got Howard to line out to Glaus to end the inning.

Peter Moylan pitched a scoreless inning and Kris Medlen went two innings. He allowed a run on two singles and a fielder's choice in the seventh, but didn't allow anymore damage. Jesse Chavez pitched a scoreless ninth for the Braves.

In the bottom of the inning, the Phillies brought in Ryan Madson, who was 3-3 in save opportunities this year. Prado, the leadoff batter, grounded out to short to start the inning. Jones then coaxed a walk out of Madson to bring up McCann. The Braves catcher lined out to Raul Ibanez in left for the second out. Glaus then swung and missed at a fastball then watched a pitch in the dirt. The next pitch, a fastball down the middle, was deposited in the left-field seats. Jason Heyward, who was 0-3 on the day, was next. He watched a fastball on the outside corner then got a change-up down the middle of the plate. The ball ended up in the right-field seats and the game was tied.

The Phillies didn't score off of their former closer Billy Wagner in the top of the tenth, so Manuel sent in The Ageless One (as Braves announcer Joe Simpson called him) Jose Contreras to pitch the frame. Braves outfielder Nate McLouth was the first to face him. The struggling center fielder tomahawked a 2-2 pitch to give the Braves an improbable victory. The whole team went into the clubhouse so as McLouth returned to the dugout, there wasn't anyone but a batboy there. The team celebrated in the hallway to the dugout instead.

My Take and Odds 'N Ends: I was prepared to accept defeat, but knowing that Kyle Kendrick was coming out of the game gave the Braves players and their fans (including me) some hope. It paid off immensely.

When I said the Phillies now have their Hanson-Soriano moment, I was referring to a game on September 9th last year where the Braves got eight innings of five-hit shutout ball from Hanson and he had only thrown 98 pitches. Despite that, Cox put in Soriano to close the game, when he had pitched in three of the last four days. Almost like clockwork, the Astros scored two runs with a single, double, intentional walk and another single to win the game. Thankfully, I think Cox is shying away from that type of managing this early on in the season.

All alone, Jason Heyward has driven in 25% of the Braves' runs (16 of 64). Far and away, he's the best player at adding Win Probability percentage points for his team (2.6 total), which is twice the total of Brian McCann's amount (1.3). For what it's worth, the Braves player right now who has the lowest total is Troy Glaus (-1.6).

Infielders: Questions To Be Answered Later

Next up, the infielders of the Braves.

1B Troy Glaus - (32 PA, .172/.250/.241, 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 32 OPS+)
2B Martin Prado - (503 PA, .307/.358/.464, 38 2B, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 117 OPS+)
3B Chipper Jones - (596 PA, .264/.388/.430, 23 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 71 RBI, 118 OPS+)
SS Yunel Escobar - (604 PA, .299/.377/.436, 26 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 76 RBI, 116 OPS+)
UT Omar Infante - (229 PA, .305/.361/.389, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 100 OPS+)
SS Diory Hernandez - (93 PA, .141/.198/.212, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 9 OPS+)
IF Brooks Conrad - (58 PA, .204/.259/.407, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 74 OPS+)

The Braves have great talent in the infield, but they also have some questions that need to be answered:

• Can Chipper Jones rebound from his worst season in five years (2004), despite his obviously advancing age (38 in 2010) and constant health questions?

It's easy to say that Jones, now the longest-tenured Brave on the team, is going to continue to get worse because he's getting older. However, it's not particularly fair or smart to guess such a thing. Jones is only a year removed from leading the National League in batting average and on-base percentage and two years removed form leading in OPS and Adjusted OPS+. The end is near, but I'm not betting on it being this season.

• Can Troy Glaus rebound from his lost season and resume putting up quality 120 OPS+ seasons?

If he does, not only will it benefit the Braves, but it will secure their first base position until Freddie Freeman is ready. Glaus signed a one-year incentive-laden contract with Atlanta, which contains an option for the 2011 season. First base would become a problem if Glaus gets hurt, because all the Braves have to fall back on at the position is Eric Hinske, and Freddie Freeman is not quite ready to take over the position. If the production comes mainly from Glaus, the Braves should be fine at the position.

• Can Martin Prado continue his .300+/.350+/.450+ production to ease some Braves fans' unrest about the moving of former second baseman Kelly Johnson to Arizona?

Of course, there's no guarantee that Prado will continue to put up those kinds of numbers, but his pro career does show an encouraging trend:

Note: 2003-2007 are his minor league statistics

2003: 251 PA, .286/.358/.350, - BABIP, 2 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 23 RBI, 24/30 BB/K
2004: 467 PA, .315/.363/.422, - BABIP, 25 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 30/47 BB/K
2005: 488 PA, .298/.353/.395, .341 BABIP, 20 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 45 RBI, 41/65 BB/K
2006: 448 PA, .281/.321/.360, .326 BABIP, 18 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 26/63 BB/K
2007: 443 PA, .316/.374/.420, .345 BABIP, 23 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 41 RBI, 34/41 BB/K
2008: 254 PA, .320/.377/.461, .357 BABIP, 18 2B, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 21/29 BB/K
2009: 503 PA, .307/.358/.464, .320 BABIP, 38 2B, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 36/59 BB/K

I don't have data for the BABIP of Prado's first two full seasons. However, the trends of his career are reasonably consistent.

Prado hasn't batted lower than .280 and it seems as if his OBP norm would be over .350. His slugging might take a dip according to his stats from the minors but there is little indication that his batting average will take a dive because his BABIP doesn't fluctuate much.

• Can Yunel Escobar continue to produce as one of the top shortstops in the National League?

I'd say so. He has two and a half seasons of at least 100 OPS+:

2007: 355 PAs, 118 OPS+
2008: 587 PAs, 108 OPS+
2009: 604 PAs, 116 OPS+

Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki are in another league by themselves, but Escobar is as roughly (VERY roughly) as good as Jimmy Rollins, just without the speed and stolen bases.

• Can the Braves have another decent bench infielder besides Omar Infnate?

That remains to be seen. Brooks Conrad will get a shot to win a job out of spring training, as will utility infielder Joe Thurston. All I know is that Diory Hernandez, last year's replacement for an injured Yunel Escobar, is not going to cut it with another 9 OPS+.

If all the answers to those questions come up well for the Braves, the team should be well on their way to having a successful 2010 campaign.

Braves Complete Off-Season With Low-Risk, High-Reward Signings

BRAVES SIGN:
1B Troy Glaus (32 PA, .172/.250/.241, 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3/8 BB/K, 32 OPS+)
CIF/COF Eric Hinske (224 PA, .242/.348/.432, 12 2B, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 27/52 BB/K, 107 OPS+)

Frank Wren essentially completed the off-season for the Braves by signing third baseman Troy Glaus and utility man Eric Hinske to solidify Atlanta's bench.

Glaus, a career third baseman and designated hitter, has six career games at first base. All those games have come within the past two years in St. Louis. However, the potential for him being a 25-30 home run and 100 RBI, as Wren stated, is very high.

With Hinske, the Braves have a bench player who can play both corner infield and corner outfield positions. The former Rookie of the Year fulfilled the bench player role with the Pirates and Yankees last season.

This signing pretty much closes the book on Wren's off-season shopping. Assuming that Hinske, Glaus and Cabrera are to make the team and the Braves will carry 12 pitchers, this means the Braves have one bench spot left:

C - McCann
1B - Glaus
2B - Prado
SS - Escobar
3B - Jones
LF - Diaz
CF - McLouth
RF - Heyward

C - Ross
OF - Cabrera
OF/IF - Hinske
IF/LF - Infante

It's most likely that the last bench spot on the team will be filled by someone who can play shortstop. If Brooks Conrad can learn to play shortstop consistently in the spring, he may get the spot. An earlier signing in the winter, Joe Thurston, is another option because he has experience at shortstop. The third player likely to get that spot is Dioary Hernandez, who filled in for Escobar last season when Yunel was hurt. The only problem is that Hernandez's bat is VERY light (93 PAs of .144/.198/.212 with three doubles, one homer and a 9 OPS+) and he can only play shortstop.