Rare Road Win Bright Spot In Frustrating Series; Nationals Take Two Of Three

WASHINGTON 6, ATLANTA 3

Have you ever noticed that when a team goes on a losing streak, then wins a couple, then loses another game, people say "they've lost x of their last y" the next day?

Aside from causing people to break that phrase out again, Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami has become the first Braves pitcher in Atlanta and the first in recorded play-by-play in franchise history, to get a loss in his first five starts of the season as the Braves dropped the first game of their road trip 6-3 to the Washington Nationals.

Braves leadoff hitter Nate McLouth doubled off of The Immortal of Baseball Livan Hernandez and scored on Troy Glaus's sacrifice fly three batters later. Center fielder Nyjer Morgan made an excellent catch on the fly, which could have easily been a double. The Braves had the bases loaded with one out when the fly occurred and after Jason Heyward's two-out walk, Melky Cabrera grounded out to second to end the threat.

The lead was short-lived. Kawakami coughed up a one-out solo home run to Josh Willingham. The Nationals used three straight singles to string together another run before Atlanta was able to stem the tide.

Heyward tied the game with a solo shot to center field off starter Livan Hernandez, his eighth of the season, but that was short-lived as well. Ian Desmond answered with a shot off Kawakami in the fifth to left-center to give the Nationals back the lead. Kenshin got three straight groundouts, but the inning provided to be his last as his spot was up in the top of the sixth. Hernandez continued on into the sixth, recording one out before being lifted for reliever Sean Burnett.

The situation didn't get much better as Eric O'Flaherty gave up a leadoff home run to Adam Dunn in the sixth. The slugger golfed the low and inside pitch into the second deck in right. Jonny Venters came on in the seventh for the Braves and gave up a run with a one-out walk, ground out and single. Jesse Chavez finished the Braves' pitching line with a run allowed on two singles and a leadoff walk.

Burnett and Clippard combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Nationals. Veteran Miguel Batistia gave up an RBI single to Brian McCann in the ninth to make the score 6-3, so Jim Riggleman bought in closer Matt Capps to get the garbage 2/3 inning save. He got it by getting Glaus to ground out into a game-ending double play.

ATLANTA 7, WASHINGTON 6, 10 INN.

Despite some inconsistencies, an early injury that will cause most Braves fans to consider taking Zanax and a few blown leads, the Braves came out on top Wednesday night, defeating the Washington Nationals 7-6 in ten innings, halting their five-game losing streak against the franchise and an eight-game road losing streak.

Washington came out swinging against Tommy Hanson, as Nyjer Morgan led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Zimmerman. The Braves were able to take the lead on a two-out, two-run homer in the second inning by Omar Infante. His first of the year off former Braves prospect Luis Atilano put the Braves up 2-1.

Earlier, though, after the first inning, Jason Heyward was

The Nationals quickly struck back as Ian Desmond lined a shot over the left field wall, near where Infante hit his bomb, to tie the game. Roger Bernadina then singled and came around to score on Morgan's second double to give the Nats a one-run lead.

This lead wasn't safe either. Martin Prado smacked a one-out double and Chipper chased him home with a single in the top of the third. Atlanta stretched the lead to two in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Glaus that scored Prado.

That lead was short-lived too! Adam Kennedy led off the fifth with a single, moved to second on an Adam Dunn walk and scored on Ivan Rodriguez's hit-and-run single. Hanson escaped the inning with no further damage.

Deprived of another lead, the Braves decided to take another one and see if that one would hold up. Matt Diaz doiubled to lead off the sixth and Omar Infante walked. Hanson failed to bunt them over, but McLouth doubled home Diaz and Prado scored Infante with a ground out.

Unfortunately, that lead wasn't meant to stay either, to Takashi Saito's chagrin. Ian Desmond reached on a one-out error by Infante in the eighth and moved to third on Roger Bernadina's double. Pinch-hitter Josh Willingham scored both runners with a single to left, blowing the victory for Hanson.

To the Braves' credit, Kris Medlen held off the Nationals in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning to send the game into extras. Eric Hinske, who came into the game in the top of the 10th, singled to lead off the frame, was sacrificed to second by Cabrera and scored on Diaz's single to right. Bernadina was later criticized for not appearing to attempt to throw out Diaz at the plate.

Billy Wagner made the one run hold up with his third save of the year. He allowed a leadoff single to Cristian Guzman, but got Desmond to fly out to right, struck out pinch-hitter Wil Nieves and Willingham to line out to left.

WASHINGTON 3, ATLANTA 2

As if the craziness of the first two games wasn't bad enough, the third game had all kinds of crazy in it. When all was said and done, the Nationals had re-captured the game and the series by a score of 3-2.

The Password is "pitching", because Scott Olsen and Tim Hudson had more than enough to go around. The two pitchers traded zeroes for the first four innings until Ivan Rodriguez scored the game's first run with a long home run to left field, his first of the season. Adam Dunn then led off the seventh inning with a blast to right, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Hudson then struck out two of the next three batters he faced to complete the frame.

Olsen, in the meantime hadn't allowed any hits or any baserunners since he walked Cabrera to start the third inning. Matt Diaz struck out looking for the third time to begin the eighth, but David Ross smacked a high fastball past a diving Desmond into right field for the Braves' first hit. After a standing ovation from the crowd, Olsen pitched to Cabrera. The right fielder hit a bouncer to Zimmerman at third, who threw wildly to first, allowing Cabrera to reach and Chipper to move to third. After walking McLouth, Olsen gave way to Clippard. Heyward, who was sitting out the game with a right groin injury, went up to the plate to pinch-hit. He took a 1-2 outside pitch to left field for a single that scored two runs. Infante hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth, the Braves loaded the bases with one out, but Ross bounced out into a double play to end the threat. The Nationals, on the other hand, got a leadoff walk from Adam Kennedy on a full-count pitch from Eric O'Flaherty, who had pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth. Moylan was brought in to face Zimmerman, but promptly gave up a double that hit off the base of the right field wall. It seemed that Cabrera either misjudged or gave up on the ball. Pinch-hitter Cristian Guzman was intentionally walked to get to pinch-hitter Willie Harris, but the former Brave spoiled that move by lining a single through the drawn-in infield to win the game.

Outfielders: Promise And Potential, And Hopefully No Duds

It's the Braves outfielders' turn!

LF Matt Diaz - (425 PA, .313/.390/.488, 18 2B, 4 3B, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 35/90 BB/K, 133 OPS+)
LF Melky Cabrera - (540 PA, .274/.336/.416, 28 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 43/59 BB/K, 99 OPS+)
CF Nate McLouth (total stats PIT and ATL) - (591 PA, .256/.352/.436, 27 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 68/99 BB/K, 109 OPS+)
RF Jason Heyward (total stats with three teams) - (422 PA, .323/.408/.555, 25 2B, 4 3B, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 51/51 BB/K)
CF Jordan Schafer - (195 PA, .204/.313/.287, 8 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 27/63 BB/K)
UT Mitch Jones (2009 AAA Albuquerque) - (434 PA, .297/.364/.651, 26 2B, 3 3B, 35 HR, 103 RBI, 40/102 BB/K)

On the surface, the outfield spots are only half-settled. Realistically, the jobs are mostly set in stone, but a couple of players could force their way onto the Braves with strong springs.

Matt Diaz, picked up by the Braves for minor league pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez just four years ago, has flat out hit ever since he came to Atlanta. His 2009 season made up for a mostly-lost 2008 campaign; his OPS, OPS+, RBIs, homers, and stolen bases were all career-high totals. However, he will most likely remain a platoon partner for a left-handed batter. What supports that is Diaz's career OPS splits:

Career vs. RHP: .722 OPS
Career vs. LHP: .921 OPS

The most-likely platoon partner for Diaz should be the Braves' newest acquisition Melky Cabrera. After being signed to a $3.1 million one-year contract, the former Yankee outfielder is one of the first in line to get an outfield spot on the club.

Some Braves fans may argue that he doesn't deserve a spot with the club because of his weak statistics for an outfielder. For his carer, Cabrera has a .269/.331/.385 line with just 36 home runs (13 coming last year, nine in New Yankee Stadium). He's similar to Martin Prado in that he doesn't walk or strike out much (43/59 BB/K in 540 PA last year). The light slugging could prove to be a problem, but Diaz should be able to balance it out like last year.

Nate McLouth will be manning center field full-time for the Braves in the 2010 season. His splits with Pittsburgh and Atlanta were nearly identical except for slugging (.470 with the Pirates, .419 with the Braves). McLouth was knocked out of action for about a month with a left hamstring injury and felt the effects of it for a while. He should be healthy for the season and be able to return to the form that he had in his breakout 2008 season.

The most important player in the Braves' outfield mix is one who was named MLB.com's top prospect last week. Jason Heyward earned that ranking with a very strong 2009 campaign, spanning three levels. The Braves have made it clear that he'll be given every chance possible to make the Braves out of spring. If so, it's also possible that he could produce right out of the gate and improve the right field position's black hole from last year.

Two wild cards to make the team are Jordan Schafer and Mitch Jones. Schafer, who started the year with the big club and hit two home runs in his major league debut, injured his wrist making a diving catch and wasn't effective since then. There is a possibility that if Cabrera underperforms and Schafer has another strong spring that Melky would be traded to make room for Schafer on the roster.

The last candidate is career minor leaguer Mitch Jones who had a monster season in Class AAA Albuquerque. He could get a utility role because he has experience in the outfield and the infield corners.

The Braves outfield last year started with such promise, went through some turmoil, but eventually stabilized. The outfielders should be able to provide much more stability throughout the 2010 season.

Redbirds Take Two of Three In Atlanta

ST. LOUIS 3, ATLANTA 2

W - Joel Piniero (4-0)
L - Jair Jurrjens (2-2)
S - Ryan Franklin (6)

THREE STARS

GOLD
P Joel Piniero, St. Louis - 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, W; 0-1, BB, R

SILVER
CF Rick Ankiel, St. Louis - 2-4, GA 1B, 2 RBI

BRONZE
P Jair Jurrjnes, Atlanta - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, L

ATLANTA 2, ST. LOUIS 1

W - Peter Moylan (1-1)
L - Kyle McClellan (1-1)
S - Mike Gonzalez (3)

GOLD
P Jo-Jo Reyes, Atlanta - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO

SILVER
LF Matt Diaz, Atlanta - 1-4, GA 1B, RBI

BRONZE
P Kyle Lohse, St. Louis - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO

ST. LOUIS 5, ATLANTA 3

GOLD
P Adam Wainwright, St. Louis - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO; 1-3, R, RBI

SILVER
1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis - 2-4, R, RBI

BRONZE
P Javier Vazquez, Atlanta - 8 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, L

Two Rain Delays Don't Spoil Debut For Zimmerman

WASHINGTON 3, ATLANTA 2

The Braves and Nationals played through two long rain delays, but Jordan Zimmerman was able to seize the moment and pitch six effective innings as the Nationals came from behind to win 3-2.

Zimmerman pitched six innings and allowed six hits and two runs. His only mistake was giving up a two-run shot to Matt Diaz in the fourth inning, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead. The Nationals tied the game in the bottom of the frame off of Braves starter Derek Lowe with an RBI single by Elijah Dukes and a deep bases-loaded sac fly to left by Jesus Flores that was very nearly a grand slam.

Washington scored the go-ahead run in the sixth with three straight one-out singles, the last coming off the bat of Flores. Lowe managed to get out of the inning avoiding further damage.

Both bullpens pitched scoreless ball the rest of the way. Rafael Soriano had the most trouble, having to work with the bases loaded and one out, but he got the last two batters out with strikeouts. Eric O'Flaherty also had a scoreless inning. Kip Wells, Garret Mock and Joe Beimel held the Braves off and Joel Hanrahan picked up his first save of the year in the ninth, pitching around a walk.

W - Jordan Zimmerman (1-0)
L - Derek Lowe (1-1)
S - Joel Hanrahan (1)
HR - Matt Diaz (2)

THREE STARS

GOLD
P Jordan Zimmerman, Washington - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO - Major League Debut

SILVER
LF Matt Diaz, Atlanta - 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI

BRONZE
C Jesus Flores, Washington - 2-2, BB, 2 RBI

Braves Bullpen Implosion Hands Phillies Victory

PHILADELPHIA 12, ATLANTA 11

The game was very rosy at first. The Braves knocked around Phillie starter Joe Blanton and Javier Vazquez pitched a quality start. However, the Braves bullpen suffered a catastrophic meltdown as the Phillies stormed back to take a 12-11 victory.

Starting the seventh, Eric O'Flaherty got an out and gave up a single to Chase Utley and hit Ryan Howard with a pitch. The Braves didn't record a single out until Ryan Howard grounded to first, driving in the go-ahead run. The Braves walked four batters with the bases loaded and gave up three bases-loaded singles.

Peter Moylan, in his first major league appearance since his Tommy John surgery, walked in two and allowed two of the bases loaded singles. Blaine Boyer walked in two batters as well, and Jorge Campillo allowed another single and walked in the tying run on a pitch he wanted called a strike. He got Ryan Howard to ground out to first, but that drove in the Phillies' eighth run of the inning.

It wasn't over after that. Campillo walked Pedro Feliz and then Carlos Ruiz doubled to left. Eric Bruntlett hit a sacrifice fly to center field off of new reliever Jeff Bennett, scoring another run. Bennett was able to hold the damage down after that, but the meltdown was complete.

Matt Diaz hit a one-out solo shot off of of Phillies closer Brad Lidge to make it 12-11, but Lidge got Jordan Schafer to ground out to second and struck out Garret Anderson to end it.

In all, the five Braves relievers, in just two innings of work, gave up nine runs on six hits and six walks.

Four Braves players had two hits apiece. Brian McCann and Schafer both had two-run homers for the Braves.

Four Phillies players had two hits apiece as well. Raul Ibanez went 2-3, tied the game early with a two-run homer and also had a run-scoring single in the eight-run eighth.

The Braves have an off-day before their home opener against the Nationals, who were swept by the Marlins.

W - Clay Condrey (1-0)
L - Blaine Boyer (0-1)
S - Brad Lidge (1)
HR - ATL - Brian McCann (2)
Jordan Schafer (2)
Matt Diaz (1)
PHI - Raul Ibanez (1)

THREE STARS

GOLD
2B Chase Utley, Philadelphia - 2-4, 2B, R, BB, 2 RBI

SILVER
LF Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia - 2-3, HR, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 RBI

BRONZE
LF Matt Diaz, Atlanta - 2-4, HR, 2 R, BB, 3 RBI

Photo by John Amis

EDIT: Changed box score link to Baseball-Reference.com, added photo