November 15, 2011 – International League (IL) Gwinnett Braves
Lawrenceville, GA – Former Gwinnett Braves right-hander Craig Kimbrel received the 2011 National
League Rookie of the Year award in an announcement made Monday by the Atlanta Braves. A dominant
closer for the G-Braves in 2010 that fulfilled the same role with Atlanta in 2011, Kimbrel secured all 32
first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in becoming the seventh Atlanta
Braves player to win the award all-time.

Kimbrel edged teammate and fellow former G-Brave Freddie Freeman, who earned 21 second-place
votes and seven third-place votes.

Kimbrel, 23, set a Major League rookie record with 46 saves in 2011, going 4-3 with a 2.10 ERA (18 ER
in 77.0 IP) and 127 strikeouts in 79 appearances. Major League opponents hit just .178 against him in
his first full professional season. In 2010, he went 4-0 with one save and a 0.44 ERA in 21 outings for the
Braves, but did not qualify for Rookie of the Year voting.

Originally drafted by the Braves in the third round in 2008 out of Wallace State Community College (AL),
Kimbrel pitched two scoreless outings with Gwinnett in 2009 and enjoyed breakout success with the G-
Braves in 2010. He went 3-2 with 23 saves and a 1.62 ERA (10 ER in 55.2 IP) in 48 International League
outings that season. Kimbrel shared the club’s “Most Outstanding Pitcher” of 2010 award with right-
hander Stephen Marek.

Kimbrel is the first Braves player to win the award since Rafael Furcal in 2000 and the first unanimous NL
Rookie of the Year selection since Albert Pujols of St. Louis in 2001.

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• Former G-Brave Kimbrel Is Nl Rookie of the Year – Gwinnett Braves

• Indianapolis Indians Collect 23.82 Tons of Recycling – Indianapolis Indians

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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That’s all for today.

Read More: Dan Uggla (2B – ATL), Martin Prado (3B – ATL), Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves

The Colorado Rockies don’t have an established second baseman or third baseman at the moment, so it shouldn’t be particularly surprising that the club is showing interest in the Atlanta Braves’ Martin Prado, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

Prado, 28, was the Braves’ primary second baseman in 2010, but he’s seen time at third base and in left field since the club added Dan Uggla to fill that position in 2011. Prado slipped to a disappointing .260/.302/.385 line this year with Atlanta, but he was an above-average hitter and one of the league’s best second baseman the year before. Presumably, the Rockies are interested in a potentially resurgent Prado that could provide a major upgrade at second base.

The current Brave isn’t under contract yet for next season, but he’s arbitration-eligible, so his team can tender him a one-year contract for roughly $4.5 million based on his previous salaries and performance. He’s not the only second baseman that the Rockies have shown interest recently, so don’t expect the team to go into next year without adding some additional options at the position.

For more on the Rockies, check out Purple Row, SB Nation’s Colorado Rockies blog.

Gotta run!.

September 19, 2011 – Southern League (SL) Mississippi Braves
Pearl, MS – On Friday, September 16, the Atlanta Braves honored several Minor League pitchers and position players during Future Stars Night at Turner Field.

Of the 16 pitchers and position players who were named, five made stops in Mississippi which include pitchers Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado, Zeke Spruill and former Shortstop Tyler Pastornicky.

Beginning in 2010, all five players made their first appearance in AA-Mississippi.

Teheran’s first appearance was July 28, against Huntsville, and he ended up making seven starts finishing the year in Mississippi with a 3-2 record and a 3.38 ERA. His claim to fame in Mississippi was on August 2, during his second AA-start, he threw a combined no-hitter with Tyrell Harris against Mobile, going 5.2 innings and striking out seven batters.

Minor began his AA tenure from game one of 2010. Over the course of 15 starts for the year, the lefty struck out an impressive 109 batters. This quickly led him to earn a spot in the Southern League All-Star game, however, he was promoted to AAA-Gwinnett before being able to make an appearance. On August 9, Minor made is first appearance with the Atlanta Braves.

In late July 2010, Delgado moved up the ranks to make his Mississippi debut. The right-hander from Panama, finished the year with a 3-5 record, and earned his first AA win in his sixth start of the season. He returned in 2011 to Mississippi earning a 3.84 ERA, striking out a total of 110 batters and was named a mid-season Southern League All-Star. On June 17, he became the 11th M-Brave to receive a promotion directly to Atlanta to make his first Major League mound appearance.

Spruill, the fourth M-Brave to receive the pitcher-of-the-year title for 2011, was the late-comer to the team. Promoted on August 1, 2011, Zeke made seven mound appearances before the conclusion of the season. While in Mississippi, Zeke made his mark with a 3-2 record for the year and threw one of the few complete games for the AA-Franchise on August 27.

Mississippi’s only position player to earn the coveted title was Tyler Pastornicky. Acquired via a trade with Toronto in 2010, he went 2 for 5 at the plate with an RBI and run scored during his first appearance as an M-Brave. He returned in 2011 and played in 90 AA games averaging .299, 13 doubles, five triples, and six home runs. In addition, on July 5, he achieved fame when he went 4 for 6 hitting the first cycle in M-Braves history.

Below is the full list of Atlanta Braves Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Year

Pitcher of Year Player of Year

Organizational Julio Teheran Joe Terdoslavich

Gwinnett Braves Mike Minor Stefan Gartrell

Mississippi Braves Randall Delgado Tyler Pastornicky

Lynchburg Hillcats Zeke Spruill Andrelton Simmons

Rome Braves Chasen Shreve Evan Gattis

Danville Braves J.R. Graham Brandon Drury

Gulf Coast League Braves Yean Carlos Gil Felix Marte

Dominican Summer League Oriel Caicedo Jose Peraza

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• Braves Name Pitchers and Players of the Year – Mississippi Braves

• Mobile BayBears Win Southern League Championship – SL

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Braves 6-5, Mets 5-1

NEW YORK — Julio Teheran gave flashes of his vast potential in earning his first big league win and the Atlanta Braves, using a lineup with Chipper Jones starting as the No. 2 hitter for the first time in 15 years, beat the New York Mets, 5-1, Thursday night to complete a sweep of a doubleheader made necessary by the threat of Hurricane Irene.

Jones had a sacrifice fly and RBI double in the nightcap and a solo homer and a double in the opener, a 6-5 victory for Atlanta. The Braves were making a quick stop in New York to play two games postponed Aug. 27-28 after being handed their first three-game sweep of the season, by the Phillies.

The Braves next head to St. Louis for a crucial series with the team they lead in the wildcard race by 71/2 games. Only several hundred fans were on hand to see the start of the twinbill at 4:10 p.m. A few thousand more sat through a misty rain in the nightcap, though the announced attendance was 25,953.

Teheran (1-1) gave a performance more in line with his minor league credentials than his first two big league starts in May. The International League’s Most Valuable Pitcher and Rookie of the Year went 15-3 for Triple-A Gwinnett, but he gave up a combined five runs in 82/3 innings for the Braves earlier this year for a 5.19 ERA.

This time, he gave up two hits to start the first and a sacrifice fly then little more in 51/3 innings.

He left after walking two with one out in the sixth but Cristhian Martinez retired two in row to end New York’s best threat.

Dan Uggla had an RBI single in the first, driving in Michael Bourn two outs after the speedster reached on Jose Reyes’ fielding error at shortstop.

Catcher David Ross had an RBI single in the fifth off Dillon Gee (12-6) and a homer in the ninth to straightaway center.

Jones drove in a run when his sinking liner was caught by a diving Jason Bay in the seventh and doubled after Bourn tripled in the ninth.

Bay hit a grand slam off Mike Minor (5-2) in the opener and had a sacrifice fly in the finale, both coming in the first inning.

The Mets had won 10 of 13 coming in and had a chance to pull to .500 in the opener but are now 70-73.

Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez tried shaking up his scuffling club, losers of five of six over all coming in, by stacking his top on-base percentage guys up front, and his squad, with Jones starting as the No. 2 batter for first time since 1996, responded in the opener.

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Jun 10, 2011 – The Atlanta Braves will head into hot and steamy Houston for a 4-game series against the Astros, who currently have the worst record in Major League Baseball. Let’s take a look at their team:

Offense:

Despite their 24-39 record, the Astros actually have a pretty decent offense. They’re ranked seventh in the National League in runs scored and are right in the middle of the pack in team batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and stolen bases.

The club is led by Hunter Pence (.315/.358/.488, .373 wOBA, 138 wRC+) and it’ll be interesting to see how the outfielder performs in the series. Pence has been linked to the Braves earlier this year in trade rumors and a big series could stir up the pot once again. Michael Bourn isn’t a great hitter (.275/.343/.368, .338 wOBA, 114 wRC+), but he’s incredibly fast and currently has 26 stolen bases. First baseman Brett Wallace (.317/.389/.457, .370 wOBA, 136 wRC+) is having a fine season as their fifth hitter and Jason Bourgeois has played well in limited playing time.

Veteran slugger Carlos Lee and his monster contract aren’t having a very good year (.262/.316/.402, .315 wOBA, 98 wRC+) and infielders Clint Barmes (.221/.325/.344, .307 wOBA, 92 wRC+) and Chris Johnson (.228/.271/.398, .287 wOBA, 79 wRC+) have both struggled as well. Catcher J.R. Towles  (.210/.297/.352, .291 wOBA, 82 wRC+) doesn’t bring much to the lineup and neither does Jeff Keppinger.

We’ll likely see something similar to this for the Astros lineup:

Michael Bourn – CF
Jeff Keppinger – 2B
Hunter Pence – RF
Carlos Lee – LF
Brett Wallace – 1B
Chris Johnson – 3B
Clint Barmes – SS
J.R. Towles

Pitching Matchups:

Tim Hudson Vs. Aneury Rodriguez, 8:05 (SportSouth)

Aneury Rodriguez has struggled this year in Houston. His ERA is 5.28 and his FIP and xFIP aren’t very far off (4.97, 4.77). He doesn’t strike out many, walks a few too many and relies heavily on fly ball outs. You won’t make it very far with that combination. He’ll throw a fastball in the low-90′s and an above-average slider as hit out-pitch, and he’ll occasionally break in a changeup against a left-handed batter.

Mike Minor Vs. Jordan Lyles, 7:05 (SportSouth)

Jordan Lyles, a right-handed rookie pitcher acquired from Texas in a recent trade, will be making the third start of his career on Saturday against Atlanta. He’s currently 0-1 and despite a high ERA of 4.91 his FIP of 2.49 and xFIP of 4.25 show he’s been a little better than his numbers indicate. Lyles features five pitches and will throw a low-90′s fastball, cutter, curveball, slider and solid changeup.

Tommy Hanson Vs. Brett Myers, 2:05 (SportSouth)

The veteran right-handed pitcher, Brett Myers, isn’t having a good season. He’s 2-5 with an ERA, FIP and xFIP of 5.02, 5.33 and 4.23 and his strikeouts are down compared to previous years. After years of being a hard thrower, Myers now features a fastball in the high-80′s, a solid slider, curveball and changeup. 

Derek Lowe Vs. Wandy Rodriguez (SportSouth)

Left-handed pitcher Wandy Rodriguez has struggled this year, but he’s a capable pitcher who can shut down a lineup on any given night. His ERA, FIP and xFIP (3.41, 3.93, 3.50) indicate he’s pitched better than his 3-3 record and he’s striking out just over seven batters per nine innings. He’ll throw a fastball in the upper-80′s, slow curveball and a nasty changeup, especially against right-handed batters.

Recap:

The Braves should win this series. They’re playing well despite injuries and the Astros might be the worst team in baseball. We’ll miss Houston’s best starter, Bud Norris, and they’re likely about to start looking ahead to next year as they sit 13.5 games out in the NL Central. 

Read More: Michael Bourn (CF – HOU), Hunter Pence (RF – HOU), Clint Barmes (SS – HOU), Tim Hudson (P – ATL), Brett Wallace (1B – HOU), Atlanta Braves

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Julio Teheran had a huge game on Thursday and is the Braves Prospect of the Day. Here’s his stat line from earlier tonight:

8IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 11K

Teheran, who is widely regarded as the top-pitching prospect in baseball, is now 6-1 this year at Triple-A Gwinnett and lowered his ERA to 1.98 with his stellar performance. The start was arguably the best of his young career.

Despite two mediocre spot-starts with the Major League club earlier this year, Teheran has all the talent and ability to become an ace for the next decade. Armed with a fastball in the mid-90′s, devastating curveball and solid changeup, Teheran has the potential for more and more double digit strikeout performances as his career progresses. He’ll likely remain in the Minor Leagues for at least another month or two while he continues to gain valuable experience before becoming a stalwart in the Braves’ starting rotation.

What are your opinions.

—
FROSTBURG — Greg Ross used his potential and hard work to go from being a thrower to becoming a more complete pitcher in his two years at Frostburg State University and is now hoping to pitch his way into major league baseball after signing with the Atlanta Braves.

The hard-throwing 6-foot-3, 205-pound righthander from Towson, was taken in the 18th round with the 566th pick of this week’s amateur draft and could have exclaimed at Thursday’s press conference at the college’s Lane Center that he is going to Disney World.

Scout Gene Kerns, who signed the Bobcats pitcher, said Ross will begin his career on Sunday with the Braves’ team in the Gulf Coast Rookie League that plays out of Atlanta’s spring training facility in Orlando. He then could possibly move up to the Danville, Va., team in the Appalachian League later in the summer.

While a lot of other people were watching the draft on the Internet, Ross said he was just sitting by the phone for the two days hoping to get a call. Then on the second day, after not being taken in the first 10 rounds, the call he was awaiting came. But it was his Frostburg State coach Guy Robertson, who beat Kerns to the phone by a few minutes, to inform his pitcher that he was drafted by the Braves.

Ross had received significant interest from at least eight teams watching him and had attended a pre-draft workout by the Washington Nationals.

“I was hoping I had a chance to be drafted and thought I could go after the 30th round,” said Ross about hearing the news. “I never expected to be taken in the 18th round and I guess Gene (Kerns) liked what he saw. It was very exciting and I know I had a glow on my face when I got the news.

“I grew up as an Orioles fans, but I always liked the Braves and was a big fan of Greg Maddux,” said the FSU All-American. “They always have winning teams and Turner Field is a great place. It was just great to be drafted and I am hoping to move up quickly.”

Ross capped his Frostburg State career by being named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-America team along with earning second-team honors from D3baseball.com. The hard-throwing righthander was also named the ABCA Mid-Atlantic Pitcher of the Year and was the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Frostburg State finished with a 28-14 overall record and won the CAC championship in the school’s first year in the conference. The Bobcats advanced to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Tournament before having their season end with a 7-2 loss to top-ranked Marietta (Ohio).

Ross had an impressive final year at FSU with an 11-2 overall record with one save and an earned run average of 1.49. The senior pitcher threw 90.2 innings with a school record 112 strikeouts and held opponents to a  .192 batting average. He had 11 strikeouts in a CAC Tournament win over Wesley (Del.) and broke John Helmick’s school record with the second of his 10 strikeouts against Marietta in the season finale. His 11 wins is second highest in school history.

In his first year at FSU after playing two years at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus. Ross had a 4-1 record with 5.19 ERA. He had 53 strikeouts and 34 walks in 59 innings.

At Essex, Ross earned NJCAA Region XX Division II honors his second year and was also named to the All-Region XX Tournament Team. He played at Loch Raven High School and was a second-team All-District selection as a shortstop along with being a pitcher.

For Robertson the 2011 MLB draft will always be a very memorable time.

“I was watching on the Internet and it was exciting to see the name of an FSU player pop up on the board,” Robertson said, who couldn’t wait to get to the phone to congratulate his young pitcher. “It was my first opportunity to be in a situation like this and nobody deserves this more than Greg Ross.”

Robertson said Ross started making the move from thrower to pitcher about the middle of his junior year with the Bobcats.

“Greg always had the potential with his outstanding arm strength, and he has a great work ethic,” said the Frostburg State mentor. “His two years here were all up-hill as he went far beyond where he started with God’s gift and a lot of tenacity. When Greg was on the mound this year, all his teammates knew they had a good chance to win and he made everybody on the team better.”

Ross is only the third Frostburg State player to be taken in the MLB draft. Current Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round of the 1974 draft and advanced as high as Triple A in the minors. John Elder was selected by the New York Mets in the 1978 draft.

The veteran Kerns remembers scouting Riggleman for the Kansas City Royals and was happy to hear from Robertson that Frostburg State had another possible draft prospect.

“The Atlanta Braves have always been a very pitcher-oriented organization and we usually draft a lot of pitchers,” said Kerns. “I recommended that we take Greg Ross between the 15th and 20th rounds and the people in control listened and we were still able to get him in the 18th round. You never know what will happen in the draft.”

The veteran scout said Ross fit the profile of what he looks for in pitchers.

“I’m a scout who looks for good mechanics and I like to see pitchers pitch with ease and not a lot of extra effort,” said Kerns. “Greg has good mechanics with a good fastball, average slider and good motion on his change-up.

“It’s all up to him now,” adds the Atlanta scout. “He just needs to go down there, do his best and listen to his coaches.”

Steve Luse writes about sports for the Cumberland Times-News. Write to him at sluse@times-news.com

That’s all for today.

Chipper Jones(notes) said that if teammate Jason Heyward(notes) can muster “80 percent” of his own capabilities while playing with an injured right shoulder, then he should be on the field — because the Atlanta Braves need him there.

Jones is 39 years old, with 17 years of major league experience, 441 home runs and 10 trips to the disabled list (so far) on his Cooperstown résumé. Heyward is 21, coming off a spectacular rookie season — but one in which he played through several nagging injuries.

So, it’s easy to see why Jones thinks he can offer guidance.

Though he was eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday, Heyward reportedly has not swung a bat in more than two weeks and isn’t ready to hit from a tee yet. Heyward has said he doesn’t want to try to play until the pain is gone.

But that’s not good enough for Jones, whose comments as reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution go to show that you don’t have to be in high school in order to get pressure from your peers:

“I think where Jason might have erred was the comment that he made, ‘I’m not coming back until it doesn’t hurt anymore.’ That has a tendency to rub people the wrong way,” Jones said.

“What Jason needs to realize is that Jason at 80 percent is a force, and Jason at 80 percent is better than a lot of people in this league. And that there are a bunch of his teammates that are out there playing with discomfort and not healthy, and still going at it.”

Holy cow, Chipper’s going to hurt Heyward’s other shoulder if he twists his left arm anymore. Or make him fall on his face and break his nose because of the guilt trip. As a respected team leader, Chipper’s voice will be heard inside Atlanta’s clubhouse on any topic he so chooses.

Hopefully, Heyward ignores him this time.

Jones wants to appear as trying to influence Heyward by having him put team before self. But it comes off as disingenuous: Chipper knows his days are numbered (he’s been talking about retiring for a while) and his chance to win another World Series might come down to, well, this year or never more.

Heyward has many more summers to go. And he knows it.

“I thought I could play with it some; I had some stretches this year where I was where I thought I should be,” he said. “But the wear and tear of every day and how hard I play, and swinging the bat every day, made it worse gradually. It’s a little frustrating, but while I still have time — this is only year two of my career — so I most definitely need to take care of it.”

Heyward’s first duty is to himself. But even looking at it from the team point of view, what Chipper wants Heyward to do is reckless. Heyward was batting .214/.317/.407 in 161 plate appearances, and went 4 for 41 with one extra-base hit in May, before being shut down. At best, those stats are 80 percent of the worst guy on the a major league bench. That’s not what Jason Heyward can do. That’s not what the Braves want.

And where does Chipper get that Heyward is at “80 percent,” anyway? That’s how you pull muscles, by yanking stuff out of your keister. By using Chipper’s logic, and health history, can we trust that he knows how to manage even his own injuries? How much you want to bet that Chipper trying to play through injuries of his own made them worse? He probably cost his team with ineffective at-bats, and with bad defense, because he was too proud to say he was hurt and shut it down.

While they’re hanging near the top of the NL East, the Braves came into Wednesday ranking 24th in runs scored in the majors, and 21st in OPS. They do need Heyward’s bat, but not the one he was swinging before he went on the disabled list in late May.

Chipper Jones has loads of experience but, in this case, lacks wisdom.

Big BLS H/T: Evan Brunell at CBS Eye on Baseball and Jeff Sullivan at SB Nation.

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Related: Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves, injuries

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(Sports Network) – R.A. Dickey tries to pitch the New York Mets to a series
win over the Atlanta Braves this evening when the National League East
combatants play the rubber match of a three-game series at Citi Field.

Jose Reyes’ eighth inning error proved costly in the Mets’ Friday night loss,
but the talented shortstop atoned for his mistake on Saturday, as his three-
run triple highlighted a five-run seventh inning and helped lead New York to a
5-0 win.

Dillon Gee (6-0) scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings to get the
win, while Justin Turner and Jason Pridie each drove in a run in the pivotal
frame for the Mets, who have won two of their last three.

“I think the confidence factor is pretty high right now, just knowing that the
guys keep picking me up each time I go out there,” said Gee. “You have to give
credit to the guys that play defense behind me.”

Jair Jurrjens (7-2), the NL’s Pitcher of the Month for May, got the loss as he
was charged with four runs — three earned — on six hits with six strikeouts
over 6 1/3 innings for the Braves, who had a two-game winning streak stopped.

Tonight, New York will turn. Dickey, who is a miserable 2-6 on the season with
a 4.39 ERA. Dickey was brilliant in not giving up a run over the first seven
innings of his last start on Tuesday against Pittsburgh, but the wheels came
off in the eighth, as he allowed three runs and was saddled with the loss. The
knuckle-balling right-hander did strike out a season-high 10 batters in the 7
2/3-ining effort.

“Anytime that you know you’re capable of better, it hurts,” Dickey said. “And
it’s tough. But that’s the nature of the beast.”

Dickey is 0-2 in six games (three starts) against the Braves with a 5.56 ERA.
He actually threw a scoreless inning of relief against them earlier in the
year.

Getting the call for the Braves tonight will be right-hander Tim Hudson, who
is 4-4 on the year, but 0-2 over his last four starts. Hudson did not get a
decision on Monday against San Diego, despite allowing just one earned run
over six innings to lower his ERA to 3.75.

Hudson has faced the Mets 20 times and is 13-6 against them with a 3.41 ERA.

Atlanta took two of three from the Mets earlier in the year.

The Sports Network

Comment Below!.

Jair Jurrjens tries to continue his impressive start to
the season this evening when the Atlanta Braves continue their three-game
series against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Jurrjens, the National League’s top pitcher for the month of May, became just
the fourth pitcher in major league history to allow two earned runs or less
and pitch at least six innings in each of his first nine starts on Sunday
against Cincinnati. He held the Reds to a run and six hits in eight innings,
to improve to 7-1, while lowering his major league best earned run
average 1.51.

Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies set the record last year when he did it in his
first 12 starts. Like Jurrjens, Randy Johnson (2000) and Lefty Gomez (1937)
did so in their first nine outings to the season.

“It’s an honor,” Jurrjens said. “It’s not easy to be a starting pitcher in
this league. I went out there and knew the bullpen needed a rest. I just made
sure I kept my pitch count down and stay deeper in the game.”

Injuries limited the right-hander to just 20 starts a year ago, but a victory
this evening would surpass his total from last year and tie him for the NL
lead along with Pittsburgh’s Kevin Correia. Although, two other seven-game
winners – Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo and St. Louis’ Kyle Lohse – are also
slated to take the hill this evening.

Jurrjens threw seven scoreless innings to beat the Mets back on April 16 and
is 8-2 lifetime against them with a 2.54 ERA in 11 starts.

New York, meanwhile, will counter with an equally impressive righty in Dillon
Gee, who is 5-0 with a 3.83 ERA. Gee won his third straight start on Monday
against Pittsburgh, as he limited the Pirates to three runs and five hits in
seven innings.

Gee defeated Atlanta earlier in the year and is 1-1 in two starts against them
with a 2.84 ERA.

Atlanta rallied for a victory in Friday’s opener, as Eric Hinske’s solo, tie-
breaking home run off Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the ninth inning
boosted the Braves to a 6-3 win.

“I was thinking I’m going to try and ambush him, get something to hit over the
plate. It worked out,” said Hinske, who entered the game in the fifth inning
when Jordan Schafer was forced to leave after bunting a ball off his face.
“Sometimes you guess right and it’s part of the cat and mouse game.”

Freddie Freeman added a two-run double to cap the ninth inning uprising, as
the Braves topped the Mets for the 10th time in the last 12 meetings.

The Mets, who held a 3-1 lead going to the eighth inning, lost for the third
time in four games. Jose Reyes committed a critical error in the eighth, which
allowed the tying run to score.

Derek Lowe pitched six effective innings and Craig Kimbrel locked down his
17th save of the year. Kimbrel now has more saves before the All-Star break
than any rookie in NL history. Johnathan Papelbon holds the overall rookie
saves mark before the break with 26.

Jonny Venters (4-0) fanned a pair of batters in the eighth to get the win.

“We’ve got to continue to work together to get through these and add on some
runs,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Schafer reportedly has a broken nose, but he underwent more tests after the
game to see if there was any other damage.

While Rodriguez (1-2) suffered the loss, he has converted his last 16 save
chances, his longest streak in a season since equaling that mark to began the
2009 campaign.

Atlanta took two of three from the Mets earlier in the year.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

There is the quick update of the day.

Interleague play will continue this evening when the Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Atlanta Braves in the second contest of a
three-game set.

One of the best pitchers in the month of May has been Tommy Hanson, and he
will look to continue his success this evening against Anaheim. The young
right-hander started the year with three losses in four starts, but since then
the future ace of Atlanta’s staff has claimed a win in four of his last five
outings.

Over his last five games the young hurler has surrendered just six runs, while
striking out 30 batters. Ten of those strikeouts came in Hanson’s recent win
over Houston, as the right-hander held the Astros to just two runs — one
earned — in seven innings.

The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.35 on the season and moved his home mark
to 3-1. However, this evening Hanson will be on the road where he is just 2-2
in four starts. This will be the first-ever start for Hanson against the
Angels, but the right-hander has enjoyed plenty of success on the west coast
this year, shutting down the Padres and Giants in their respective stadiums.

Joel Pineiro started the year on the disabled list for Anaheim, but the
veteran right-hander has given the Angels a boost since returning to the
rotation in late April.

The 32-year-old has not allowed more than three runs in any of his four starts
and comes into this matchup with a crisp 1.98 earned run average. The last
time Pineiro was on the bump he limited the Athletics to just three runs in
seven innings, and although he did not factor in the decision, the Angels were
victorious by a 5-4 margin.

Pineiro has a history against the Braves, but it is not a successful one. The
right-hander has made seven appearances against Atlanta — four starts — and
is just 1-2 with a 5.46 earned run average.

On Friday, Ervin Santana tossed a four-hit shutout and the Angels crushed
Atlanta’s Tim Hudson to open a three-game interleague series with a 9-0 rout.

Santana (2-4) needed 103 pitches to complete his sixth career shutout, as he
struck out seven and did not walk a batter to help the Angels snap a five-game
losing streak.

Mark Trumbo went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer while Alberto Callaspo had two
hits and three RBI in the lopsided decision.

In one of the worst starts of his career, Hudson surrendered eight runs on
seven hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings for the Braves, losers of
three straight following a 5-1 stretch.

The Halos took two of three at Turner Field during the 2005 campaign, but
Atlanta responded by winning two of three in Anaheim back in 2008. The Angels
and are 139-109 against the National League, while Atlanta is 119-108 against
the American League.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Not much else going on in the MLB planet today.

May. 18, 2011 03:48 PM
The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

What are your opinions.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Prince Fielder says he decided to be stubborn this spring and changed his attitude for the better. He’d stop looking at his early season numbers, which have always been ugly, and has no plans to brood over his stat line.

The Brewers big slugger broke out for the first time this year against the Braves.

Fielder had three hits, drove in his first three runs this season and scored two more to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over Atlanta 5-4 on Wednesday night.

“I’ve been feeling good the whole time. Unfortunately in baseball, it doesn’t matter if you feel great or not. You can feel terrible and still get hits. That’s just how it is,” Fielder said. “(I’m) not letting results dictate how I’m going to approach it. Results aren’t in my control, but I can control my approach and control my attitude.”

Fielder was hitless in 11 at-bats when he singled in two runs with the bases loaded in the first against Mike Minor by going the opposite way.

“It was nice to see him get those RBIs today. He’s going the other way, that’s nice to see,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “There’s a time to go the other way and that was the ideal time to do it.”

Fielder scored in the fourth on Yuniesky Betancourt’s double, hit an RBI single off Minor (0-1) in the fifth and scored later that inning on a close play at the plate to give Milwaukee a 5-1 lead.

Marco Estrada (1-0) earned his first major league victory even though he acknowledged he was nervous from the start. He was called up from the minors earlier in the day to fill in while Zack Greinke is on the disabled list.

Estrada allowed a three-run homer to Jason Heyward in the sixth, but John Axford and the bullpen protected the one-run lead.

“It feels good. I wish I hadn’t thrown that ball down the middle to Heyward, but other than that, it feels great and we won,” said Estrada, who retired 11 of 12 at one point. “That’s what matters.”

Milwaukee’s bullpen had allowed nine runs in 13 innings this season, but the group of Zach Braddock, Kameron Loe and Axford looked much stronger this night with three hitless innings.

Axford walked Heyward to start the ninth, but picked up his first save after failing to convert his first opportunity in an opening day loss to the Reds. Axford struck out Alex Gonzalez, got Matt Young to ground out and retired Eric Hinske on a flyball to give Milwaukee two straight wins after an 0-4 start.

“I was getting a little anxious out there, waiting for that opportunity to get off on a good foot this year,” Axford said. “It was a slow start for us. We had to get the ball rolling … these two games have been fantastic.”

Martin Prado led off the game with a double, giving the Braves their first base runner in scoring position in the series, and came home off Chipper Jones’ double with one out. But Atlanta failed to tack on any more runs when Brian McCann singled and Jones was thrown out easily at the plate by center fielder Carlos Gomez.

“Chipper had a good jump but he made a hell of a throw. He really did,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “You have to have people make plays and he did at that particular time.”

Fielder answered in Milwaukee’s first at-bat. Minor walked the bases loaded to start the game and Fielder punched a single through the left side to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.

In his next at-bat in the third, Fielder singled, reached second on a groundout by Casey McGehee and scored on Betancourt’s double. In the fifth, he drove in Rickie Weeks with a one-out single that chased Minor, setting up consecutive close plays at the plate.

First, Gomez was thrown out on McGehee’s grounder. It was unclear on replays if McCann’s tag touched Gomez’s back as he tried to run over the catcher.

Then, pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay singled and Fielder came home. McCann caught Heyward’s throw from right field in plenty of time, but Fielder slid in to make it 5-1.

“He’s fun to watch play,” Roenicke said of Fielder. “He does so many things that a manager likes from players. He’s fun for me.”

Estrada started the sixth by allowing consecutive singles. Heyward homered to right field, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 5-4, but Milwaukee’s bullpen held on for the first time this season.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” Heyward said. “It’s all we can do. Had a couple of close calls at home plate tonight. One went our way, one didn’t. That’s the way it happens.”

NOTES: Brewers RHP Takashi Saito (left hamstring) was unavailable. … Kotsay snapped an 0 for 26 streak against left-handers with a single in the eighth. … Wednesday night was the 10th anniversary of Miller Park’s opening. … Braves RHP Jair Jurrjens (oblique) threw four innings in a simulated game. He’s expected to start April 16 against the Mets. … The Brewers will send three players to rehab assignments this week. C Jonathan Lucroy (broken right pinkie) will begin on Thursday at Double-A Huntsville, RHP LaTroy Hawkins (shoulder) will head to Single-A Brevard County and LHP Manny Parra (back) will pitch for Single-A Wisconsin on Saturday.

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