 |
 |
|
|
Solid pitching gets Braves back to .500
Javier Vazquez brought his A game in game one against the Cincinnati Reds. Vazquez was able to hold the Reds to just one run in seven innings of work while striking out nine. Atlanta also received strong outings from Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. Cincinnati starter Edinson Volquez did not fair as well, allowing three runs in five innings. Things got nasty when Volquez hit Yunel Escobar with a pitch and the benches cleared. No punches were thrown but warnings were issued. With strong pitching Atlanta slipped by with a 4-3 victory.
Game two also saw strong pitching from the Braves. Derek Lowe allowed two runs in seven innings but struck out eight batters. Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar led Atlanta’s offense driving in four runs each. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo had his worst start of the season, allowing nine earned runs in just 5.2 innings. The Reds just couldn’t stop Atlanta’s offense and fell 10-2.
> Gear up for 2009 and buy Atlanta Braves apparel online through MLB Center and Pro Baseball Fans.
Cincinnati got back on track with an 8-2 victory in game three. Kenshin Kawakami again struggled for the Braves allowing eight runs in just 4.2 innings. Micah Owings faired much better throwing seven strong innings of one run ball. Jay Bruce ignited Cincinnati’s offense driving in four runs and scoring two. Joey Votto also added a three run double to help the Reds cruise to an easy victory. Atlanta may start to worry about Kawakami as he has struggled with his command and allowed at least one home run in each start this season. His success in Japan has not translated to the MLB very well.
Atlanta gets a prime time game on ESPN Monday night with the St. Louis Cardinals. Joel Pineiro (3-0, 4.12) will take on Jair Jurrjens (2-1, 1.42) in the Monday night game. Kyle Lohse (3-0, 2.42) will face the struggling Jo—Jo Reyes (0-1, 7.94). Reyes will try and right the ship and salvage his career. Reyes has had a lot of opportunities to show he can compete at the major league level but has not showed the consistency to stay there. The final game of the series will see Javier Vazquez (2-1, 2.63) face a starter to be named. Vazquez is looking to improve on a very strong start in which he has been striking out seemingly every batter.
By Ben Burrows
Atlanta Braves Correspondent
> View all of the MLB baseball news articles from ProBaseball-fans.com.
Advertisement