Astros drop Game 2 of Braves Series, 6-4

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 11 April 2012 02:01:21 AM. © The Crawfish Boxes

; Houston Astros pitcher Wilton Lopez wears the Colt 45 jersey against the Atlanta Braves at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

The Astros were the Colt 45s in this game. And they were a little too much like the expansion Colt 45s when it came to the result: they lost. The Astros hung around in this game with chances to win it, but whenever they had the best opportunities to take the game, they used that revolver on their jersey to shoot themselves in the foot.

This loss brings the Astros and their previous 3-1 record back to earth. Meanwhile, the Braves were in a desperate situation, coming into the game with a 0-4 record and needing to avoid a fifth straight loss to begin the season---which they did. As one of the commenters in the game thread noted, this game featured the Astros' No. 5 starter vs. the Braves' No. 1 starter. Maybe the result isn't surprising.

PITCHING

25 year old Kyle Weiland made his first appearance as a starter. Weiland didn't pitch badly, but all in all, I would call the performance so-so. Weiland seemed to rely more heavily on his breaking pitches than the sinker in this game. And his breaking pitches were nasty. Sometimes the Braves' batters looked silly trying to make contact with his cutters, sliders and curveballs. Weiland also had some trouble with a tight strike zone that left quite a few well located fastballs called balls. But my impression is that Weiland didn't have his usual control in this game. He usually has few walks, but he walked two batters in five innings. By his own admission Weiland was too "amped up" which hurt his command.

The worst damage for Weiland occurred in a three run 3d inning, on a double by Uggla and a 2-run HR by Chipper Jones. The big hits by Uggla and Chipper were both on sliders. Rookie shortstop Tyler Pastornicky popped a short solo HR into the Crawford Boxes in the 4th inning. After the game, Weiland was most upset by the pitch to Uggla, because he had a 0-2 count on him with 2 outs. Weiland allowed 8 hits in 5 innings with 5 Ks and 2 BBs. After the Astros decided to go with two rookies in the rotation, Jeff Luhnow said that he expected some bumpy games along the way....and this is one of them.

The bullpen was not exactly air tight in this game. Brandon Lyon was the only reliever with a clean inning. Wilton Lopez and David Carpenter each allowed a run, and the two runs prevented the Astros' come backs from tying the game. Carpenter's run came without allowing a hit: he walked Bourn to start the inning, and the former Astro eventually scored on a grounder.

OFFENSE

Tommy Hanson came into this game as a young Astros-killer, with an ERA against the Astros below 1. If you're a glass half full fan, you can point out that scoring 2 runs off Hanson is an improvement over their usual effort against him. If you're a glass half empty kind of fan, then you can't forget the numerous opportunities that the Astros squandered with runners on base. The Astros had 12 hits and 5 walks (two by Carlos Lee); you hope to translate that many runners into more than 4 runs. I'll break the offense down, spaghetti western style (it is Colt 45 night, after all).

THE GOOD. Jordan Shafer gave the Astros everything that a lead off man should. Shafer went 3 for 5, scored 2 runs, and stole 3 bases. Jose Altuve went 2 for 5, giving a supporting role to Shafer at the top of the order. Carlos Lee went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 2 walks. He appeared to hit a game tying 3 run HR at one point, only to have the ball hit the Crawford Box wall and end up as a solo RBI single. Chris Johnson appears on both the Good and the Bad list, which exemplifies a schizophrenic game for him. Johnson had a double and single, scoring a run and driving in a run. Marwin Gonzalez continues to surprise with a hit now and then, with a RBI single and a walk to his credit.

THE BAD. The Astros let the Braves off the hook by leaving runners on base. Chris Johnson was the final out in the two innings with the best scoring opportunities. and at the final tally, he left 7 runners on base. But he wasn't alone. Chris Snyder and J.D. Martinez each left 5 runners on base, and Brian Bogusevic left 4 runners on base. In high leverage situations, Hanson wanted no part of Carlos Lee, pitching around him and going after Martinez, Bogusevic, and Johnson.

THE UGLY. The Astros had numerous failed opportunities with a runner at 3d and less than 2 outs. This included bases loaded and 2 runners on base, no out situations J.D. Martinez had three strike outs in the game that looked ugly.

DEFENSE

Unlike the previous 3 games this year, no errors were committed by either side. Generally the defense was good by both teams. On one or two occasions, the middle infield failed to complete a double play that seemed possible, but this may be nitpicking.

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s-6-4

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Terdoslavich Homers, Hefflinger Doubles Up On
Doubles, And Rome Finally Wins Behind Briceno in Tuesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

post from Talking Chop on 11 April 2012 02:01:20 AM. © Talking Chop

Rafael Briceno picked up the win with 5.1 scoreless innings in his Rome debut.

Joey Terdoslavich hit his first AAA homer, Robby Hefflinger rapped out a pair of doubles, and Rome finally won a game as Rafael Briceno excelled in his debut.

Gwinnett Braves 7, Norfolk Tides 1

Jordan Parraz LF 2-5, .259 AVG
Joey Terdoslavich DH 2-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB, .238 AVG
Josh Wilson 2B 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .278 AVG
Todd Redmond 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K, W (1), 1.80 ERA
Dusty Hughes 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Jaye Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 5.40 ERA

Joey Terdoslavich broke crushed a 2 run homer in this one, his first at the AAA level. In his last 3 games, the 23 year old switch hitter is 4-8 with a double, a homer, 4 walks, and 2 RBI. Todd Redmond did what he always does, pitched solidly, picking up the win, his 28th with Gwinnett. Dusty Hughes and Jaye Chapman combined to strike out 5 over 3 scoreless innings of relief.

Erik Cordier will make the start Wednesday afternoon in the series finale.

Mississippi Braves 3, Montgomery Biscuits 7

Cory Harrilchak CF 2-4, .286 AVG
Phil Gosselin LF 1-4, 2B, RBI, .333 AVG
Christian Bethancourt C 2-4, 2B, SB (2), .238 AVG
Luis Avilan 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 6.75 ERA
Cory Rasmus 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA

Phil Gosselin doubled in a run, extending his hitting streak to 5 games, but, more interestingly, he played left field for the first time in his professional career. It's doubtful that it's a permanent move, but it's interesting to see him working on his versatility. Christian Bethancourt had a 2 hit day that included a double, making him 5-13 in his last 4 games. Joe Leonard went hitless, ending his 5 game hitting streak. Luis Avilan's second start was nearly identical to his first one, as he again went 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs. Cory Rasmus made his third scoreless relief appearance, a good sign as the 24 year old righty, a supplemental first round pick in 2006, makes the transition to the bullpen after injuries limited him to just 27.1 innings last season.

Zeke Spruill will get the start tomorrow morning as the teams face off at 11 AM.

Lynchburg Hillcats 6, Salem Red Sox 2

Tommy La Stella 2B 0-2, 2 BB, .455 AVG
Evan Gattis DH 1-3, 2B, RBI, .385 AVG
Chris Garcia 1B 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .200 AVG
Robby Hefflinger LF 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, .500 AVG
Aaron Northcraft 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K, W (1), 1.59 ERA
Andrew Wilson 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 3.00 ERA

Robby Hefflinger began 2011 with Lynchburg, but was demoted to Rome after going just 5-44 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in 12 games. In the first 4 games of this season, he's already outproduced those numbers, going 7-14 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 RBI. Tommy La Stella went 0-2, dropping his average 100 points, but he still was able to work 2 walks. Aaron Northcraft picked up the win in his Hillcats debut, striking out 7 and allowing just 1 run over 5.2 innings.

Cody Martin will make his first start of the season in the second game of the series tomorrow.

Rome Braves 3, Savannah Sand Gnats 1

Chase Larsson RF 1-3, 2B, BB, .250 AVG
Felix Marte CF 2-3, 2B, RBI, .231 AVG
Rafael Briceno 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K, W (1), 0.00 ERA
Jean Carlos Gil 2.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, SV (1), 0.00 ERA

Rome's offense finally put something together tonight, scoring 3 times as many runs tonight as they had in the previous 4 games. Chase Larsson worked a walk and hit a double, extending his hitting streak to 3 games. Felix Marte had a pair of hits, including a double, making him 3-7 in his last 2 games. Rafael Briceno was great in his Rome debut, tossing 5.2 shutout innings and Jean Carlos Gil picked up a save by tossing 2.1 scoreless.

Rome will look to keep their offense going in the series finale Wednesday evening.

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es-up-on-doubles-and-rome-finally

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Young powers Diamondbacks past Padres (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 11 April 2012 01:50:56 AM. © MLB News Blog

SAN DIEGO (AP) Chris Young hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks remained undefeated with a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

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Game 5 - Overflow thread #3

post from Royals Review on 11 April 2012 01:01:38 AM. © Royals Review

Game 5 - Overflow thread #3

Duffy is trying to get a quality start.

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Yankees beat Orioles 5-4 in 12 innings (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 11 April 2012 12:53:06 AM. © MLB News Blog

BALTIMORE (AP) After Freddy Garcia was done with his wild performance and Taiwan native Wei-Yin Chen had experienced the thrill of pitching in the major leagues for the first time, the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees kept threatening to score and repeatedly failed to do so.

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New York Yankees: Are you loving David Phelps

post from Lady Loves Pinstripes on 11 April 2012 12:50:16 AM. © Lady Loves Pinstripes

The New York Yankeesgot there second win of the 2012 season, but it was far from pretty as leaving 12 runners on base is just not going to cut it. I could easily rant about all the Yankees missed opportunities in the 5-hour, 12-inning win vs. the Orioles[...]

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Gonzalez powers Brewers past Cubs 7-4 (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 11 April 2012 12:47:50 AM. © MLB News Blog

CHICAGO (AP) Chris Narveson knew he would be battling the elements on a blustery night at Wrigley Field, and coming up to bat before he even took the mound really helped put him at ease.

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Soriano unavailable in extras becauase of torn
nail

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 11 April 2012 12:34:28 AM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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orn-nail/

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Jones returns with homer as Braves beat Astros
6-4 (Yahoo! Sports)

HOUSTON (AP) Chipper Jones was worried his timing would be off after missing time with a knee injury.

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ros-6-4-yahoo-sports/

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The Yankee beat: extensions, ball parks, and
stoppers

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 11 April 2012 12:18:16 AM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog