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- 9 months ago
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Braves vs. Cardinals: Atlanta's protest denied
The Atlanta Braves finished their 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals under protest, stemming from an infield fly rule call in the bottom of the eighth inning. Major League Baseball has reportedly denied the protest, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN, making the St. Louis win official.
With two on and one out for Atlanta, Matt Holiday and Peter Kozma miscommunicated on a fly to shallow left, allowing the ball to fall between them:
The infield fly rule was called despite the depth of the play and the difficulty in making the catch. There was a lengthy delay in the game as Fredi Gonzales lodged his protest with the officials, and Atlanta fans did the same via throwing things onto the field. Jason Motte took over for St. Louis when the game resumed, and he was able to end the inning without the Braves scoring, and he closed the game in the same fashion.
Atlanta's protest was denied shortly after the game ended, ending the season for the Braves and sending St. Louis to the NLDS.
- 9 months ago
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Braves vs. Cardinals Final Score: Atlanta falls to St. Louis, 6-3
The Atlanta Braves lost the NL Wild Card play-in game to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night, 6-3. The Braves struck first, taking a 2-0 lead in the second, but St. Louis came back starting with three runs in the fourth, and Atlanta was never able to close the gap.
The Braves' best chance at a comeback came in the eighth, when a rally was disrupted by a bizarre infield fly rule call.
Matt Holliday and Peter Kozma both went for a ball in shallow left, and when Kozma made the call the infield fly rule was invoked. Kozma's placement when he made the catch was well out of the infield:
That led to a significant delay as Fredi Gonzales argued the call, then placed the game under protest. Displeased Atlanta fans littered the field with debris, resulting in further delay. Jason Motte entered for St. Louis as play finally resumed, and he walked the next batter to give the Braves the bases loaded with two outs. Michael Bourn came to the plate, but he struck out to end the inning and strand all three runners.
St. Louis went in order in the top of the ninth, leaving Atlanta's chances to Martin Prado, Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones. Motte got Prado on a groundout to second and Heyward on a flyout to left, leaving Chipper Jones at the plate with two outs. Jones, in what was likely his last at-bat, reached on a broken-bat infield single, extending the inning for the Braves. Freddie Freeman hit a ground-rule double to left center, briefly keeping the Braves alive, but Dan Uggla was unable to keep the rally going as he grounded out to end the game.
- 9 months ago
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Cardinals vs. Braves score update: St. Louis heads to 9th inning up 6-3
The Atlanta Braves trail the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 through eight innings in Friday night's NL Wild Card game. The Braves threatened in the eighth, but failed to capitalize thanks in part to a bizarre infield fly rule call.
The Braves struck first in the game, thanks to a two-run home run by catcher David Ross, but the Cardinals were able to respond with three runs in the fourth. St. Louis added a run in the sixth and two in the seventh. The Braves managed to narrow the gap with a run in the bottom half of the seventh and would have gotten more if Chipper Jones had been able to deliver a two-out hit with runners in scoring position.
The Cardinals threatened again in the eighth, putting two men on with one out, but a double play ended the inning. Atlanta rallied in the bottom half of the eighth and appeared to have the bases loaded with one out when a miscommunication by the Cardinals in shallow left allowed a ball to drop in. Matt Holliday and shortstop Peter Kozma ended up confused about who would take the ball, which allowed for the botched play. But the umpire in left field implemented the infield fly rule, and the batter was therefore out. Here's the position of the ball:
With the ball caught that far out of the infield, a significant delay resulted as Braves manager Fredi Gonzales first objected, then placed the game under protest. There was also time required to clear the field of debris, which had been thrown by Braves fans displeased with the infield fly rule call.
Play resumed with two outs and men on second and third, with Jason Motte on the mound for St. Louis. He issued a walk to Brian McCann to load the bases. Michael Bourn then came to the plate and worked a full count before striking out to end the inning.
Atlanta starting pitcher Kris Medlen left the game after 6-1/3 innings of work having allowed five runs, though only two were earned. St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse was replaced with two outs in the sixth.
- 9 months ago
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Cardinals vs. Braves score update: St. Louis scores 2 in 7th to take 6-2 lead
The St. Louis Cardinals added two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-2 lead on the Atlanta Braves in Friday's Wild Card game.
The Cardinals took advantage of more throwing errors by Atlanta, as David Freese was able to make it to second on a throwing error by Dan Uggla to get the inning started. Freese was replaced by Adron Chambers, who was subsequently sacrificed over to third base by Daniel Descalso. Another throwing error -- this time by Andrelton Simmons -- allowed Chambers to score St. Louis' fifth run. Simmons' error, which came on a ground ball hit by Pete Kozma, allowed Kozma to advance into scoring position, and he scored on a Matt Carpenter infield hit.
The Cardinals take a four-run lead into the bottom half of the seventh, and both teams' starting pitchers have been removed from the contest. Lance Lynn took over for St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse, and the Braves finished the seventh with Jonny Venters on the mound.
- 9 months ago
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ANIMATED: Jason Heyward robs Yadier Molina of home run
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina hit a long fly ball to right field in the second inning of Friday's Wild Card game, but Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward kept it from leaving the yard with a leaping catch at the wall. Here's a gif of the defensive play:
The home run would have given the Cardlinals the early 1-0 lead in this win-or-go-home game; Braves starter Kris Medlen was able to settle down from there and get his team out of the inning without any more close calls. The Braves claimed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a David Ross home run to left center field. Dan Uggla had been on first after walking.
Atlanta has two hits on the afternoon, while the St. Louis Cardinals remain shut out in that category. Medlen has struck out four batters and walked none through three innings of work.
