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The Braves slip to 4-5 this season against the Padres, but at least they don't wear patterned jerseys.
Jair Jurrjens became the first pitcher in the National League to earn his tenth win as Atlanta's offense exploded late in a 10-1 Braves victory. Jurrjens pitched out of trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings while lowering his league best ERA to 2.07.
The Atlanta offense exploded late and was powered by eight extra base hits in the game. The Braves staked Jurrjens to an early lead before he ever took the mound. Jason Heyward hit a one out double in the first and scored one batter later on a Chipper Jones RBI single giving Atlanta the early 1-0 lead.
The Braves would tack on another run in the second with Dan Uggla scoring on a Nate McLouth double that Cameron Maybin misplayed in center. San Diego would close to within 2-1 in the third as Jurrjens surrendered his only run of the night on a home run to Alberto Gonzalez.
After tacking on another run in the sixth, Atlanta busted out in the eighth against Padres reliever Chad Qualls. The rally was started by of all things a Brian McCann bunt single. After the Padres shifted their defense, McCann slapped the ball down the third base line that Qualls fielded but couldn't make a throw on. Up next was Freddie Freeman who put runners at second and third with a double off of the wall in left. Dan Uggla made the score 4-1 with a single to left scoring McCann. Alex Gonzalez then dropped down a squeeze bunt that scored Freeman to make the score 5-1. Nate McLouth capped off the inning with an opposite field ground rule double to score Uggla that hit just fair before bouncing into the stands.
The Braves would add four more runs in the ninth with the big blows coming on a Jordan Schafer triple, a Chipper Jones double, and a long three run home run to center by Dan Uggla.
Jurrjens pitched out of trouble in both the fifth and the sixth innings. He pitched around two walks in the fifth before getting Will Venable to foul out to Chipper Jones at third to end the inning. The Padres again put the first two batters on in the sixth but Jurrjens rallied to hold them at bay retiring the next three batters.
Offensively, six of Atlanta's eight extra base hits were doubles. Jason Heyward and Nate McLouth each had two apiece. Schafer's triple was his 11th of the season. Five different Braves hitters had at least two hits in the game led by McLouth and Freeman.
Jurrjens gets his 10th win of the season after allowing three hits and one run over six innings. He walked four while striking out two. Eric O'Flaherty, Jonny Venters, and Scott Linebrink combined to close things out allowing one hit and a walk over the next three innings.
Dustin Moseley sees his record drop to 2-7 for the Padres after allowing three runs (two earned) over 5.2 innings. Chad Qualls and Evan Scribner were hit hard allowing seven hits and seven runs in just two innings of work.
The San Diego Padres scored nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings as they cruised to an 11-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. San Diego starter Tim Stauffer recorded a career high nine strikeouts while holding the Atlanta offense at bay for seven innings before turning things over to the Padres bullpen.
Atlanta could only muster four hits on the night and Derek Lowe couldn't escape a three run sixth inning. After recording the first two outs of the sixth inning, Lowe then allowed four hits sandwiched around a walk and three runs before exiting the game with Atlanta trailing 5-0.
Atlanta would score their only runs of the night in the seventh. Jason Heyward singled to center to the lead off the inning. Stauffer then retired Chipper Jones and Brian McCann before surrendering a long two run homer to Freddie Freeman making the score 5-2.
The floodgates opened against Braves rookie reliever Jairo Asencio. By the time the dust would settle, San Diego would be ahead 11-2 and Atlanta would be headed for a loss. The big blow of the inning came on Jesus Guzman long pinch hit two run homer to left field.
Lowe takes the loss and drops to 3-6 on the season. He pitched 5.2 innings while allowing eight hits and five runs. Asencio surrendered six runs (three earned) on four hits and a couple of walks in just 0.2 innings pitched. Jason Heyward recorded two hits for Atlanta.
Stauffer gets his third win of the season for the Padres after going seven strong innings and allowing only the Freeman home run. San Diego banged out 12 hits on the night. Will Venable, Cameron Maybin, and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits on the night.
If it feels like the Braves and Padres have already played quite a bit this year, your feelings are correct. Because of an unbalanced schedule, each National League team plays one opponent from a different division one extra time a year. If just so happened Atlanta and San Diego got matched up for what will be their third series this year. Lets take a look at the 32-44 Padres.
Offense:
The Padres are pretty awful offensively, though playing in spacious Petco Park doesn't do their lineup any favors. Chase Headley (.295/.389/.402, 133 wRC+) has been their best offensive player and guys like Ryan Ludwick (.256/.325/.393, 107 wRC+), Cameron Maybin (.251/.319/.391, 109 wRC+), Chris Denorfia (.295/.347/.443, 122 wRC+) have all had solid seasons for San Diego.
Rookie first baseman Anthony Rizzo (.158/.347/.387, 115 wRC+), who came over from Boston in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, has had a few big games since being called up from Triple-A Tucson is already a fan favorite. Center fielder Will Venable (.235/.304/.314, 86 wRC+) isn't having a good season, but he always seems to punish the Braves whenever the two clubs meet up. Shortstop Jason Bartlett (.253/.322/.317, 91 wRC+) isn't much of a hitter and Orlando Hudson (.246/.353/.323, 105 wRC+) has slowed considerably as he gets up there in age.
All-in-all, the Padres won't score a ton of runs, but they do steal quite a few bases and are capable of hanging a crooked number or two on the scoreboard if you give them opportunities.
Pitching Matchups:
Friday, 10:10EDT - Derek Lowe Vs. Tim Stauffer (SportSouth)
Derek Lowe will be pitching on an extra day of rest (as will all of our starters this weekend), so it'll be interesting to see if he's sharp in the first few innings as he gets adjusted on the mound. Tim Stauffer, his counterpart, has had a nice 2011 despite recording just two wins. His FIP and xFIP (3.14, 3.17) are nearly identical to his ERA and he'd likely have a few more wins if his team would just score a few more runs while he's in the game. Stauffer works off his fastball that sits right around 90 mph and throws a cutter as well. His curveball is his out-pitch, and he'll throw an occasional changeup.
Saturday, 8:35EDT - Jair Jurrjens Vs. Dustin Moseley (SportSouth)
Dustin Moseley, similar to Tim Stauffer, is another pitcher having a fine, under-the-radar year. The 29-year old righty is a bit of a soft tosser, and he relies heavily on getting hitters to get themselves out by swinging at pitches off the plate. Moseley features four pitchers and throws a fastball in the high-80's, cutter in the mid-80's, solid curveball and decent changeup. He allowed three runs in six innings against the Braves on May 25th.
Sunday, 4:05EDT - Tim Hudson Vs. Cory Luebke (Fox Sports South)
I know Braves fans don't want to hear this, but Cory Luebke has been really good this season. His FIP and xFIP (2.24, 2.84) are even more impressive than his ERA and he's striking out more than a batter an inning. He doesn't walk many nor give up many hits, and has dominated left-handed hitters all year.
Luebke throws a fastball in the low-90's, though he can touch 95 on occasion, a nasty slider and then an occasional changeup when he gets behind to a right-handed batter. He's young, but Luebke knows what he's doing on the mound and the Braves will need to bring their bats if they hope to close out the series with a victory.
Recap:
The Padres are a team capable of shutting an offense down on any given night with their pitching staff and will give the Braves a tough series this weekend. They don't score too many runs, but if Atlanta's defense or staff get sloppy, the club could leave SoCal without a victory. Don't take the Padres lightly.
For more Braves, visit Talking Chop; for more Padres, head to Gas Lamp Ball. And for more MLB, visit Baseball Nation.
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Braves Vs. Padres Final Score: San Diego Comes From Behind Late, Win 4-1
The San Diego Padres came from behind against one of the toughest relievers in the league to defeat the Atlanta Braves by a score of 4-1. San Diego scored all four of their runs off of Jonny Venters who carried a sterling 0.56 ERA into the game.
This game was every bit of a pitching duel early between Tim Hudson and converted reliever Cory Luebke who was making his first start of the year. Luebke struck out the side in the first and finished with six for the game. Luebke allowed only one hit, a double to Nate McLouth in the third inning.
Tim Hudson was good once again throwing six innings while allowing six hits and no runs. He struck out eight and walked three. Hudson pitched out of trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings before giving way to reliever Eric O'Flaherty in the seventh.
Atlanta would take the lead in the eighth on a Jordan Schafer double that scored Eric Hinske giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Normally when Atlanta takes a lead into the eighth inning with a lead, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel have been able to come in and shut the door. However, that wouldn't be the case on this occasion.
After a lead off walk to Chris Denorfia, Cameron Maybin reached with an infield single giving San Diego runners at first and second with no outs. Pinch hitter Rob Johnson sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Venters then intentionally walked Jesus Guzman to load the bases while setting up a force at any base. After Will Venable grounded out to Venters, San Diego tied the game on an infield single by Jason Bartlett. Orlando Hudson followed with a single to center that scored Maybin and Guzman making the score 3-1 in favor of the Padres. San Diego added another run on a Chase Headley RBI single before Scott Proctor replaced Venters and got the last out of the eighth inning.
Heath Bell worked an uneventful ninth to record his 20th save of the season.
Venters loses for the first time this season after allowing four runs and four hits in just two thirds of an inning. San Diego reliever Mike Adams earns his third victory of the season after allowing a hit and one unearned run in the eighth. Just one day after scoring 10 runs on 12 hits, Atlanta's offense was held to just two hits by the Padres.
Jun 26 8:53p by Kris Willis