The Atlanta Braves went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and scored their lone run on a throwing error against the Rockies on Wednesday night. Given their recent struggles, no one will be complaining in the clubhouse.
Mike Minor was the story on this night, flirting with a no-hitter as the seventh inning arrived. Minor had surrendered just two walks and saw a batter reach on error, but he had been perfect other than that. It was a line drive single from Jordan Pacheco with no outs in the seventh that finally broke the no hitter, which prompted a rousing ovation from the 16,714 at Turner Field.
Minor finished his night tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just the one hit, four walks and striking out seven.
With runners on first and second and no outs in the fourth, Brian McCann grounded out sharply to second baseman DJ LeMahieu. He flipped to shortstop Josh Rutledge, who fired errantly to first base. The ball rolled into the dugout, advancing Chipper Jones across the plate for the first run of the game.
Craig Kimbrel entered in the eighth inning and struck out the lone batter he faced with two on base. He then worked around a two-out walk as he struck out three more in the ninth to secure the 1-0 victory.
The Braves and Rockies will meet again at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Atlanta. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit Braves blog Talking Chop as well as Rockies blog Purple Row. And for more news, notes and analysis from around the league, check out Baseball Nation.