Four homers lead the way to a Braves victory over the Pirates

From the start of spring training the baseball world watched as the Braves hit home run after home run. Everyone knew they would be a slugging team, and they continued to show that today, hitting four home runs to bring them to a team total of 29 home runs in 15 games. Just to be clear, the Pirates have nine home runs as a team, the same number that Justin Upton has alone.

It didn't take long for the Braves to tee off, with a lead off home run to B.J Upton. It was his second home run of the year, the first being a dramatic 9th inning game tying home run on April 6th against the Chicago Cubs. It was also his ninth overall hit this season as he maintains a .167 batting average.

The lead was short lived after an RBI double from Andrew McCutchen, who went 1-4 tonight. In the bottom of the second inning Russel Martin powered a home run over the left field wall to take a 2-1 lead.

But that lead was short lived. After a two out walk to Justin Upton, Chris Johnson belted a deep home run to straightaway center, giving the Braves a 3-2 lead. That was the second of three hits by Johnson, also getting a single in the first and ninth innings. Today marked his seventh multi-hit game, and extended his hitting streak to six games.

But, lead giveth and lead taketh away. In the fourth inning, Pedro Alvarez blasted a monstrous home run, bouncing off the batter's eye in center field.

Julio Teheran struggled today, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in five innings. He showed little to no command today, letting up two walks in the first inning, two home runs, and two hit batsmen.  His record now is 0-0 in three starts with a 7.31 ERA. This season in 16 innings pitched he has allowed 21 hits, 13 earned runs, allowing seven walks and striking out 12. As you can tell, I sit here a Teheran skeptic. Jason Heyward also showed signs of struggles today, going 0-5 with two strike outs. Heyward now is batting .115 with six hits in 52 at bats.

The Braves wanted the lead back and they were going to do it in true Braves fashion. With one out in the fifth, Justin Upton came to the plate with the bases empty. Justin Upton has started out hotter than any other player, and kept that going by ripping a home run deep to left field in almost the exact spot where his brother had put one earlier for his MLB leading ninth home run.

But as if the Pirates hadn't gotten on the Braves' nerves enough, they managed to tie it up again. After Travis Snider reached third on a wild pitch after hitting a lead off double, it only took two more batters to make it a game again. Garrett Jones connected for an RBI double, giving him his second RBI of the game. Jones advanced to third on a single by Alvarez, but both were left on base after a Russel Martin fly out.

Andrelton Simmons lead off the eighth inning with a walk, then was advanced by a Gerald Laird sacrifice bunt. Fredi Gonzalez called for the Braves' secret weapon, Evan Gattis to come off the bench to pinch hit. In his first ever pinch hit appearance, Gattis shot off his fifth home run in 12 games. He is batting .279/.333/.674 in the 26 year old catcher's rookie season.

That proved to be all the Braves needed to wrap up the game. After a quick eighth inning from the arm of Eric O'Flaherty, the door was opened for Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. Kimbrel continued to show his consistency, retiring the batters in order with three strike outs. Kimbrel now has seven saves in seven opportunities, an MLB best. Anthony Varvaro recorded his first win of the season.

All good things must end

We knew the Braves weren't going to finish off the year 161-1, but seeing a 10 game win streak come to an end can pull at your heart strings, and a 1-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Atlanta does just that.

It was a sad day especially for Mike Minor, who pitched a gem of a game, allowing just one run and five hits over six innings pitched, while striking out five. His record today has dropped to 2-1, but he still maintains a 1.04 ERA.

If yesterday was a game of blasts, today was a game of of keeping the ball low. The two clubs combined for just one extra base hit today, a drastic change from the six overall home runs sent over the walls at Turner Field last night. But in the sixth inning Heyward began to show even more potential, hitting the only double of the game. Heyward's bat has been coming together over the past few games.

A questionable move by Brian Snitker cut a Braves rally short. With Juan Francisco on first and two outs, Chris Johnson hit a bloop single along the right field line behind first base. While the ball was bouncing behind the rain tarp along the right field wall, Snitker sent Francisco around third to try to score the game tying run. However, with Francisco's painfully slow run and poor footing on the base paths, Francisco was thrown out by a good six feet, ending the inning and sending the Braves to the eighth.

The eighth and ninth were short lived. Ramiro Pena hit a pinch hit single in the eighth to no avail, followed by three strike outs in a row to finish the game in the ninth.

The Braves and Royals split the two game series. The Braves still have under their belts a 12-2 record, a Major League best. They hold a four game lead in the National League East above the Washington Nationals, and 4.5 over the New York Mets, both of which are playing later on tonight.

But there was an upside today. Relief pitcher Luis Avilan, who collapsed in pain in yesterday's match up, only suffered a strain combined with severe cramping, and will not have to have surgery. There is a chance he could skip the DL all together and sit out for a few days to recover and rest his left leg.

A bittersweet win for the Braves in Atlanta

Eyes from all over the baseball world were watching the Braves today, who returned home after a 6-0 road trip and on a nine game win streak. Heads have been turning at Justin Upton's MVP caliber season, the bullpen's lights out performance, and a dominating pitching staff. But now the elusive 10th win in a row was on the line. They have been hot, sweeping the Cubs, Marlins, and Nationals consecutively, to bring their standing to the Major League best 11-1, and they wanted to keep the hot streak alive.

Small ball was not a term in the Braves' vocabulary in today's 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. No, it's wasn't a game of infield hits and RBI singles. Seven of the nine hits on the Braves' end today were for extra bases, and five of their six runs came courtesy solo home runs.

The Braves' home run derby kicked off in the second inning with Juan Francisco hitting a line drive shot to right field, just barely clearing the foul pole, his second of the season. The Royals weren't going to take that lying down, and the next inning Chris Getz hit his first home run in over 900 at bats. This proved to be the lone earned run given up by Kris Medlen today, who pitched seven innings and allowed six hits while notching five strike outs.

The Royals took the lead in the fourth inning. A critical throwing error on Juan Francisco put what would turn into the game leading RBI on first base. A couple of singles later and the Braves had fallen behind 2-1.

The bats stayed quiet until the seventh inning, when Juan Francisco delivered his second home run of the game, tying the game 2-2. But it was the eighth inning when the Braves' bats really came to life. With one out and no runners on, Jason Heyward hit his first home run of the year deep over the left field wall to give the Braves the lead. But, they weren't done yet. Justin Upton, batting next in the lineup hit a towering moonshot past the walkway of the outfield pavilion at Turner Field for his Major League best eighth home run. And just when that left field wall thought it had seen enough, two batters later Dan Uggla hit a no doubter on a 99mph heater to bring the score to 7-5.

Chris Johnson accounted for the other Braves run, in the form of an RBI single to bring home Jordan Schafer, who was pinch running for Juan Francisco. It was the second of two hits for Johnson, having hit a double in the second inning.

But there was a dark side to today's game. In the ninth inning, Luis Avilan collapsed on the mound mid pitch, grabbing the back of his left leg in very obvious pain. He had to be helped off the field, then carted to the training room. Manager Fredi Gonzalez commented that he believed it to be a hamstring injury, though no report has come from the medical staff yet.

After leaving the game Craig Kimbrel, who had been warming up in the bullpen when the Braves were briefly in a save situation, came out to finish the game. Kimbrel allowed the runner inherited from Avilan, bringing the game to 6-3. This was the first inherited run any member of the Braves' bullpen has allowed this year. Kimbrel finished the game not allowing any more runs. Eric O'Flaherty recorded the win today, his third of the season. Atlanta remains 4.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals and New York Mets, who are tied for second place in the National League East.

Are the holes getting filled?

The Braves have been the hottest team in baseball so far this season, notching an 11-1 record and a nine game win streak. In spite of their record, they have had two notable holes in their lineup, Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton.

Going into yesterday's game Heyward and B.J. Upton, two very high profile players with great expectations were combined batting under .200. The Braves were expecting 30 home run years from both of them, but the first 11 games showed nothing but disappointment and concern. Why is it that two players who have proven to be heavy hitters each faced instant slumps?

Last season Heyward batted .269 with 27 home runs and 86 RBIs, and a Gold Glove award, just for good measure. Upton has never been known for having a high batting average, last year compiling just .246. He always has made up for his low average with his speed and power, blasting 28 home runs last season while swiping 31 bags.

But what's different about this season for these guys? They have proven themselves to be solid players who can help their teams put some wins up. Is Heyward trying to live up to the expectations that have been hanging over him since before he played a day in Atlanta? Is B.J. trying to show up his little brother, who just two spots away in the lineup is having an MVP caliber season?

Yesterday was an encouraging game. Upton compiled two doubles and a single, giving him a total of seven hits, three extra base. Heyward went 1-4 with a double and an RBI. Sometimes all it takes is that one game to turn a season around for a player, and hopefully with both of them showing their potential, yesterday will be that game.

The Braves victories are almost illogical. This season has already seen two of the worst starts any Braves players have seen, the three year curse of Dan Uggla, a struggling Andrelton Simmons, and injuries to Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann, and Jonny Venters, they still have managed to pull in the best record in baseball by 2.5 games and a four game lead in the division. If this is how they play with injuries and slumps, what will happen to this team when they are firing on all cylinders?

The Braves entered this game against the Nationals with a 10-1 record and eight game win streak. But this wasn't enough. They wanted that third sweep in a row and ninth game.

The Braves made quick work of Gio Gonzalez. B.J. Upton, who going into today's game was batting .105 quickly showed signs of power by ripping a double in left field. It was the first of three hits in the game for Upton with two doubles. Before tonight he had just one extra base hit, a ninth game tying home run against Chicago on April 6th. After advancing to third on a Jason Heyward pop fly and a walk to his brother Justin, Evan Gattis lined an RBI double to left field to put the Braves on top 1-0. They continued their offensive attack with a Chris Johnson 2 RBI single up the middle, bringing the score to 3-0. Johnson recorded four hits in tonight's game, and his second multi-hit game of the series.

Paul Maholm continued his dominance. Already 2-0 with a 0.00ERA coming into today's match-up, Maholm allowed four hits and no runs over 7 2/3 inning with seven strikeouts. His gem and the Braves' offensive blowout gave closer Craig Kimbrel a needed night off, who had pitched the previous two games against the Nationals, recording his fifth and sixth saves to lead the MLB.

In the fourth inning the Braves continued to put runs on the board with a long home run to right center off the bat of Justin Upton, his seventh of the year. Andrelton Simmons, who going into the fourth inning bating just .200 ripped a no doubter off Gio Gonzalez into the Braves' bullpen to plate three runs, his first of the season, bringing the Braves' total to 7-0.

All of last year Gonzalez allowed just nine home runs, yet today allowed two in one inning. He showed struggles throughout the whole game, allowing seven runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings pitched.

The Braves tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning off the bat of an RBI double from Jason Heyward and sacrifice fly from Evan Gattis, his third RBI of the game. Gattis has been proving himself as a crucial part of the Braves' lineup this season, batting .324/.382/.735 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in nine games played.

The Braves return to Turner Field on April 16^th for the first of a two game series with the Kansas City Royals, who lead the NL Central with a 7-5 record before beginning a seven game road trip to Pittsburgh and Colorado.  

Braves v. Nationals. Two teams fighting for a chance to take the NL East title. Washington took the crown last year, but the Braves are determined to not let them repeat their success.

The Braves came into the game as the hottest team in baseball, holding an 8-1 record and in the midst of a seven game win streak. The Nationals have by many been called to win the division, but in this game, they were the ones with something to prove.

Heyward finally pulled himself off of an 0-21 streak by getting a first inning single to center field. Though they got a runner on quick with one out, a fly out to Justin Upton and ground out to Evan Gattis put a quick end to an early hit.

The Nats struck quick in the first inning. Denard Span reached base on a throwing error by Chris Johnson. Then two batters later came the young phenom Bryce Harper, who ripped a high fastball opposite field over the left field wall. Teheran faced a little more trouble in the second inning by letting up a pair of singles to Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond, but after a Danny Espinosa fly out, the Braves made it out of the inning having let up just two runs.

Denard Span and Jayson Werth each plated an RBI in the second inning, adding on to an early lead and putting pressure on the young Julio Teheran. Teheran's struggles were short lived, though, needing only five pitches to silence the Nations in order in the bottom of the third. From the third inning through the sevenths Teheran allowed only two runners to reach base in the form of a pair of walks in the 5^th inning, but allowed no more runs to score.

The 6^th inning looked promising for the Braves. Still down 4-0, Justin Upton blasted a shot to left center field. The hit was ruled a double, but shortly after the hit went under replay. The umpires watched the video for a much longer time than usual. After an agonizing wait, the umpires came out to ultimately call the hit a double, short of a home run by a matter of inches. This gave the Braves a runner in scoring position with no outs for Evan Gattis, who in the end struck out swinging.

After a longball by Chris Johnson in the 7^th inning, he 8^th inning looked like it was time to turn the game around. After a bases loaded walk to B.J. Upton, all eyes were on Dan Uggla. Uggla has the most RBIs of any visiting player in Nationals park at 32. With the bases loaded and two outs, he came just a few feet shy of turning that into 36, with a deep fly all the way to the warning track to center field.

In the 9^th inning, down 4-2, the Braves were ready to come back with a big rally. Ryan Zimmerman made a costly throwing error on a Justin Upton RBI single, tying the game. Eric O'Flaherty made quick work in the bottom of the 9^th, sending the game into extra innings.

10^th inning, one runner on, and Ramiro Pena at the plate. Pena is a new addition to the Braves, not known as a power hitter. He surprised everyone when he blasted a moonshot to the back of the Nationals bullpen in right field.

This opened the door for the Braves late inning weapon, Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel notched the save in a three up, three down bottom of the 10^th, recording his 5^th save in five attempts, staying just as consistent as he had previous seasons(Though this game he only recorded one strikeout, must have been an off day).

The dramatic game ended in a 6-4 score, giving the Braves the first game of the series and a two game lead in the National League East. Even if the Braves lose the remaining two games, they cannot walk out less than tied for first. Though it is early in the season, the Braves are showing fight, power and dominance. This sure will be a wild season.