Early bird: Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitches against the Braves during the NL Wild-Card game on Friday. APThis one was just plain wild.Chipper Jones played his final game. The Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap after a disputed infield fly. And the St. Louis Cardinals did what they always seem to do in October.Celebrated another postseason triumph.Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals rallied from an early deficit, taking advantage of three Atlanta throwing errors — the most crucial of them by the retiring Jones — to beat the Braves 6-3 in a winner-take-all wild-card playoff Friday.In the eighth inning, there was more crazy throwing, this time by an irate crowd that littered the field to protest an umpiring decision that went against the Braves. The Cardinals fled for cover, the Braves protested and the game was halted for 19 minutes while workers cleared up all the beer cups, popcorn holders and other debris.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was asked if he'd ever seen anything like it."Not in the United States," he said.Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre said the protest was denied. St. Louis advanced to face Washington in the best-of-five division round, beginning Sunday at Busch Stadium.The Braves are done for this season, the recipients of another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.The 40-year-old Jones is all done, period. He managed an infield hit in his final at-bat but threw away a double play ball in the fourth, which led to a three-run inning that wiped out Atlanta's 2-0 lead behind Kris Medlen."Ultimately, I feel I'm the one to blame," Jones said.But this one-and-done game will be remembered for the eighth, when a disputed call on a fly ball that dropped in short left field cost the Braves a chance at extending Jones' career.Atlanta thought it had the bases loaded with one out after the ball fell between two fielders. But left-field umpire Sam Holbrook called Andrelton Simmons out under the infield fly rule — even though the ball landed at least 15 meters beyond the dirt. When the sellout crowd of 52,631 realized what had happened, and a second out went up on the scoreboard, they littered the field with whatever they could get their hands on."It was scary," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.Holbrook defended the call, even after looking at the replay."Once that fielder established himself, he got ordinary effort," he said, referring to shortstop Pete Kozma calling for the ball, then veering away at the last moment as left fielder Holliday drifted in. "That's when the call was made."Atlanta president John Schuerholz apologized for the actions of the crowd, saying a "small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." The barrage left Holbrook fearing for his safety."When cans are flying past your head, yeah, a little bit," Holbrook said.The stoppage only delayed the inevitable. When play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases but Michael Bourn struck out to end the threat. Dan Uggla grounded out with two aboard in the ninth to finish it, leading to one more wave of trash throwing as the umps scurried off the field — probably feeling a lot like those replacement NFL refs who caught so much grief.The infield fly is a complicated rule, designed to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping a popup with more than one runner on base and perhaps get an extra out.No one could ever remember it being applied like this. And, after past postseasons dotted by contested calls, this play will certainly lead to another slew of October cries for more instant replay."I was under it," Kozma said. "I should have made the play. I took my eyes off it. I was camped under it."This is what some fans feared about a one-game playoff — a disputed call determining a team's fate for an entire season, even with two extra umpires added for postseason games.Jones refused to pin this loss on the umps."That one play didn't cost us the game. Three errors cost us the game," he said. "We just dug ourselves too big a hole."Holliday homered in the sixth off Medlen, who had been baseball's most dominant starter over the final two months. The Braves had not lost a start by the diminutive right-hander since 2010 — a streak of 23 games, the longest in modern baseball history.
Showing posts with label Braves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Braves. Show all posts
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Controversial call helps Cardinals eliminate Braves
ATLANTA — Talk about a wild card.Early bird: Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitches against the Braves during the NL Wild-Card game on Friday. APThis one was just plain wild.Chipper Jones played his final game. The Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap after a disputed infield fly. And the St. Louis Cardinals did what they always seem to do in October.Celebrated another postseason triumph.Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals rallied from an early deficit, taking advantage of three Atlanta throwing errors — the most crucial of them by the retiring Jones — to beat the Braves 6-3 in a winner-take-all wild-card playoff Friday.In the eighth inning, there was more crazy throwing, this time by an irate crowd that littered the field to protest an umpiring decision that went against the Braves. The Cardinals fled for cover, the Braves protested and the game was halted for 19 minutes while workers cleared up all the beer cups, popcorn holders and other debris.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was asked if he'd ever seen anything like it."Not in the United States," he said.Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre said the protest was denied. St. Louis advanced to face Washington in the best-of-five division round, beginning Sunday at Busch Stadium.The Braves are done for this season, the recipients of another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.The 40-year-old Jones is all done, period. He managed an infield hit in his final at-bat but threw away a double play ball in the fourth, which led to a three-run inning that wiped out Atlanta's 2-0 lead behind Kris Medlen."Ultimately, I feel I'm the one to blame," Jones said.But this one-and-done game will be remembered for the eighth, when a disputed call on a fly ball that dropped in short left field cost the Braves a chance at extending Jones' career.Atlanta thought it had the bases loaded with one out after the ball fell between two fielders. But left-field umpire Sam Holbrook called Andrelton Simmons out under the infield fly rule — even though the ball landed at least 15 meters beyond the dirt. When the sellout crowd of 52,631 realized what had happened, and a second out went up on the scoreboard, they littered the field with whatever they could get their hands on."It was scary," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.Holbrook defended the call, even after looking at the replay."Once that fielder established himself, he got ordinary effort," he said, referring to shortstop Pete Kozma calling for the ball, then veering away at the last moment as left fielder Holliday drifted in. "That's when the call was made."Atlanta president John Schuerholz apologized for the actions of the crowd, saying a "small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." The barrage left Holbrook fearing for his safety."When cans are flying past your head, yeah, a little bit," Holbrook said.The stoppage only delayed the inevitable. When play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases but Michael Bourn struck out to end the threat. Dan Uggla grounded out with two aboard in the ninth to finish it, leading to one more wave of trash throwing as the umps scurried off the field — probably feeling a lot like those replacement NFL refs who caught so much grief.The infield fly is a complicated rule, designed to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping a popup with more than one runner on base and perhaps get an extra out.No one could ever remember it being applied like this. And, after past postseasons dotted by contested calls, this play will certainly lead to another slew of October cries for more instant replay."I was under it," Kozma said. "I should have made the play. I took my eyes off it. I was camped under it."This is what some fans feared about a one-game playoff — a disputed call determining a team's fate for an entire season, even with two extra umpires added for postseason games.Jones refused to pin this loss on the umps."That one play didn't cost us the game. Three errors cost us the game," he said. "We just dug ourselves too big a hole."Holliday homered in the sixth off Medlen, who had been baseball's most dominant starter over the final two months. The Braves had not lost a start by the diminutive right-hander since 2010 — a streak of 23 games, the longest in modern baseball history.
Early bird: Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitches against the Braves during the NL Wild-Card game on Friday. APThis one was just plain wild.Chipper Jones played his final game. The Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap after a disputed infield fly. And the St. Louis Cardinals did what they always seem to do in October.Celebrated another postseason triumph.Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals rallied from an early deficit, taking advantage of three Atlanta throwing errors — the most crucial of them by the retiring Jones — to beat the Braves 6-3 in a winner-take-all wild-card playoff Friday.In the eighth inning, there was more crazy throwing, this time by an irate crowd that littered the field to protest an umpiring decision that went against the Braves. The Cardinals fled for cover, the Braves protested and the game was halted for 19 minutes while workers cleared up all the beer cups, popcorn holders and other debris.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was asked if he'd ever seen anything like it."Not in the United States," he said.Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre said the protest was denied. St. Louis advanced to face Washington in the best-of-five division round, beginning Sunday at Busch Stadium.The Braves are done for this season, the recipients of another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.The 40-year-old Jones is all done, period. He managed an infield hit in his final at-bat but threw away a double play ball in the fourth, which led to a three-run inning that wiped out Atlanta's 2-0 lead behind Kris Medlen."Ultimately, I feel I'm the one to blame," Jones said.But this one-and-done game will be remembered for the eighth, when a disputed call on a fly ball that dropped in short left field cost the Braves a chance at extending Jones' career.Atlanta thought it had the bases loaded with one out after the ball fell between two fielders. But left-field umpire Sam Holbrook called Andrelton Simmons out under the infield fly rule — even though the ball landed at least 15 meters beyond the dirt. When the sellout crowd of 52,631 realized what had happened, and a second out went up on the scoreboard, they littered the field with whatever they could get their hands on."It was scary," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.Holbrook defended the call, even after looking at the replay."Once that fielder established himself, he got ordinary effort," he said, referring to shortstop Pete Kozma calling for the ball, then veering away at the last moment as left fielder Holliday drifted in. "That's when the call was made."Atlanta president John Schuerholz apologized for the actions of the crowd, saying a "small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." The barrage left Holbrook fearing for his safety."When cans are flying past your head, yeah, a little bit," Holbrook said.The stoppage only delayed the inevitable. When play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases but Michael Bourn struck out to end the threat. Dan Uggla grounded out with two aboard in the ninth to finish it, leading to one more wave of trash throwing as the umps scurried off the field — probably feeling a lot like those replacement NFL refs who caught so much grief.The infield fly is a complicated rule, designed to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping a popup with more than one runner on base and perhaps get an extra out.No one could ever remember it being applied like this. And, after past postseasons dotted by contested calls, this play will certainly lead to another slew of October cries for more instant replay."I was under it," Kozma said. "I should have made the play. I took my eyes off it. I was camped under it."This is what some fans feared about a one-game playoff — a disputed call determining a team's fate for an entire season, even with two extra umpires added for postseason games.Jones refused to pin this loss on the umps."That one play didn't cost us the game. Three errors cost us the game," he said. "We just dug ourselves too big a hole."Holliday homered in the sixth off Medlen, who had been baseball's most dominant starter over the final two months. The Braves had not lost a start by the diminutive right-hander since 2010 — a streak of 23 games, the longest in modern baseball history.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Medlen leads Braves again
ATLANTA — The Rockies couldn't hit Kris Medlen, who threw almost nothing but strikes.The Braves didn't have to rely on hits against Colorado's Tyler Chatwood, who threw far too many balls.Chatwood matched his career high with five walks and gave up six runs in only three innings as the Rockies lost to Medlen and Atlanta, 6-1, on Monday.Chatwood (4-4) gave up six runs, five earned, in only three innings. He gave up only three hits but couldn't overcome the walks."There was no consistency to his release point," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who said that Chatwood's 74 pitches in three innings "is really not a formula for success.""He couldn't get his fastball in the strike zone," Tracy said.By comparison, Medlen was masterful. He threw 111 pitches, including 85 strikes.Medlen (7-1) struck out a career high 12 to win his sixth straight decision. He allowed five hits without a walk in his second complete game of the season."He was terrific," said Tracy of Medlen. "And he's been terrific for a while."He had three pitches for strikes whenever he wanted them. Unfortunately, with the way he's been throwing the ball, we pretty much put him in a rocking chair right from the outset."Medlen extended his streak of scoreless innings to 34?— the Braves' longest since Greg Maddux's 39? in 2000 — before the Rockies scored an unearned run in the seventh.Medlen appeared in 38 games in relief before moving into the rotation on July 31. He is 6-0 with a 0.54 ERA in seven starts. He spent most of 2011 on the disabled list recovering from elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Aug. 18. 2010.Medlen was 5-0 as a starter in 2010. Atlanta has won his last 18 starts.Adding a curveball as a starter, he said, has been "huge.""You can just attack guys so differently with an extra pitch, an effective pitch, too," he said. "I got a couple strikeouts with it."Medlen said he is glad he doesn't have to worry about an innings limit, but he noted pitching in relief "was not easy on your arm."Nationals 2, Cubs 1In Washington, Ross Detwiler allowed four hits in seven shutout innings and Adam LaRoche homered, giving the Nationals their first winning season with a victory over Chicago.The NL East-leading Nationals improved to 82-52. The club moved from Montreal to Washington for the 2005 season and went 81-81 that year. In 2008 and 2009, the team lost a combined 205 games, then finished 80-81 in 2011.Phillies 4, Reds 2In Cincinnati, Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer off Johnny Cueto during a cloudburst that sent fans scurrying for cover, leading Philadelphia over the Reds.John Mayberry Jr. added a solo homer off Cueto (17-7), who failed in his attempt to become the majors' first 18-game winner. Cueto also lost a day game for the first time this season — he'd been 11-0 in 13 afternoon starts.Rookie right-hander Tyler Cloyd (1-1) got his first major league hit and win.Giants 9, Diamondbacks 8 (10)In San Francisco, Marco Scutaro hit an RBI single in the 10th inning after Buster Posey's tying double in the ninth as the Giants rallied to beat Arizona.Brandon Crawford beat out a single to short leading off the 10th and moved to second when Brett Pill dropped a sacrifice bunt. Angel Pagan grounded out to first to advance Crawford.Scutaro sent the final fastball from Bryan Shaw (1-5) past diving third baseman Chris Johnson for San Francisco's seventh walk-off win. Scutaro also doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth to help hand J.J. Putz his second straight blown save.Astros 5, Pirates 1In Pittsburgh, Brett Wallace had three hits, including a three-run homer, to lift Houston past the struggling Pirates.Edgar Gonzalez (1-0) picked up his first win as a starter in more than four years, giving up a run on five hits in 5? innings.Cardinals 5, Mets 4In St. Louis, rookie Joe Kelly pitched 6? effective innings and also doubled, and the Cardinals held off New York.Marlins 7, Brewers 3In Miami, Jose Reyes drove in three runs and the hosts snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Milwaukee.Carlos Gomez hit a two-run home run in the second for the Brewers. Teammate Norichika Aoki was 2-for-5, and is now batting .286.Dodgers 4, Padres 3 (11)In Los Angeles, A.J. Ellis singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Dodgers a victory over San Diego for their second consecutive walk-off win.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Braves get to Kuroda, end Yanks' win streak
ATLANTA — Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves eventually caught the ball, and the New York Yankees.
Throwing darts: Tigers ace Justin Verlander pitches against the Cardinals on Tuesday in Detroit. The Tigers won 6-3. APJones atoned for a costly error by cutting down the potential tying run at the plate and the Braves held on to end the Yankees' 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night."Sometimes you're going to whiff on some balls," the All-Star third baseman said. "But you've got to have a hockey goalie mentality down there. You've got to flush it or you're going to get the next one down your throat."The Yankees were trying to match their longest winning string in nearly a half-century. Instead, the Braves threw out two runners at home and won for only the second time in nine games — their skid included four losses to New York."They pitched really well and had some really good defense. That's kind of what we've been doing," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.Jason Heyward singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning off Hiroki Kuroda. Heyward also tripled and scored, and nailed Mark Teixeira at home with a strong throw from right field."We wouldn't have gotten there if it wasn't for Jason Heyward," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.Kuroda (6-7) allowed all four runs on six hits and three walks. Against the Braves, whom he beat just six days ago, the right-hander had a career ERA of 2.23 along with six wins in as many games.Kuroda was not happy with the way his night ended."It's not the greatest feeling in the world," said Kuroda, who struck out six. "It wouldn't have hurt to have won. I just have to forget about this and move on."I worried too much when I put runners on base. I wasn't aggressive enough trying to protect a one-run lead and ended up allowing two."Atlanta rookie Andrelton Simmons drove in two runs and Jones delivered an RBI double for the slumping Braves.The Yankees' recent run was built entirely against NL teams. Only once since 1965 had the Yankees won 11 in a row, and that was in 1985. The team's record winning streak of 19 was set in 1947.Red Sox 7, Marlins 5In Boston, David Ortiz hit his 17th homer and Clay Buchholz won his fourth straight start as the Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games.Mets 5, Orioles 0In New York, Johan Santana pitched six sharp innings, Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer, and the Mets earned their second straight shutout of Baltimore.Pirates 7, Twins 2In Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including his 12th homer of the season, and Kevin Correia ended a lengthy winless streak at home.Rays 5, Nationals 4In Washington, Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer and David Price bounced back from his worst start of the season to pitch seven strong innings, leading Tampa Bay to a victory over the Nationals.Hideki Matsui was 0-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance for the Rays.Indians 3, Reds 2 (10)In Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning off hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman to give the Indians a win.Royals 2, Astros 0In Houston, Luke Hochevar pitched into the eighth inning, two relievers completed the shutout, and Billy Butler hit a solo home run to lead Kansas City over the Astros.Cubs 2, White Sox 1In Chicago, Travis Wood pitched six strong innings for his first win as a starter in more than a year and the Cubs beat the White Sox.Tigers 6, Cardinals 3In Detroit, Justin Verlander allowed one earned run in seven innings, leading the Tigers to a victory over St. Louis.Athletics 3, Dodgers 0In Oakland, Brandon McCarthy showed no signs of an ailing shoulder in seven impressive innings.Rangers 7, Padres 3In San Diego, Josh Hamilton returned to the Texas lineup after missing four starts due to illness and hit a two-run triple.Angels 12, Giants 5In Anaheim, Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer, Mark Trumbo added a three-run triple and drove in five runs.Blue Jays 10, Brewers 9In Milwaukee, Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista erased a one-run deficit with back-to-back home runs off closer John Axford in the ninth and Toronto rallied to a win.Brewers leadoff batter Norichika Aoki finished 0-for-5.NATIONAL LEAGUEPhillies 7, Rockies 2In Philadelphia, Cole Hamels threw eight sharp innings and John Mayberry Jr. and Carlos Ruiz hit two-run homers for the Phillies.
Throwing darts: Tigers ace Justin Verlander pitches against the Cardinals on Tuesday in Detroit. The Tigers won 6-3. APJones atoned for a costly error by cutting down the potential tying run at the plate and the Braves held on to end the Yankees' 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night."Sometimes you're going to whiff on some balls," the All-Star third baseman said. "But you've got to have a hockey goalie mentality down there. You've got to flush it or you're going to get the next one down your throat."The Yankees were trying to match their longest winning string in nearly a half-century. Instead, the Braves threw out two runners at home and won for only the second time in nine games — their skid included four losses to New York."They pitched really well and had some really good defense. That's kind of what we've been doing," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.Jason Heyward singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning off Hiroki Kuroda. Heyward also tripled and scored, and nailed Mark Teixeira at home with a strong throw from right field."We wouldn't have gotten there if it wasn't for Jason Heyward," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.Kuroda (6-7) allowed all four runs on six hits and three walks. Against the Braves, whom he beat just six days ago, the right-hander had a career ERA of 2.23 along with six wins in as many games.Kuroda was not happy with the way his night ended."It's not the greatest feeling in the world," said Kuroda, who struck out six. "It wouldn't have hurt to have won. I just have to forget about this and move on."I worried too much when I put runners on base. I wasn't aggressive enough trying to protect a one-run lead and ended up allowing two."Atlanta rookie Andrelton Simmons drove in two runs and Jones delivered an RBI double for the slumping Braves.The Yankees' recent run was built entirely against NL teams. Only once since 1965 had the Yankees won 11 in a row, and that was in 1985. The team's record winning streak of 19 was set in 1947.Red Sox 7, Marlins 5In Boston, David Ortiz hit his 17th homer and Clay Buchholz won his fourth straight start as the Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games.Mets 5, Orioles 0In New York, Johan Santana pitched six sharp innings, Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer, and the Mets earned their second straight shutout of Baltimore.Pirates 7, Twins 2In Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including his 12th homer of the season, and Kevin Correia ended a lengthy winless streak at home.Rays 5, Nationals 4In Washington, Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer and David Price bounced back from his worst start of the season to pitch seven strong innings, leading Tampa Bay to a victory over the Nationals.Hideki Matsui was 0-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance for the Rays.Indians 3, Reds 2 (10)In Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning off hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman to give the Indians a win.Royals 2, Astros 0In Houston, Luke Hochevar pitched into the eighth inning, two relievers completed the shutout, and Billy Butler hit a solo home run to lead Kansas City over the Astros.Cubs 2, White Sox 1In Chicago, Travis Wood pitched six strong innings for his first win as a starter in more than a year and the Cubs beat the White Sox.Tigers 6, Cardinals 3In Detroit, Justin Verlander allowed one earned run in seven innings, leading the Tigers to a victory over St. Louis.Athletics 3, Dodgers 0In Oakland, Brandon McCarthy showed no signs of an ailing shoulder in seven impressive innings.Rangers 7, Padres 3In San Diego, Josh Hamilton returned to the Texas lineup after missing four starts due to illness and hit a two-run triple.Angels 12, Giants 5In Anaheim, Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer, Mark Trumbo added a three-run triple and drove in five runs.Blue Jays 10, Brewers 9In Milwaukee, Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista erased a one-run deficit with back-to-back home runs off closer John Axford in the ninth and Toronto rallied to a win.Brewers leadoff batter Norichika Aoki finished 0-for-5.NATIONAL LEAGUEPhillies 7, Rockies 2In Philadelphia, Cole Hamels threw eight sharp innings and John Mayberry Jr. and Carlos Ruiz hit two-run homers for the Phillies.
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