The Braves won the first game of the games they 'should' win, by routing the Marlins 10 - 2 Tuesday night. It was a close one for a while, with Florida jumping out to an early lead with an unearned run off Thompson in the first inning. But Big-Red was up to the challenge, and kept Florida in check until the Braves bats were able to break through in the fifth. Jeff Francoeur continued his good hitting with a leadoff single in the fifth, and Adam LaRoche followed with a long double to right field. Then Brian Jordan came up and slugged his third homer over the teal monster in left to give the Braves a lead they would not relinquish.
Thompson turned the ball over to the bullpen in the sixth and they took it the rest of the way, with Ray, Villarreal, and Moylan pitching spotless relief, and newcomer Chad Paronto getting his feet wet with an inning of work, allowing three base runners and one run to score. Paronto looked a bit wild on the mound, perhaps because this was the first time since 2003 that he's been in a major league game. But it was good to get him into a game like this and let him get the butterflies out.
The Braves second rally inning came in the sixth when the they loaded the bases with one out on one of the strangest plays in all of baseball - a Jeff Francoeur walk. His first walk of the season. That move, perhaps demoralizing the Marlins, led to five more runs in the inning. Francoeur's single in the fifth also extended his modest hitting streak to seven games, and Edgar Renteria extended his streak to 23 games with his twelfth multi-hit game this year. We need a nickname for Edgar that is more than just repeating the name Edgar real slow; E-d-g-a-r. I was thinking it could be El Barranquilla Bombero (Barranquilla is the town he was born in). Whatever it is it needs to be something with an 'El' in front of it, like El Rozo. I have no idea what Rozo means, but it sound good - Edgar 'El Rozo' Renteria. But I digress. . .
It seems as though Bobby Cox may be starting to take my advice, as the lineup was adjusted last night swapping McCann and LaRoche in the fifth and seventh spots in the batting order, something I suggested two weeks ago. But really, I guess it had to happen eventually. And to Bobby's credit, it worked. LaRoche responded with a three hit night including two RBIs and three runs scored.
Let's hope the Bravos can keep the wins coming, and let's hope El Rozo can keep the hits coming.
Atlanta 10, Florida 2 at Dolphins Stadium
Atlanta Record: (14-18)
Florida Record: (8-22)
Winning pitcher - John Thomson (1-2)
Losing pitcher - Brian Moehler (0-4)