Is it just me or has every other game we've played lately been an extra innings game? Last night was no different as the Braves and Pirates played 15 innings.
Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami managed more good work through 6 innings, limiting the Pirates to just 4 hits, while striking out 5. The Braves pen was then lined up to go Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, and Mike Gonzalez to finish out the game in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, but Moylan ran into some trouble. Moylan's pitches were up and out over the plate and the Bucs hitters didn't miss any of them as they tied the game.
The offense came alive with power as Chipper Jones, Nate McLouth, and Brian McCann all homered, but all the Braves scoring was done by the sixth inning. That was until the 15th innings, when a benign infield single by David Ross scored Frenchy for the walk-off winning run.
The bullpen after Moylan was solid in holding the Pirates scoreless for 8 innings, highlighted by rookie Kris Medlen going three innings of one-hit ball to pick up the win.
If you don't count the one-third of an inning that Moylan pitched, this was a good game. We hit 3 homeruns, stole 2 bases, everyone in the starting lineup got a hit (of course, they had 15 innings to make it happen). Despite giving up the lead, the team held on and came through for the win, getting the job done however they could.
This game also had some statistical significance for our manager. This was Bobby Cox' 2,000th win as the Braves manager. Bobby has more wins than that overall, as he manager the Jays for a while, but 2,000 wins with one team is mighty impressive.