What an awesome picture of Tommy Hanson.
Despite the claims and threats of rain, Mother Nature kept to herself to allow in this long-overdue makeup game with with Diamondbacks. In a way, the long delay prior to finishing out this series might not have been such a bad thing - back in May, the Diamondbacks with Scherzer on the mound stomped a mudhole in the Braves, winning 12-0. That was a time in which the Braves still had Casey Kotchman, Jeff Francoeur and Jordan Schafer in the bottom of the order, and Buddy Carlyle didn't realize that he was Diabetic. Well, a lot has changed since May, and a different looking Braves team finished out the series with a nice win, which is what the team needed.
The Braves struck first early, with a Garret Anderson solo shot in the bottom of the second inning, and never really had to look back. From there, the Braves continued to capitalize on Scherzer's wildness; after some painful-sounding HBPs to Matt Diaz and Yunel Escobar, Adam LaRoche nursed out a bases-loaded walk, and Ryan Church cleared the bases to break the game wide open.
The Dbacks did not go quietly, however, as Tommy Hanson thrust with a 7-0 lead, struggled to get out of the 5th inning, allowing two earned runs. The good news was the Braves responded quickly, with LaRoche's 17th total home run of the season, with Escobar on base. A two-run home run by Mark Reynolds was the last of the game's offense, and the 9th inning saw some (deliberate?) wildness from Mike Gonzalez before the game's end.
Two quick things to note:
1. Blaine Boyer made his first appearance against Atlanta since being traded in early April. He pitched one inning of scoreless relief, only allowing a walk, and striking out Chipper Jones.
2. Reid Gorecki made his major league debut today, coming in the 8th inning, as a defensive substitution for Garret Anderson. He recorded one putout, and got no at-bat.
A good win to cap off a 4-2 homestand. Tomorrow, the Braves start a three-game series with the New York Mets. First on the agenda, is Derek Lowe versus the "effectively wild" Oliver Perez, who has had a history of good performances against the Braves. Regardless, they're now without David Wright - so it goes without saying that now is certainly an opportunity to capitalize upon.