The Braves lost their 2nd game in a row on Wednesday night and it was one of the uglier games they've played this year.
Tim Hudson was on the mound for the Braves and pitched well. He struggled to put a few of the White Sox's hitters away and left a few of his pitches up, but only allowed 4 runs in 7 innings. He didn't have his top-notch stuff, as he gave up 6 hits and walked 3. He also gave up two home runs, which basically ended the game for the Bravos. All-in-all, Hudson still pitched well enough to get the win.
The Braves scored first for the second night in a row when Melky Cabrera drove in Troy Glaus in the 2nd inning with a line drive to center field. To be honest, the Braves should've scored more after Glaus doubled and Brian McCann singled, but BMac was unexplainably picked off of 1st base despite a lead of just two or three feet.
The Sox tied it up in the 4th. After Omar Vizquel walked and he moved over on a fielders choice, Paul Konerko drove him in. Huddy left a 0-2 changeup elevated in the zone and Konerko didn't miss it. After the single, Braves Killer Carlos Quentin hit a line drive HR over the right field wall to put the Sox up 3-1. That ball is probably caught in Turner Field, but at U.S. Cellular field, they enjoy having their outfield walls 330 feet away. Quentin benefitted from it.
The Braves battled back in the 5th when David Ross singled to RF to score Yunel Escobar from 3rd. The Braves had a runner on 3rd with only 1 out, but Martin Prado and Jason Heyward both struck out on pitches that were two feet out of the zone. The Braves still trailed 3-2.
The Sox received some insurance in the 7th when Carlos Quentin homered for the 2nd time, this time on a deep fly ball to left field. This put Chicago up 4-2 for their strong bullpen.
The Braves showed a little life in the 9th when Melky Cabrera laid down a bunt, but Omar Infante promptly hit into a 5-4-3 double play to erase that threat. Eric Hinske saw one pitch and grounded out softly for the final out of the 9th.
White Sox win 4-2.
The Braves were surprisingly decent with RISP (3-for-8) and only left 7 on base, but it felt much worse than that. It seemed the Bravos had chances every inning and they continually failed to take advantage of them.
Braves MVP: Melky Cabrera - 3-for-4, 1RBI; Melky and Jesse Chavez the MVPs on back to back nights? What?
Sox MVP: Carlos Quentin - 2-for-3, 2HRs, 3RBI, 2R
What's Next: The Braves will thankfully end their brief 3-game road trip in Chicago tomorrow afternoon. The $60MM ace Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves and righty Gavin Floyd will pitch for the Sox. I don't know about you, but I'm fully expecting our good lineup to pound Floyd tomorrow afternoon. They'll be mad after losing two straight and we're a completely different team against a right-handed starter.