On a night in which Billy Wagner was able to get his historic 400th save, a wild, eight walk no-hitter by the Arizona Diamondbacks Edwin Jackson may overlook Wagner's landmark on the national level. Wagner entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead and struck out the side in order to close out the game in vintage Wagner fashion. Wagner has had a storied career and is now just the second left-hander to be in the 400 save club, joining John Franco. Click here for more on Wagner and his phenomenal baseball career.
Starting pitcher Kris Medlen was very impressive against a solid Tiger's offense. Kris made his case to remain the rotation even stronger by throwing 6.2 innings of one run ball. In the first inning, he allowed three hits and gave up the Tiger's only run. After that, he shut them down for the next 5.2 before Eric O'Flaherty finished the seventh. Medlen allowed just seven baserunners, and only four after the first inning. Peter Moylan and Jonny Venters split the eighth inning to set it up perfectly for Wagner and his 400th save. None of the Braves pitchers used have an ERA above 3.15.
Opposing pitcher Andrew Oliver had a solid major league debut. Oliver allowed two runs and six base runners in six innings of work. He gave up an RBI single to Melky Cabrera in the third inning and a home run to Brian McCann (9) in the fourth, which put the Braves ahead for good. Eddie Bonine came in to keep the game close but Brooks Conrad took him deep in his second inning of work to give the Braves an insurance run as they handed over to Wagner. It was Conrad's fourth home run of the season and his second pinch-hit home run. Emphasis cannot be placed on how important that insurance was, nor can it be placed on how important Conrad has been to this team.
The Braves offense is still having some trouble. Jason Heyward's average is now down to .251 and Yunel Escobar's is at .246. However, Chipper Jones extended his hitting streak to nine games with two hits and Martin Prado and Omar Infante each added a single. Melky Cabrera had a great catch in the first to get Medlen out of a jam which would have altered the course of the game.
Overall it was a well-pitched game by both sides, but Medlen was just that much better than the rookie in his debut. The Braves bullpen was able to dominate the Tigers to get the Braves the win and keep their first place standing in tact. Congrats to Billy Wagner again on save No. 400, a truly huge accomplishment .