The Braves took on the Dodgers this past weekend and came out with a 2-2 series split. Every game was exciting and I expected no less, especially considering that both of the teams are towards the top in the NL. In case you missed it, here are the recaps:
To be honest, you can't really be un-happy with a split. The Dodgers are a solid team and few teams come out of LA with a series win. Combine this with the fact the Braves haven't and won't have an off day for quite a while and it's even more impressive that they came out with a tie. Now onto the recap.
The Good:
1. Game 3's 7th inning - 7 hits, 7 runs, a double and a HR by Troy Glaus. After looking awful at the plate during the first 6 innings, the Braves took their frustration out on the Dodgers bullpen.
2. Kris Medlen - Medlen dominated the Dodgers on Thursday night and if it wasn't for two defensive mistakes from Omar Infante, there's a chance that Medlen could've gone at least 8 innings. He kept his fastball down in the zone, his change-up was filthy as usual and his slider, for the first time in a while, was breaking nicely off the plate. Keep it up Kris.
3. Yunel Escobar - 9-for-16, 5RBI, 2BB, 1K; welcome back, Yunel. We all missed you. Now please keep it up in Arizona.
4. Jonny Venters - 3.1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 6K; how the Braves continue to turn out quality young pitchers year after year after year amazes me. Can you imagine an 8th/9th inning combo of Venters and Kimbrel in a few years? That's be unfair to opposing teams.
5. Open Thread Fan Participation - Three of the four games didn't end until after 1am and we still had more than 2,000 comments in each of the threads. Keep it up!
The Bad:
1. Peter Moylan in Game 1: I know Moylan came into a rough situation with runners on 1st and 2nd, but the Dodgers were the ripping the ball off of him. Medlen didn't deserve those 3 runs and PeMo wasn't able to strand them.
2. Eric Hinske - 2-for-11, 0RBI, 2BB, 3K
The Ugly:
1. Jason Heyward - 2-for-17, 1RBI, 3BB, 8K, 10 LOB; Ouch. Probably the worst series for J-Hey this season.
2. Jesse Chavez - At this point, does it even surprise anyone if he gives up a run in a crucial situation?
3. Nate McLouth - 2-for-14, 1 RBI, 1BB, 2K, 10 LOB; Probably the worst ser....Yeah, this is the norm nowadays with Nate.
4. Takashi Saito Injured in Game 1 - That'll hurt a bit. The Braves need all their other relievers to step up immediately.
5. LA Fans flashing shining objects towards the Braves' fielders - You stay classy, Los Angeles.
Series MVP: Yunel Escobar
Series LVP: Jason Heyward
Upcoming Series:
The Braves travel down to scorching hot Arizona to face the DBacks for a 4-game series. It'll be Lowe, Medlen, KK and Hanson on the mound for the Braves. I'm hoping for at least a split and we should probably in 3-out-of-4, but we'll see. First pitch is at 9:40EST on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursday afternoon's game starting at 3:40.
GO BRAVES!