Uggla, Simmons, Heyward, And Hudson Lead The Way; Braves Harpoon The Marlins 11-0

Boy, that was fun to watch. After managing only 3 runs in two games against the Nationals over the weekend, the Braves busted out the bats in a big way against Marlins' starter Anibal Sanchez. Dan Uggla, Andrelton Simmons, and Jason Heyward all had monster nights at the plate, while Tim Hudson threw a complete game shutout and the Bravos annihilated the Miami Marlins 11-0.

After a quiet first, Dan Uggla opened up the second inning with a double into the big gap in left center field. A groundout by Freddie Freeman moved him to third base, and Jason Heyward brought him home with a groundout to deep short. That was all the scoring that would happen until the 4th inning.

In the fourth, the Braves got a little two-out magic going, started by none other than Dan Uggla again. After fouling off 4 straight pitches and running the count full, Uggla unloaded on an Anibal Sanchez pitch, depositing it into the left field stands for a 2-0 Atlanta lead. But the Braves weren't done yet. Freeman and Heyward followed with back to back singles, and Andrelton Simmons hit a sharp ground ball past Jose Reyes for his first big league RBI, making the score 3-0.

Sanchez settled in a bit after that, throwing a 1-2-3 inning in both the 5th and the 6th. In the 7th however, he got into trouble when he walked Jason Heyward to lead off the inning. Simmons stepped to the plate and calmly hammered a triple deep into centerfield, scoring Heyward for his 2nd RBI of the game. Tim Hudson even got in on the fun, plating Simmons with a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-0. After a Jose Constanza groundout, Sanchez gave up back to back 2 out singles to Micheal Bourn and Martin Prado, which ended his night. Reliever Dan Jennings then walked Brian McCann, and Dan Uggla came through again with a 2 RBI single to make the lead 7-0.

It would remain 7-0 til the 9th, when the Braves and Uggla officially made this one a laugher. With two outs and Martin Prado on first, Dan Uggla hit a MONSTER home run that caromed off the Marlins' home run sculpture in center field. The home run was measured at over 430 feet. The Bravos still weren't done however, as Freeman, Heyward, Simmons, and yes, even Hudson singled off Chad Gaudin, scoring two more runs and making the final score 11-0.

On the other side of the ball, Tim Hudson was every bit as intimidating as the Braves' offense way. Hudson threw a complete game shutout in only 108 pitches (65 strikes) and was masterful in his domination of the Fish. He allowed only 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out three and getting 13 groundball outs along the way. Only twice did a Marlin reach second base tonight, and only once did they reach third. (And that was with two outs in the ninth!) Huddy even had a two RBI day, something he's probably as happy about as his complete guy, knowing him.

The Braves go back to work against the Fish tomorrow at 7:10 pm EST. Randall Delgado will take on Josh Johnson.

Braves MVPs:

• Dan Uggla: 4-5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2B, 2 HR
• Jason Heyward: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB
• Andrelton Simmons: 3-5, R, 3 RBI, 3B, several gorgeous defensive plays
• Tim Hudson: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. 1-4 batting, 2 RBI