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Matzek Makes Mincemeat Of Braves, Atlanta Loses 8-2

Julio Teheran got hit hard in the 1st inning again, but this time the hole was too deep for the Braves to dig out of, plus Tyler Matzek completely mystified Atlanta's offense as well.

By Demetrius Bell
Doug Pensinger

Over the course of a 162 game, 6-7 month season, you have games where absolutely nothing goes right and it just isn't your night. Tonight was one of those nights. Despite the fact that the Braves #1 starter was going for them tonight and the fact that the Rockies were starting a rookie making a bit of an unheralded Major League debut, things went about the opposite as everyone figured it would, as the Rockies jumped on Julio Teheran early and often while Tyler Matzek comfortably cruised through 7 innings, leading Colorado to an easy 8-2 victory.

As well as Atlanta started last night's game, that's how badly they started this one. The first inning has normally been the inning of "adventure" for Julio Teheran this season, and that was the case tonight, as a double from Drew Stubbs and a triple from Corey Dickerson contributed to 3 runs for the Rockies in the bottom of the 1st. All of the damage was done with 2 outs as well, which made that even more disappointing.

Even more disappointing than that was the fact that the Braves offense didn't seem to wake up until it was far, far too late in the game. By then, the following happened:

  • Drew Stubbs hit a sac fly in the 3rd to extend the lead to 4
  • The Braves got a hit in the 5th inning. It was their first of the entire game. They wouldn't get another until the 8th.
  • Troy Tulowitzki got his first RBI of the series in the bottom half of the 5th after getting caught in a rundown while Freddie Freeman and Tommy La Stella both ignored Josh Rutledge, who made it home with no problem. That made it 5-0.
  • The 1-2 punch of Drew Stubbs and Corey Dickerson struck again in the 6th. Stubbs got a double, then Dickerson got a double to bring Stubbs in. 6-0.
  • Tulo and Justin Morneau got RBIs in the 7th inning. These came off of David Carpenter, who had yet another rough outing. The score was now 8-0.
The Braves didn't show any signs of life until the 8th inning, which is when Andrelton Simmons and B.J. Upton both drove in runs to cut the deficit to 6. This was after Tyler Matzek had left the game with a line of 7 IP and only 2 ER, which was good for .244 WPA, easily the top number of the night. For a guy making his MLB debut, that's all you can ask of a guy and then some, so I'm sure that the Rockies and their fans are over the moon with how this guy performed tonight.

As for the guys with the Tomahawks across their chests, this was just a big ol 'plate of "blah" tonight. Teheran didn't have his best stuff, and the Braves bats were completely shut down by Tyler Matzek. Simply put, this wasn't a fun game to watch if you were rooting for the Braves. To make up for that, here's a video of tiny hamsters eating tiny pizzas. I hope you enjoy this more than you did the baseball game, and here's hoping that tomorrow afternoon's game goes much better.



Source: FanGraphs

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