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BRAVES NEWS
Nats Finally Get One Over On Braves
In "There's Something You Don't See Everyday" news, the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves. Doug Fister was the star of the show for Washington, as his 8 innings of clean, efficient work for the Nationals was enough to shut out the Braves. Julio Teheran pitched well, but communication issues with Evan Gattis dogged him all night, and a costly balk helped the Nationals bring in the 2nd run of the evening.
Gattis Makes Inroads For All-Star Selection
Communication woes with Teheran aside, Evan Gattis has been on a tear as of late. His 20-game hitting streak is the longest for a catcher in Atlanta Braves history, and he's also been hitting .388/.437/.725 with 8 HR, 223 wRC+, and .338 ISO over that stretch. When you're putting up numbers like that, it makes it hard for people like NL All-Star/St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny to overlook him. He's currently 4th in the fan vote for catchers, but with the way he's been playing, he could still make it on the squad yet.
After missing 3 straight games due to an inner-ear ailment that caused light-headedness and dizziness, Justin Upton returned to the Braves lineup last night. He didn't fare too well in his return (the rest of the lineup didn't do much better, though), but just seeing him back on the field was a positive.
Despite Elbow Fracture, Floyd's Ligament Is Okay
Even though Gavin Floyd somehow fractured his olecranon during his start on Thursday against the Nationals, a MRI revealed that Floyd's surgically repaired ligament in that same elbow was actually okay. So the good news is that he won't need Tommy John surgery. The bad news is that Floyd's injury is so rare in baseball that there's basically no certain idea as to when or if Floyd can come back from this.
Gavin Floyd's amazingly unfortunate injury means that Alex Wood will be returning to the big league roster in the imminent future. Wood was sent down to AAA to stretch out his arm so that he could return to the rotation soon, but obviously with Floyd's injury, this sped up the process of Wood's return. Wood's next Major League start will occur during the series with the Astros, which will start tomorrow.
LEAGUE WIDE NEWS
Milwaukee Beats Colorado 9-4, Score 3 Runs Thanks To Wild Pitch
Yep, that actually happened. The Milwaukee Brewers managed to score 3 runs on one play without even swinging the bat. Christian Friedrich's errant throw was the source of 1 run coming in, then a bad throw by Rockies C Michael McKenry helped bring in another run. Then Jean Segura took advantage of a lackadaisical moment on Friedrich's part to score the 3rd run. Here's video evidence of this strange turn of events.
Wainwright And Holliday Come Up Big For St. Louis In Win Over Philly
Two great pitchers squared off at Busch Stadium on Saturday, as Adam Wainwright took the ball for the Cardinals against Cole Hamels and the Phillies. The game was still in the balance until the 8th inning, which is when Matt Holliday knocked in the go-ahead RBI off of Cole Hamels. The Cardinals went on to win 4-1, making sure that Wainwright's performance of 8 IP, 7 Ks, and no walks didn't go in vain.
Despite Controversy, A's Win In Extras 2-1
There was a controversial moment late in the game that helped send this game to extras. In the top of the 8th, Luke Gregorson seemingly got Mike Napoli out on a foul-tip strike 3 that was clear to see for everybody in the building, except for the umpires, who ruled it a foul ball since the home plate ump figured that the ball touched the ground. A's manager Bob Melvin got ejected for arguing the botched call, and 1 wild pitch later, Dustin Pedroia scored to tie the game at 1. Justice was served in the 10th, though, which is when Coco Crisp walked it off with a game-winning RBI to give the A's the victory.