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BRAVES NEWS
The only run that Jarred Cosart allowed last night was in the top of the first inning when Tommy La Stella drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to deep center. The second year pitcher was extremely sharp from there on out and received his eighth win of the season in the Houston Astros 6-1 win. He had the ground ball pitch working, forcing 10 groundouts. Matt Dominguez's three-run home run off of losing pitcher Mike Minor helped the winning cause. George Springer also hit his second home run of the series in the seventh off of rookie flamethrower Juan Jaime. It was the first run that Jaime had given up since joining the Braves big league squad.
While the Braves weren't able to come up with their fifth series sweep of the season, they were able to win two out of three against an Astros team that is very young, with the average age of a player on their ball club being 27.2 years old. While Justin Upton has struggled for nearly the entire month of June he had a good series at the plate. The Braves left fielder went 4-for-11 in the series with two home runs and four RBIs. He will take a four game hit streak into the weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Currently Atlanta sits a game back of first place below the Washington Nationals.
The month of June hasn't been exactly kind to the pitching rotation, but the return of Alex Wood to the rotation gives many hope that it will generate a spark for the team as a whole. The southpaw, originally from Charlotte, N.C., was extremely sharp this Wednesday when he went seven shutout innings in a 4-0 victory over the bottom dwellers of the AL West. He has now went 7+ innings in five of his eight starts this season and holds a 6-6 record. His 3.07 ERA isn't all that shabby either.
Minor League Recap: NO-HITTER EDITION
Yes, that's right, the Lynchburg Braves tossed a combined no-hitter last night with one of the organization's top pitching prospects on the mound. Lucas Sims was extremely efficient for the Braves Single-A affiliate, as he went seven innings and allowed not a single hit while striking out six batters and walking four. Coming into the start his ERA was up around 5.00 on the season, but now it drops to 4.71 as he continues to try and carve his way to the majors. Closer Alex Wilson came in for the final two innings and kept the no-hitter intact all the way until the end. In other news, Christian Bethancourt had a two-hit night and continues to keep his average climbing and making a case to be called up to the big league team at some point this season.
Minor Shaky In Start Against Astros
Mike Minor has yet to win a game since May 19 and is 0-3 with an ERA above 5.00 (5.90 in June) in his last seven starts. One of the main problems is that he is missing his spots, which he agreed with after picking up his fifth loss of the season yesterday. He gave up a three-run homer in the fifth inning when he left an 0-2 fastball right down the middle of the plate to Dominguez. He's struck out 44 batters over his last 42.1 innings, but he has also given up 23 earned runs and seven home runs. Location, location, location.
Gattis Should Make The All Star Team
In my opinion, Evan Gattis is the best hitting catcher in the National League, at least for the first half of the 2014 campaign. Not only does he lead the NL with 16 home runs and a .561 slugging percentage, but he also ranks second in both batting average (.291) and OPS (.904). The All Star Game festivities will not be the same without El Oso Blanco if he doesn't participate in the home run derby or the Midsummer Classic game itself. Braves fans put the duty on your shoulders to get the legend into the ASG. Vote here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2014/ballot.jsp?tcid=EngRD-asgballot-2014
Teheran Looks To Continue Trend
This season in two starts against Philadelphia the Braves ace Julio Teheran has been completely dominant. In his 17 innings against the NL East foe he has only allowed one run on seven hits. Most impressively he has yet to allow a walk against them either.
Hale To Start In Saturday Doubleheader
David Hale will receive a spot start tomorrow in the second game of a doubleheaders with the Phillies who sit six games under .500. This April he received four starts and posted a 2-2 record with a 2.31 ERA. Starting is the role he embraces the most in the BIGS.
While many would disagree, find out why this RantSports writer believes the Braves don't need David Price.
LEAGUE NEWS
You Got Framed: ESPN Special On Why Pitch Framing Is So Vital
According to Harry Pavlidis' feature story the best two pitch framers in all of baseball are Brian McCann and Jonathan Lucroy. The former Braves catcher leads all of the big leagues with 15.5 framing runs saved.
Mr. Padre Honored By 20,000 Fans
Last night the San Diego Padres had the night off, but 20,000 fans still gathered at PETCO Park to celebrate and honor the life of Tony Gwynn. The 15-time All Star has 3,141 hits in his career and was one of the few hitters to ever own Greg Maddux.