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BRAVES NEWS
Braves come from behind for second win of 2017 season
The Braves beat the Marlins on Wednesday, ending a five-game losing streak. Ender Inciarte homered twice, Freddie Freeman once, and the bullpen pitched four scoreless innings to stifle the Miami offense. The decisive score for Atlanta came in the top of the ninth, when Tyler Flowers delivered a clutch two-out RBI single to drive in Brandon Phillips. The Braves’ next contest will be at home as they play their first game in SunTrust Park.
Foam Braves tomahawks littered I-75, still the quickest route into Atlanta
Whether you like the Braves or not, if you used I-75 on Wednesday there's a decent chance you got to see a truckload of foam tomahawks covering one if the busiest interstates in the country. Eric Cole wrote up the story and mentioned some things to watch for as you collect your tomahawk at SunTrust Park this weekend:
When they are passing out foam tomahawks to fans, keep an eye out for special edition ones that have a little gravel on them or maybe a tire track. Those are mementos you can pass down for generations and you can tell you grandkids about the spring of 2017 when Atlanta traffic stood still(er).
Roe to DL as Braves bullpen injuries pile up
With Chaz Roe now sidelined with a right last strain, the Braves turn to Jason Hursh to fill his spot in the bullpen. Harsh spent some time in the Atlanta bullpen last season, but was largely ineffective. The former first-round pick gets another opportunity for now, but according to Mark Bowman the Braves have another highly-touted relief prospect who will soon head to Triple-A:
The highly touted lefty reliever will make at least a few appearances in warm weather climate before being promoted to Gwinnett. He produced a 1.30 ERA over 34 1/3 innings while pitching at three different levels last year, topping out at Double-A.
MLB NEWS
On Jackie's Day, legend's impact to resonate
On Saturday, the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first major league game, the Dodgers have announced that they intend to unveil a statue at Dodger Stadium to honor the memory of the man who broke baseball’s color barrier.
In what promises to be an emotional ceremony before the Dodgers' 9:15 p.m. ET home game against Arizona, Robinson's 94-year-old wife Rachel and their children Sharon and David will be on hand for the unveiling of a statue depicting Jackie in his rookie season of 1947, sliding into home plate in his signature style. Dodgers owner Magic Johnson, Dodgers President Stan Kasten, and legends Frank Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda, Don Newcombe and Vin Scully will among participants in that invitation-only dedication a few hours before the game.
10 Encouraging Fast Starts in MLB
Anthony Castrovince of sportsonearth.com names ten players who needed fast starts this season and have delivered thus far (though making these declarations after six games seems a bit strange). Among those mentioned are Bryce Harper and former-Brave Jason Heyward, who has been a major topic of discussion after his horrendous 2016 season at the plate.
So far, though, Heyward's looked relaxed and he's been productive, with a .292 average and .370 on-base percentage in his first six games. The offensive output is not overwhelming, and it might never be. But the goal here is for Heyward to be a viable enough bat that the Cubs can continue to justify starting his elite glove in the outfield on a daily basis.