McCarroll21
04-17-2007, 08:07 AM
<font size="3"><b>Braves Waste Chances, Lose Opener</b></font>
By: <a href="http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1" target="_blank">Josh McCarroll</a> | Braves-Nation.com
Cold, wet, windy, empty. Four words to describe RFK Stadium on Monday.
Ugly. The best description for the play of the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
By the end of the night, the Braves had wasted opportunity after opportunity to score, were without their manager, and had dropped their first road game of the season.
The Braves had four base runners in the first inning alone, but failed to score a run. Chris Woodward, filling in for Kelly Johsnon, led off the game with a sharp single to center field. He was wiped off the bases by a double play off the bat of Edgar Renteria. The next three men at the plate, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Francoeur, all walked to load the bases. The threat came to an end as Brian McCann popped out to center field to end the inning.
Then in the second inning, the Braves had runners on first and third with two out, again failing to make good of an opportunity as Renteria flied out to right field.
The Nationals got on the scoreboard in the third inning after four straight hits sent three men to the plate. The inning started off slowly as Chuck James retired the first two men. With two outs, Felipe Lopez and Ronnie Belliard both singled to put runners on the corners. Ryan Zimmerman followed with a single of his own to score Lopez. Dmitri Young then doubled home Belliard and Zimmerman to make the score 3-0.
The Braves put a dent in the scoreboard in the sixth inning, albeit a small one, on an RBI ground out from Scott Thorman. After walks from Francoeur and McCann, and a flyout to right field from Matt Diaz, Thorman came up with runners on the corners. He hit a soft ground ball to second base to score the run. The Braves scoring stopped there and Kelly Johnson followed with a deep flyout to left field.
The Nationals put the game out of reach in the eighth inning against Tyler Yates and Mike Gonzalez. Yates started the inning by allowing a lead off single to Zimmerman, who moved to third on a double by Dmitri Young. He was removed from the game in favor of Gonzalez after striking out Austin Kearns. Gonzalez started his night by walking Ryan Church to load the bases, then complicated matters by walking Brian Schneider to force in a run.
The next play is where the fireworks began. Gonzalez got Chris Snelling to ground softly to second base. As Woodward fielded the ball, he drug his foot across the inside of the bag and threw to first base for the double play. Second base umpire Sam Holbrook ruled that Woodward missed the bag at second, thus not getting a double play to end the inning, and allowing yet another run to score to make the game 5-1. Gonzalez struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Bobby Cox came out of the dugout and argued the play briefly after it happened, but went back onto the field between innings. Cox was ejected as a result of the argument for the 125th ejection of his managerial career, inching ever so closer to John McGraw for the all-time record. With Monday's ejection, Cox is now six away from McGraw.
Chuck James allowed three runs in five innings to take the loss for the Braves. He struck out three and walked two over his five innings of work. Newly called up Steve Colyer pitched in the majors for the first time since October of 2004 and recorded three strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds. Oscar Villarreal recorded the last out of the seventh inning before Yates and Gonzalez pitched the eighth inning for the Braves.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday as John Smoltz sets out to get revenge for his tough luck loss in his last time out against the Nationals. He will face off against Jerome Williams at 7:05.
<table class="tborder" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td colspan="13" class="tcat" width="574"><span class="smallfont"><b>» Line Score</b></span></td></tr><tr><td class="thead" align="center">Team</td><td class="thead" align="center">1</td><td class="thead" align="center">2</td><td class="thead" align="center">3</td><td class="thead" align="center">4</td><td class="thead" align="center">5</td><td class="thead" align="center">6</td><td class="thead" align="center">7</td><td class="thead" align="center">8</td><td class="thead" align="center">9</td><td class="thead" align="center">R</td><td class="thead" align="center">H</td><td class="thead" align="center">E</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">Atlanta (8-4)</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">1</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>1</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">5</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>Washington (4-9) «</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">3</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">2</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">X</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>5</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">9</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">1</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="13" align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>W:</strong> Chico (1-1) <strong>L:</strong> James (2-1)</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
By: <a href="http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1" target="_blank">Josh McCarroll</a> | Braves-Nation.com
Cold, wet, windy, empty. Four words to describe RFK Stadium on Monday.
Ugly. The best description for the play of the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
By the end of the night, the Braves had wasted opportunity after opportunity to score, were without their manager, and had dropped their first road game of the season.
The Braves had four base runners in the first inning alone, but failed to score a run. Chris Woodward, filling in for Kelly Johsnon, led off the game with a sharp single to center field. He was wiped off the bases by a double play off the bat of Edgar Renteria. The next three men at the plate, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Francoeur, all walked to load the bases. The threat came to an end as Brian McCann popped out to center field to end the inning.
Then in the second inning, the Braves had runners on first and third with two out, again failing to make good of an opportunity as Renteria flied out to right field.
The Nationals got on the scoreboard in the third inning after four straight hits sent three men to the plate. The inning started off slowly as Chuck James retired the first two men. With two outs, Felipe Lopez and Ronnie Belliard both singled to put runners on the corners. Ryan Zimmerman followed with a single of his own to score Lopez. Dmitri Young then doubled home Belliard and Zimmerman to make the score 3-0.
The Braves put a dent in the scoreboard in the sixth inning, albeit a small one, on an RBI ground out from Scott Thorman. After walks from Francoeur and McCann, and a flyout to right field from Matt Diaz, Thorman came up with runners on the corners. He hit a soft ground ball to second base to score the run. The Braves scoring stopped there and Kelly Johnson followed with a deep flyout to left field.
The Nationals put the game out of reach in the eighth inning against Tyler Yates and Mike Gonzalez. Yates started the inning by allowing a lead off single to Zimmerman, who moved to third on a double by Dmitri Young. He was removed from the game in favor of Gonzalez after striking out Austin Kearns. Gonzalez started his night by walking Ryan Church to load the bases, then complicated matters by walking Brian Schneider to force in a run.
The next play is where the fireworks began. Gonzalez got Chris Snelling to ground softly to second base. As Woodward fielded the ball, he drug his foot across the inside of the bag and threw to first base for the double play. Second base umpire Sam Holbrook ruled that Woodward missed the bag at second, thus not getting a double play to end the inning, and allowing yet another run to score to make the game 5-1. Gonzalez struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Bobby Cox came out of the dugout and argued the play briefly after it happened, but went back onto the field between innings. Cox was ejected as a result of the argument for the 125th ejection of his managerial career, inching ever so closer to John McGraw for the all-time record. With Monday's ejection, Cox is now six away from McGraw.
Chuck James allowed three runs in five innings to take the loss for the Braves. He struck out three and walked two over his five innings of work. Newly called up Steve Colyer pitched in the majors for the first time since October of 2004 and recorded three strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds. Oscar Villarreal recorded the last out of the seventh inning before Yates and Gonzalez pitched the eighth inning for the Braves.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday as John Smoltz sets out to get revenge for his tough luck loss in his last time out against the Nationals. He will face off against Jerome Williams at 7:05.
<table class="tborder" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td colspan="13" class="tcat" width="574"><span class="smallfont"><b>» Line Score</b></span></td></tr><tr><td class="thead" align="center">Team</td><td class="thead" align="center">1</td><td class="thead" align="center">2</td><td class="thead" align="center">3</td><td class="thead" align="center">4</td><td class="thead" align="center">5</td><td class="thead" align="center">6</td><td class="thead" align="center">7</td><td class="thead" align="center">8</td><td class="thead" align="center">9</td><td class="thead" align="center">R</td><td class="thead" align="center">H</td><td class="thead" align="center">E</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">Atlanta (8-4)</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">1</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>1</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">5</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>Washington (4-9) «</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">3</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">0</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">2</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">X</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>5</strong></span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">9</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont">1</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="13" align="center" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"><span class="smallfont"><strong>W:</strong> Chico (1-1) <strong>L:</strong> James (2-1)</span></td></tr></tbody></table>