Atlanta Braves Taking Care of Business at Home, Sweep Padres

Four games in the new digs; four wins for the Braves as the inexperience of the young Padres is taken full advantage of.

The hope last week was that the Atlanta Braves could bring some momentum North with them as they beat the Marlins in the final game of that brief series… momentum to be used as a celebration of the opening of SunTrust Park.

That has happened in spades with a 4-game sweep of the Padres!

Early Trouble

The first inning for Jaime Garcia was shaky tonight – and could easily have been worse, but he and the Atlanta Braves manage to contain the early damage.

Three single to open the game plated one run, but Garcia was able to get a fly ball to right, a pop up, and a liner to end that very real threat.

Once settling in, Garcia was nearly unhittable – allowing only two additional hits through the first out of the seventh inning.  His final line:  6.1 IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4BB, 1HR.  His ERA now stands at 4.67.

One of those hits was a double from catcher Austin Hedges.  More on him later.

Three Man Game

The Braves’ offense began slowly, but for the most part it was a combination of Ender Inciarte, Brandon Phillips and Freddie Freeman working against Padres’ veteran starter Jered Weaver.

Freeman had some professional help before the game… maybe that helped?

He then went out and got the first hit for Atlanta – a double in the first inning.  But Freeman was then stranded there as Nick Markakis struck out.

In the second inning, Phillips reached on an infield single, moving to second when the ball ended up out of play. After a fly out moved him over, Kurt Suzuki brought him home on a groundout, knotting the score at 1-all.

The third inning saw Inciarte getting a hit, though he was replaced by Dansby Swanson on a fielder’s choice rounder.  Freeman then blasted one over the wall in right center to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

Inciarte and Freeman got additional hits in the fifth and sixth innings (the latter another double), but the rest of team could not bring either runner in.

Weaver ended up going 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), with 3K, no walks and the lone homer allowed.

The End Game… Complicated

In the seventh, Rule 5 pickup/pinch hitter Allen Cordoba surprised everyone by drilling a solo homer to left field off Garcia.

After getting Christian Bethancourt to fly out, Garcia yielded the mound to Jose Ramirez.

Ramirez was more than equal to the task, getting both Manuel Margot and Wil Myers to strike out.  The Braves successfully held Myers in check for the entire series, which definitely slowed the visitors’ attack.  3K’s tonight helped the Braves’ cause.

Arodys Vizcaino was to handle the 8th inning, per usual, but after two easy strikeouts, he walked Ryan Schimpf.

That was unfortunate as the aforementioned Mr. Hedges stung an offering into the right field seats to give the Padres the lead, 4-3.

But the Braves came back again.  With one out in the bottom of the same frame, Freddie Freeman notched his second homer of the night – a solo shot to the opposite field that tied the game again at 4-all.

To the 9th

Wil Myers did get a single off of Jim Johnson, but was then erased on a double play to end the top of the inning.

After a quick out in the bottom of the ninth, Suzuki single to left and was replaced by Chase d’Arnaud.  Anthony Recker field out, but Emilio Bonifacio doubled to short left field… which wasn’t deep enough to have d’Arnaud to score… though with 2 outs, he probably should have.

A wave off walk sent Inciarte to first base, bringing up Swanson.  Bases loaded, two down.

On a 1-2 count, Dansby finally got a ball to hit.

He didn’t miss it.

It was liner to left field that just escaped the dive from left fielder Corodoba.

BRAVES WALK IT OFF, 5-4.  They are now a .500 team at 6-6.

Next: Annnferneeee!

Jim Johnson gets the win, Dansby the first STP walk-off win, and Bonifacio with the first post-game interview ice water bath.  How SWEEP it is!