Braves stumble in series opener
In a series Atlanta must win, the Padres Mat Latos (who??) held the Braves offense in check - retiring 13 straight to start the game while pitching seven scoreless innings. In his previous two starts, Latos was 0-2 with a 14.09 earned run average.
It could have been a big night for the Braves after a two-out single by Adam LaRoche tied the game at 1-1 and set the stage for a dramatic come-from-behind walk-off win. Atlanta fully expected to win last night, mind you, but winning in dramatic fashion would surely have buoyed the club's postseason aspirations.
Apparently it was not meant to be.
Instead of riding high on the waves of an emotional victory, Atlanta has to salvage the final two games of the series after losing a game in which Bobby Cox said there were "a lot of missed opportunities."
No kidding, bases packed in the eighth and tenth, but we can't score, and men left on in the ninth - so instead of gaining ground on Philly, which lost in dramatic walk-off fashion to Pittsburgh, the Braves lost ground to Colorado, San Francisco, and Florida, all winners last night.
Ouch.
And here's a trivia tidbit after last night's game: Jair Jurrjens and Clayton Kershaw (LA Dodgers) are now tied for the major league lead with 11 no-decisions during games in which they gave up two or fewer runs.
Tonight's matchup: Kawakami vs. Stauffer
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