"A huge win"
I think Chipper Jones summed up last night's victory vs. the Marlins best: "It's a huge win, probably the biggest win of the year, especially sitting back and seeing how the first six innings went. To come back, come off the mat and put up enough runs to win and then some off of [Johnson] is a tremendous boost for us."
No kidding.
A loss and the Braves would have fallen four back in the Wild Card hunt and trailed three teams. Not that the road to the postseason is any easier because of a single win, but last night's victory was like clearing a huge hurdle considering the pitching matchup strongly favored the Marlins. Josh Johnson was outstanding, but Kenshin Kawakami got the job done - and he got the victory.
Now only three games back of the Giants and Rockies, Atlanta's playoff push can get another shot of adrenaline today when Tim Hudson makes his first start in more than a year. If he can deliver a strong outing and the Braves can take the first two games of this series, then we'll definitely get a boost in our postseason spirits.
What we have no control over: tonight Colorado starts a long home-stand against weak opponents, but at least the Giants begin a six-game trip against the Phillies and Brewers.
What we can control: the Braves play the Marlins tonight, and we have to take the one-game-at-a-time approach. Tonight's matchup: Tim Hudson vs. Anibal Sanchez. Hudson's last start was July 23, 2008, and it was also on the road vs. Florida. Sanchez was horrible at home last week against the Mets, but he was brilliant a week and a half ago in Atlanta.
And for tonight's game that means . . . absolutely nothing.
One game at a time. That's how it works. And for the rest of the season, every win will be huge.
Trivia tidbit: Omar Infante got the clutch two-out hit vs. Josh Johnson that gave the Braves a 2-1 lead last night. He's now batting 14 for 36 (.389) this season with runners in scoring position, but that's nothing new for Infante. He's batting .370 with runners in scoring position over the past three seasons - and that's the highest average in baseball among players who batted at least 150 times in that situation during the past three years.
Major League Baseball: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Foreword by Zack Hample)
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David:
thanks for stopping by: Yesterday was a huge win for u guys.
It was a great comeback and it was great that you guys knocked off Johnson.
Wow he is just amazing! He almost threw a no no against ya:
But then the hanging slider started it all -- he couldn't keep it down from there on.
And the Braves take advantage of bad pitching:
I know that! By the way: those blue jerseys are sweet!
I love those. Almost as much as I like the Indians cream colored jerseys. Yum!
;-) Great post: nice trivia tidbit. I didn't know that...
Keep on posting: I like reading this blog - and make sure you stop by again!
Happy September!
--Ted
http://tribewithted.mlblogs.com/
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I didn't realize the Braves were that close to the Rockies and Giants for the wild card. No question, they can still get there. It's hard not to scoreboard watch at this time of year!
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
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I heard about Johnson's pitching - lucky you guys came through and beat him! Infante was definitely clutch. The WC is not a lost goal for you guys. Keep up the good work!
- Lisa
http://perennialpinstriper.mlblogs.com/
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Good luck down the stretch. Atlanta has always been an organization with pride and that pride pours down to the team itself. I have a strong feeling The Braves are going to be the under the rader team that steals the wildcard. Hit me up when they do....I want to say I told you so. Have a great week.
J.C.
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