DEL.ICIO.USMLB: ATLANTA BRAVES
Braves’ rally in ninth falls short
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
It was an unlikely but ultimately unsatisfying end to another Braves loss and a forgettable homestand.
After the Braves scored two unearned runs in the ninth inning against New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, Chipper Jones flied out with two runners on base to end the 4-3 defeat Tuesday night at Turner Field.
Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com
Omar Infante attempts to gain control of a bobbled ball as New York Met Ramon Castro slides safely into second in the third inning.
Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com
Braves closer Mike Gonzalez had a short night, as he was pulled before getting any outs in the ninth inning.
The Braves lost six of eight games and all three series on the homestand, though it briefly looked as if they might salvage a split with the Mets in the most unlikely fashion against “K-Rod” Rodriguez.
“This team’s got a lot of fight in it,” said backup catcher Clint Sammons, whose towering drive sailed about 10 feet outside the left-field foul pole with two out in the ninth.
Instead of a two-run homer, Sammons drew a walk that put runners at first and second (Kelly Johnson had started the two-out rally with a pinch single).
Omar Infante hit a popup that first baseman Carlos Delgado dropped, letting in one run and sending a charge through the Braves dugout and a crowd of 21,049.
Yunel Escobar singled to drive in another run and cut the lead to 4-3, before Jones flied out to right field to end the game.
The Braves were swept in two games by the Mets to close a 2-6 homestand, during which they scored three runs or fewer in half the games.
When a reporter mentioned to manager Bobby Cox that his Braves could use more clutch hitting, Cox replied, “I would say so.”
The end overshadowed what Cox called a “courageous” performance Tuesday by Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami (1-4), who threw 50 pitches before Mets counterpart Livan Hernandez (1-2) threw his sixth.
Hernandez was 3-15 in 24 previous starts against the Braves, including 1-12 with an 6.50 ERA in his past 18. He limited them to seven hits in 6-1/3 innings Tuesday, and the Braves didn’t score until Martin Prado’s two-out pinch-hit double in the seventh off reliever Bobby Parnell.
Kawakami needed 100 pitches to get through the first four innings, and the Mets put at least two runners on base in each of those. Yet the Braves still trailed just 2-0 when Kawakami left after five innings.
After the Braves cut the lead to 2-1, the Mets added two runs against closer Mike Gonzalez in the ninth that proved crucial. Jones made a throwing error in the inning.
Kawakami has lost four consecutive starts. He threw 113 pitches in five innings and gave up two runs, eight hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
The Mets stranded multiple runners in each of the first four innings, and got two runs in the third on RBI doubles by David Wright and Ramon Castro.
Kawakami had posted an 8.04 ERA during his previous three starts, and this assignment was pushed back three days because of a sore shoulder.
“They’re a good team, and I was trying to nibble too much, to be too precise,” Kawakami said through a translator. “It was too many pitches. … But compared to my last few starts, I was able to pitch better today, with more feel.”
The Braves have lost 13 of 20 games while scoring two runs or fewer in 10.
They start an eight-game trip Wednesday night in Miami that includes series against all three teams ahead of them in the National League East standings — Florida, Philadelphia and New York.
The return of left fielder Garret Anderson from the disabled list provided no spark for the Braves. He went 0-for-4 and grounded into a double play.
