DEL.ICIO.USMajor League Baseball: Atlanta Braves
Hanson, Braves survive jams to blank Yankees
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The basepaths were bustling with Yankees while Tommy Hanson was on the mound Tuesday night, but the big redhead didn’t allow any of them to score.
Mark it down as another test passed for the Braves’ pitching phenom, who worked 5-1/3 innings during a 4-0 win against the New York Yankees in a much-anticipated series opener at Turner Field.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Brian McCann’s solo home run in the eighth inning gave the Braves an insurance run, which brought a big smile to Chipper Jones’ face.
Hanson (3-0) allowed four hits and five walks in his fourth start, but the right-hander made big pitches when he needed them most to run his scoreless-innings streak to 14. The Yankees left the bases loaded twice against him.
“Tommy would bend a little bit, then he would get out of it,” manager Bobby Cox said. “That’s a sign of a pretty good pitcher, to get in those situations and you don’t panic.”
Brian McCann had a home run and an RBI double, and Garret Anderson added a two-run double for the Braves, who took a 3-0 lead in the third and recorded their second consecutive shutout win for the first time since 2005.
Peter Moylan, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano worked the final 3-2/3 innings, with Soriano pitching the ninth.
“Can’t say enough about the back of our bullpen,” said McCann, who praised Hanson’s gutty performance and called him a “special, special player.”
Hanson, 22, got a standing ovation from the Braves’ portion of a crowd of 40,828 when he was replaced in the sixth with two on and one out. He tipped his cap.
“I was pumped up to face those guys,” Hanson said. “I made some good pitches, and some not-so-good. It was definitely a battle the whole game, and I’m glad to get out of there with a win.”
He last allowed a run in the third inning of his second start June 12 at Baltimore, and has 11-1/3 innings of seven-hit ball over his past two starts — albeit with nine walks (and six strikeouts).
The Yankees left eight runners on in the second through fourth innings, when Hanson faced 17 batters and issued four walks, hit one batter, and allowed two hits (both doubles). There was also a Chipper Jones error in the fourth.
“The walks are something I’ve never really experienced before,” said Hanson, known for pinpoint control in the minors. “I know what I’m doing wrong, and I’ve just got to correct it and slow myself down.
“I’m making it harder on myself. But at the same time, none of those guys scored, and I got out of there with some zeroes.”
Moylan replaced Hanson and induced a double-play grounder by Derek Jeter.
“I pumped my arm a little bit and probably looked a little like a [expletive],” Moylan said, smiling sheepishly. “That was a big moment.”
Asked about Hanson’s tightrope act, Moylan said, “It just goes to show he’s mentally strong. You don’t see that in many 22-year-olds, to get out of those situations and shut them down. The pressure’s huge, especially against the Yankees.”
The Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang (0-6) was charged with three runs and six hits in five innings, including consecutive doubles by McCann and Anderson in the third.
After a 2-0 win Monday against the Cubs in a makeup game, the Braves are 2-0 to begin a 10-game homestand that could be the biggest of their season.
They have two more games against the Yankees, then three apiece against Boston and National League East-leading Philadelphia. They’re four behind Philadelphia.
Hanson gave up six earned runs in six innings of his major-league debut against Milwaukee. In three starts since, he’s 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA, with two runs allowed at Baltimore and none at Cincinnati or against the Yankees.
He needed 99 pitches to record 16 outs Monday but maneuvered through the minefield and whittled his ERA by another run, to 3.13.
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