Braves' Minor gets first win, Prado shines in return

By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The way that Braves hitters were struggling early in Tuesday's game, it looked as if a couple of sixth-inning mistakes by Mike Minor might condemn the rookie pitcher to his first loss.

But that was before Minor's recent Triple-A teammate Diory Hernandez belted a pinch-hit homer to lead off the sixth and jump-start the Braves' offense.

The Braves scored four runs in the sixth to erase a two-run deficit en route to a 10-2 series-opening win against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. The outburst was as sudden and surprising as the beer shower that four Braves gave Minor when the rookie was being interviewed after his first major league win.

"Definitely worth it," said Minor, who was soaked in his street clothes after several cans of beer were poured over his head by teammates David Ross, Brooks Conrad, Billy Wagner and Derek Lowe. "Hopefully I get some more of these, and give them to a few guys down the road."

Minor worked six strong innings (five hits, two runs) for the win in his second start and home debut.

Martin Prado had three hits and two RBIs in his first game back from the disabled list for the Braves, who opened up an 8-2 lead with four runs tacked on in a sloppy seventh inning, two unearned after a couple of Washington errors.

"Mike pitched very well," said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves won for the sixth time in seven games and maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia atop the National League East standings.  "We had a lot of hitting tonight after the fifth inning. Prado, you know how important he is to our team. We had a lot of clutch hitting. It was good to see."

Before the smallest home crowd of the season at Turner Field (16,911), the Braves improved their majors' best home record to 43-16 and turned a close game into their second rout in three days, after a 13-1 win Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Prado showed no effects from a right pinkie he broke on July 30 -- an injury that typically sidelines a player for five to six weeks. But he said he jammed his hand on his last at-bat and would have to see how he feels on Wednesday.

"I'm tired," said Prado, who returned to the lineup after only one injury-rehab game at Triple-A Gwinnett. "My body feels like it's falling apart right now. But it's OK. It was good tonight."

Prado hit a tying RBI double in the sixth inning, and Matt Diaz followed with a two-run double for a 4-2 lead. Prado, an All-Star second baseman, moved to third base, while friend and fellow Venezuelan  Omar Infante stayed at second base, where Infante excelled while filling in for Prado.

Infante also stayed in the leadoff spot, with Prado moving to the third spot long held by third baseman Chipper Jones, who had season-ending knee surgery Saturday.

"Hopefully he's a big shot in the arm for this team," Diaz said of Prado. "He's the one who turned our offense around early [in the season] with the big homer in Milwaukee. Maybe getting him back is a shot in the arm and hopefully we can reel off another streak like that offensively."

Braves pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in every game during the 6-1 surge. They entered Tuesday with a league-leading 1.92 ERA in August, and their starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 15 of 16 games during the month.

The exception was Minor, who was charged with three earned runs in six innings in his Aug. 9 debut at Houston, where he got no decision.

The seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft, Minor won his first major league decision Tuesday while totaling five strikeouts with two walks and throwing 68 strikes in 105 pitches.

The 22-year-old left-hander out of Vanderbilt had a two-hit shutout going until the sixth inning, when he allowed a leadoff single by Ian Desmond and consecutive two-out doubles by Wil Nieves and Mike Morse.

"I was just more confident, more laid-back," than in his debut, Minor said. "I wanted to go after the hitters, where last time I was a little bit timid and just tried to fool myself that I was confident out there.

"After the first one last week, this week I was like, ‘Same guys, same game, just throw your pitches and execute.'"

Minor has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of 23 starts this season, including the minor leagues. He was 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Gwinnett, where Minor was briefly a teammate of Hernandez.

Hernandez, a rookie middle infielder, led off the sixth with a pinch homer off Nationals left-hander Scott Olsen, who had given up one hit before that.

It was the second major league homer for Hernandez, who hit the other July 1, 2009, against the Phillies. He had shoulder surgery in December and was on the disabled list until June 24.

Hernandez had struck out in his only two major league at-bats this season before Tuesday. His homer cut the lead to 2-1, and Infante followed with a triple to the right-center gap.

Jason Heyward drew a walk to put runners on the corners with none out, and reliever Joel Peralta was brought in to face Prado.

Prado and Diaz hit back-to-back doubles off Peralta, giving the Braves four extra-base hits and a walk to start the inning, before Troy Glaus struck out.

After coming in with a league-worst .244 average against lefties, the Braves had one hit through five innings against Olsen.