Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
The Atlanta Braves had three hits Tuesday, one night after they'd managed none. They actually had 11 on Sunday, which enabled them to score one run. That run -- a second-inning homer by Evan Gattis -- remains the Braves' only one in 37 innings.
They've been shut out three times in four games. Over that span, they're 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position. (And the one hit -- a Jason Heyward infield single Saturday night -- didn't result in a run.) Over those four games, the Braves are hitting .044 with RISP. Fun fact: The Braves were actually 0-for-6 with RISP on a day they got no-hit.
Today the Braves will try again, and this is the lineup they've dispatched in the attempt to score against the Phillies: Heyward, RF; Simmons, SS; Freeman, 1B; Doumit, LF; La Stella, 2B; Johnson, 3B; Bethancourt, C; B.J. Upton, CF; Santana, P. Three of these own batting averages under .207 -- Bossman Jr., the pitcher and -- pause for effect -- the cleanup-hitting Ryan Doumit, who's at .191.
That said, there's another average working works in the Braves' favor -- the ol' law of averages. They can't not score forever, can they? Well, can they?
Update: No, they can't. The slugging Doumit touched off a three-run rally in the second that was capped by a Bossman Jr. homer. Fredi Gonzalez, genius.
Further update: Doumit's single has been changed to an error on Chase Utley. All three Braves runs were unearned. Which doesn't mean they don't count.
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