HOUSTON -- There was no shortage of Braves milestones over the weekend: Brian McCann's game-winning, three-run homer in the 10th inning Saturday night brought the All-Star catcher to the 500 career RBI mark, and it also put the franchise record at the .500 level for the first time since 1923.
Known by various nicknames in locales from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, the franchise was a charter member of the National League in 1876, and kept its record above .500 from late July of its inaugural season until June 4, 1923, when the Boston Braves lost to the Brooklyn Dodgers to leave the all-time mark at 3,084-3,084.
A loss the following day dropped the Braves below .500, where they stayed for a remarkable 88 years. When McCann homered and the Braves won 6-3, the franchise record had climbed to 9,982-9,982.
McCann homered again Sunday and the Braves won again -- their sixth in a row -- to move a game above .500 overall.
The Braves’ won-lost nadir was 526 games below .500 on April 20, 1991.
They need 17 wins to reach 10,000 wins and could get there before the All-Star break. They have 26 games left before the break and a 25-13 record in May and June.
Taking care of business
The Braves, who had had trouble with struggling teams in recent seasons, swept three games from the Marlins in Miami last week for the first time since 1995, and won the first three games of a four-game series against an Astros team that’s 1-8 with a plus-6.00 ERA in its past nine.
The Braves have played extra innings in 10 of their past 29 games, and won seven of the past nine. McCann said much of the credit should go to their relievers.
“I can’t say enough about our bullpen. It seems like every night we’re going past nine, and they keep continuing to throw up zeros to give us a chance,” McCann said. “Our pitching, one through 12, for me is tops in the game."
The Braves led the majors with a 2.99 ERA before Sunday, just ahead of the Phillies (3.15) and Padres (3.20). The bullpen’s 2.52 ERA was second in the National League to the Padres’ 2.33.
"I think this team has probably taken about 10 years off my life already," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "But we're doing pretty well in the late innings in close situations. They build character, and the more and more we do it, the more confidence we have."
Encouraging signs from Uggla
Dan Uggla couldn't have imagined it would take 66 games into the season before he had back-to-back multi-hit games for the Braves.
Uggla went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Sunday’s 4-2 win, after going 2-for-3 with two walks on Saturday night. He said he finally was starting to feel comfortable at the plate.
“The way I can tell, the biggest difference, is the way I’m taking pitches now,” Uggla said. “My timing has been better the last couple of days. When you’re on time, you’re going to give yourself a chance.”
The three weekend walks were the most Uggla has had in consecutive games this season.
"That's a sign, for me, that he's seeing the ball a lot better than he has," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who previously managed Uggla with the Marlins.
Short hops
Jones was resting and out of the lineup Sunday after going 5-for-10 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs in the first two games of the series. The 39-year-old had two diving defensive plays and two doubles on Saturday night, hustling to take an extra base for a 10th-inning double that put him in scoring position and enabled Eric Hinske to drive him in for the final run. … Rookie left-hander Mike Minor will stay with the Braves to start Thursday night against the New York Mets. Minor has made two fill-in starts for Brandon Beachy, who is recovering from an oblique strain and could rejoin the rotation in two weeks, if not sooner. ... Rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Sunday, after batting .361 in his previous 20 games without striking out more than twice.
