Braves bring some momentum into Reds series

“It’s good to see the tenacity of these guys,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We lose two big parts of our offense — Heyward and McLouth — and we’re able to get two wins. It wasn’t like we scored 15 runs, but we scored enough to get two W’s.”

The Braves scored six runs in 20 innings over the two games in Pittsburgh, including Wednesday’s 4-2 win in extra innings. They averaged only 2.43 runs per game while hitting .233 in the seven games on the trip overall, which makes a 3-4 record all the more impressive.

Braves pitchers had a 3.53 ERA on the trip. Take out the eight runs in 3 2/3 innings Hudson allowed in Anaheim with a stiff back — he’s scheduled to return to the rotation Monday against the Padres — and the Braves’ ERA on the trip was 2.59.

Pitching has been the Braves’ greatest point of consistency throughout the season. It’s their offense that comes and goes. Losing two-thirds of the starting outfield and two key table-setters would seem to exacerbate the problem. But this month, some of the Braves’ bench pieces have given the offense a boost where McLouth and Heyward fell short.

McLouth and Heyward are a combined 19-for-109 (.174) in May with four RBIs, and McLouth went 1-for-16 the first five games of the trip.

Eric Hinske and Joe Mather, who have been getting a bulk of the action in their absence, have been among the hottest hitters in baseball this month. Hinske is hitting .362 (21-for-58) with four home runs and nine RBIs in 21 games in May. His solo home run Wednesday put the Braves up 2-1 in a game they went on to win in 11 innings.

“He gives you a professional at-bat every time,” Gonzalez said.

Mather is hitting .351 (13-for-37) in 16 games in May with a homer and seven RBIs.

The Braves called up Jordan Schafer from Triple-A Gwinnett when McLouth went on the disabled list, and he has provided a refreshing burst of speed on the basepaths, which was evident in both games of the Pirates series.

He scored from first on a Martin Prado double down the third-base line in Tuesday’s 2-0 win. On Wednesday, representing the potential winning run in the eighth inning, he advanced to third base on a wild pitch that didn’t bounce far from Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit.

“You’ve got to keep coming to work every day, and whoever is in right is in right and whoever is in center is in center and just play with the hand [we’re] dealt,” said third baseman Chipper Jones, who dodged a scare with his right knee thanks to two cortisone shots. “It’s not ideal, but we can still win with the personnel we’re running out there.”

Perhaps it’s no surprise then that the Braves won Wednesday with Brooks Conrad hitting a pinch-hit home run in the 11th. Gonzalez theorized that getting four plate appearances in a rare start Tuesday helped Conrad get more comfortable at the plate.

Conrad had started at second base Tuesday when Gonzalez gave the struggling Dan Uggla a day to clear his head. Uggla finished the trip 2-for-26 (.077) to compound his problems. His season average fell to .180.

“We basically did in these two games what we’ve done all year and that’s get great pitching,” Braves catcher Brian McCann said. “... They’re always keeping us in the game and keeping it close for someone to come up with a big hit. And that’s kind of been the recipe for our success.”