A look back at the Braves’ 2-0 victory against the Cubs on Saturday night:
How the game was won
Ervin Santana had waited nine days to get back on the mound; he wasn’t going to let a 67-minute rain delay deter him. And his teammates took care of the rest in the seventh inning. They manufactured two runs off reliever Brian Schlitter, turning a bloop single by Chris Johnson into a rally. B.J. Upton bunted him to second base and Ryan Doumit’s double off the left field wall gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. They doubled it to 2-0 by executing the perfect suicide squeeze. Tyler Pastornicky laid down a bunt toward the mound as Andrelton Simmons raced home from third base, giving a typically homer-happy lineup, reason to chuckle.
Braves highlight
When Santana’s thumb has felt good, he’s been dominant. Outside of a stretch when he gave up seven earned runs in 7 2/3 innings after jamming his thumb – between starts against the Reds and Marlins – he’s allowed only two earned runs in 33 innings (0.55 ERA). The Braves have won five of his six starts overall.
Braves lowlight
Justin Upton’s back tightened up after he collided with Anthony Rizzo, tagging him out on a rundown to help Santana out of the fourth inning jam. He was able to stay in the game and singled in his next at-bat. But Upton left in the sixth inning after Samardzija hit him in the same area with a 94 mph fastball. He is day to day with a lower back muscle contusion.
Notable
The Braves have won two consecutive games without a home run, something they’ve done only five times all season. … David Carpenter and Craig Kimbrel each pitched a scoreless inning to combine on the Braves’ fifth shutout of the year. Kimbrel bounced back from a blown save Friday night by working around a two-out walk for his 10th save. He’s six shy of breaking John Smoltz’s franchise record.
Quoting them
“It’s a typical Santana outing. We’ve come to expect that. He’s a guy that every time he toes the rubber, he gives us a chance to win. He’s the type of guy you want to play behind.” — Doumit
“When you’re not scoring runs offensively, every little run that you can scratch is big. Santana was terrific, better than terrific really. You throw in an hour-plus rain delay and he’s throwing in the cage just to stay loose.” — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.
“My location was much better, my off-speed, and my fastball in was better.” — Santana, noting that he threw three simulated innings during the delay indoors.
