Braves pitchers have had a season-long competition to determine who among them is the best hitter, and Tim Hudson’s two-run homer in a 2-0 win against Toronto last month seemingly decided the issue early.
But that was before Derek Lowe struck a blow Tuesday. A three-run blow.
The veteran pitcher’s bases-loaded double down the left-field line gave the Braves a four-run lead in the fourth inning, and they hung on for a 5-3 win against the Colorado Rockies at Turner Field.
"Our pitchers work extremely hard [on hitting]," said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves have won seven of eight games and 12 of their past 15. "As a group [Braves pitchers] are pretty good. We’re pretty good getting bunts down, and if you make a mistake, they can help themselves.”
Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla added home runs for the Braves, who stayed four games behind National League East-leader Philadelphia, which defeated Florida 14-2 on Tuesday night.
Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning for his 26th save, matching Jonathan Papelbon’s major league rookie record for saves before the All-Star break. His last two pitches registered 99 mph on the radar gun.
“We’re playing good baseball," said Freeman, whose third homer in two nights helped the Braves improve to a league-best 21-10 since the beginning of June. "We're playing good defense, pitching’s great, and now we’re scoring enough runs these last few games."
Uggla had perhaps his best game of the season, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a double and his 13th homer. He has hit .165 in his past 21 games, and five of his 13 hits in that span have been home runs.
“Definitely a lot better than what’s been going on,' said Uggla, who entered with a league-low .173 batting average and .241 on-base percentage. "Getting on base, putting together some good at-bats and battling, getting some hits -- that’s what makes this game fun.”
Despite his career-worst first half, Uggla's 13 homers put him only one homer behind team leader Brian McCann. Freeman is third with 12.
Uggla's homer off left-handed reliever Eric Stults was his second this season against a lefty.
"He’s going to be a guy that’s going to strike out; that’s not going to surprise anybody," Gonzalez said. "But you see two walks today, hit the ball to right field on the double, home run off the left-hander – very encouraging signs.”
Lowe (5-6) drove in as many runs as he allowed to win his second consecutive start, matching his career-high three-RBI game against San Diego on April 12, 2008.
The Braves used the designated hitter last week at Seattle when Lowe snapped his nine-start winless streak. After allowing only four hits and one run in six innings against the Mariners, he was charged with four hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings Tuesday.
The Rockies didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, then scored two runs in the fifth, taking advantage of a couple of walks. Lowe finished with three walks and four strikeouts, and the walks were what upset him most.
“I continue to find ways to make a game, where it seems like you’re in control, ways of making it close," he said. "From my standpoint, that’s where the frustration comes in. You feel like you get a 4-nothing lead and feel good about yourself, then you’re walking guys. It’s something that clearly you have to clean up.
“But a good win. It was an exciting game. It was fun to be part of it from the hitting standpoint. We used five bullpen guys, and they all did a good job. We’re playing really good baseball.”
The 38-year-old pitcher is 3-for-8 with three doubles in the past four games in which he has batted.
Freeman got the Braves started with a second-inning homer off Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin (8-6).
Freeman has five homers and 12 RBIs in his past 11 games and has hit .316 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in his past 40 games. He hit .227 with four homers and 14 RBIs in his first 43 games.
