LOS ANGELES — The Braves’ offense is struggling, and the first-inning problems by the team’s pitchers sure aren’t helping matters. As Chipper Jones put it, one hand shakes the other.
The Braves trailed 3-0 after the first inning Monday and didn’t score until the ninth in a 4-2 series-opening loss to the Dodgers. It was the ninth loss in 13 games for the Braves, who scored two runs or fewer eight times in their past 14 games before Tuesday.
They’ve averaged a National League-worst 3.2 runs per game, including 2.8 runs per game since an 11-run outburst at Washington in the third game of the season. Minnesota (3.1) was the only major-league team with a lower scoring average before Tuesday.
“I think our problem right now is we’re having problems getting through the first inning,” Jones said. “We’re down two or three to nothing in the first, and when you’ve got an offense that’s struggling, that’s like eight or 10 [runs].”
Braves pitchers have the league’s third-highest first-inning opponents’ average (.284), after leading the NL last season (.224).
“It’s just one of those things where our starting pitching is not doing badly, it’s just not getting off to good starts” early in games, Jones said. “The offense really hasn’t clicked at all yet. And [with the first-inning deficits] it’s like ‘here we go again’.”
Sands hurts Braves
The Dodgers surprised many by bringing up rookie Jerry Sands from Triple-A on Monday. The 23-year-old North Carolinian was in low-A ball a year ago.
Sands doubled in his first big-league at-bat in the three-run first inning and added a sacrifice fly in the third.
His next time up, in the sixth, Sands got buzzed by a Tim Hudson fastball near his head. Hudson gestured toward the Dodgers’ dugout that the pitch got away from him. The Dodgers retaliated in the next inning when Lilly threw behind Nate McLouth.
Warnings were then issued to both dugouts by umpire Laz Diaz. Sands shrugged off the incident.
“[Hudson] signed a ball and sent it over,” Sands said. “It was a classy move by him, and I appreciate that. He said ‘Good debut’ and told me it got away from him a little bit. But I wasn’t looking into it at all. I watched him growing up, so that’ll definitely go in the trophy case.”
Gonzalez said he didn’t think the incidents would lead to anything more.
“That’s just old-school baseball,” he said. “Huddy did what he had to do, and Lilly did what he had to do, and that’s it.”
Gonzalez elaborated Tuesday on what he meant by “what [Hudson] had to do.”
“You hear old guys telling stories about Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax, where a young kid would get a base hit off of him, and the next day, don’t get too happy because you’re going to get dusted [thrown at],” Gonzalez said. “That’s what happened yesterday. Lilly protected his guy. He sent a message back, and that’s it. It’s over with.
“I think that’s why Don [Mattingly, Dodgers manager] never reacted, and I didn’t react.”
On Hudson’s gesture to the Dodgers’ dugout, Gonzalez said, “He was just saying, I apologize. I didn’t mean to get it that close to his head.”
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