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| "Kris Medlen got the start Monday for the Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Turner Field"(Scott Cunningham / Getty Images) |
Following the series win over NL East rival Washington Nationals to push their division lead to 6.5 games, the Braves begin a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who come into play tonight tied for the second best record in the NL with the Reds and trail the Cardinals in the NL Central by 2.5 games. Pirates send out their ace, AJ Burnett to the mound in the series opener. In 11 starts this season, Burnett is 3-5 with a 2.72 ERA. Burnett has not been able to notch a win since May 3rd, despite his consistent pitching. Braves will counter with Kris Medlen, who like Burnett, has pitched effectively, but has not received enough run support. Tonight, Medlen is looking for his first win since April 9th. Medlen's win-loss record is not indicative of how good he has been. In his first 11 starts this season, Medlen has given up three runs or less, despite having only one win.
Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen and Braves C/OF Evan Gattis will not be in tonight's lineup for their respective teams. After tearing up the Nationals this weekend, IF Ramiro Pena is also not in the starting lineup for the Braves. Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward return to the lineup tonight after getting the day off yesterday. Both look to get their seasons turned around against AJ Burnett tonight.
1st inning:
Looking to get off to a good start unlike his last outing against Blue Jays, Medlen did just that to begin the game by getting Starling Marte to fly out to center. Neil Walker then hit a bloop double to left for the Pirates first hit of the evening. The next batter was Garrett Jones, who could not advance Walker to third with a fly out to Upton in center field. Gaby Sanchez stranded Walker in scoring position with a fly out to Heyward in right field to end the Pirates half of the 1st.
Andrelton Simmons leads off for the Braves and quickly popped out to Sanchez at first for the first out. Jason Heyward, who is desperately trying to snap out of his season long slump, singles to left, snapping an 0-for-19 slump. Justin Upton then struck out for the second out of the inning. Freddie Freeman lines out to Clint Barmes on the 2nd base side of the bag to end the inning. No score after 1.
2nd inning:
Travis Snider led off the 2nd for the Pirates with a ground out to Simmons at short. Russell Martin promptly grounds out to Chris Johnson at third on the first pitch for the second out. Pedro Alvarez lined a two-out single past Uggla to keep the inning alive. Clint Barmes follows Alvarez with a single of his own through the right side of the infield. Medlen got out of the mini 2-out jam by striking out AJ Burnett.
Brian McCann leads off the inning for the Braves with a six-pitch walk. Chris Johnson could not move McCann into scoring position, striking out on four pitches. Dan Uggla walked on four straight to put runners on first and second with one out. BJ Upton was the next batter and flied out to Marte in center for the second out. Kris Medlen couldn't help his own cause at the dish, striking out to end the inning. No score after 2.
3rd inning:
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| "Pirates second baseman Neil Walker (18) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run in the third inning that gave Pittsburgh an early lead against the Braves." (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) |
Back to the top of the order for the Pirates as Starling Marte leads off the 3rd with a bunt single. On a 1-2 count to Walker, Marte is caught trying to steal 2B for the first out. On the very next pitch, Medlen plunked Walker. Garrett Jones flied out to Upton in center. Upton tried to gun down Walker who wondered too far off the bag at first and overthrew Freeman. McCann picks up the ricochet and was unable to throw out Walker trying to go to 2B, although replayed showed that Walker was out. Gaby Sanchez doubles to deep center to score Neil Walker, 1-0 Pirates. Travis Snider strands Sanchez in scoring position, as he strikes out.
Andrelton Simmons again leads off for the Braves and grounds out to Alvarez at third. Heyward follows suit with a ground out to Barmes for the second out. Justin Upton strikes out to end the Braves half of the 3rd. Pirates lead 1-0 after 3.
4th inning:
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| "Braves catcher Brian McCann rounds the bases after hitting a fourth inning home run against the Pirates." (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) |
Kris Medlen gets his 4th inning of work started with a strikeout of Russell Martin. Pedro Alvarez follows with a ground out to Uggla for the second out. Medlen completes a 1-2-3 4th with Clint Barmes flying out to Heyward in right.
Freddie Freeman leads off the bottom half of the 4th with a walk on four pitches. Brian McCann CRUSHES a 3-2 pitch from Burnett into the right field seats to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Chris Johnson follows with a shot in the gap for a double. AJ Burnett is struggling to find the strike zone and when his pitches are in the zone, they've been over the middle of the plate. Dan Uggla strikes out, his 14th in his last 28 at-bats. BJ then grounds out to Barmes at short for the second out of the inning. Russell Martin and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle were ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Michael McKenry comes in to replace Martin behind the plate. Medlen grounds out to Walker at second to end the inning. Braves lead 2-1 after 4.
5th inning:
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| "First baseman Freddie Freeman hits a two-run homer in the fifth inning that put the Braves ahead 6-1." (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) |
After the ejection of his catcher and manager, ironically enough, AJ Burnett led off the inning for the Pirates with a single. Marte hits a grounder to Johnson at third, Johnson dives, but isn't able to get the speedy Marte at first. Pirates have runners on first and second with none out. Neil Walker quickly pops out to Simmons, the infield fly rule was called for the first out. Medlen then gets Garrett Jones to hit into a 3-6-1 double play to get out of the jam.
Simmons leads off the bottom half of the inning with an infield single, extending his hit streak to nine games. Jason Heyward then RIPS a 2-run home run to right for his 3rd home run of the season, widening the Braves lead to 4-1. Justin Upton then laces a single to right. Freddie Freeman goes OPPO for a 2-run home run of his own, Braves now lead 6-1. McCann hits a soft dribbler to Walker for the first out of the inning. Chris Johnson lines a double into the gap in right-center, but is thrown out trying to extend the double into a triple. Two outs in the inning. Uggla grounds out to Alvarez at third to end the inning. Braves lead 6-1 after 5.
6th inning:
Cruising along, Medlen gets Sanchez to ground out to Simmons for the first out of the 6th. Snider then strikes out for out number two. Medlen retires the side in order with the ground out of Michael Mckenry, who's in to replace Russell Martin after the ejection.
Jared Hughes comes in relief for AJ Burnett who once again struggled against the Braves at Turner Field. Hughes immediately gets BJ to ground out to Alvarez for out number one. Kris Medlen then gets himself into the hit parade with a one-out single. Simmons grounds into a 5-4 force play, two outs in the inning for Heyward. J-Hey puts a good swing on the ball, but flies out to Marte to strand Simmons at first. Braves lead 6-1 after 6.
7th inning:
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| "Braves catcher Brian McCann watches the 1,000 hit of his major league career fall near the line in left field in the seventh inning." (John Bazemore, AJC) |
Pedro Alvarez leads off the inning for Pittsburgh and Medlen shoos him away with a strikeout. On the 1-0 pitch, Barmes flies out to Heyward for the second out. Jordy Mercer comes to the plate to pinch hit for Hughes and strikes out on three pitches to end the top half of the 7th.
Mike Zagurski came on to pitch for the Pirates, relieving Jared Hughes. Justin Upton leads off with a walk on a full count. Freddie Freeman strikes out for the first out. Brian McCann hits a soft liner to left for a base hit, his 1,000th hit of his career. Chris Johnson proceeds to line out to Snider in left, scoring Upton to increase the Braves lead to 7-1. Zagurski then walks Uggla, runners on first and second with two outs. BJ Upton walks as well to load the bases, spelling the end of the night for Mike Zagurski. Making his MLB debut for the Pirates is Ryan Reid, who went 6-1 with an 0.52 ERA in Triple-A Indianapolis. Pinch hitting for Kris Medlen is Reed Johnson, who grounds out to Alvarez at third to strand the bases load. Braves lead 7-1 after 7.
8th inning:
Alex Wood comes in to makes his second career MLB appearance, replacing Kris Medlen who was dominant over seven innings. Starling Marte flies out to Upton in left for the first out of the 8th. Neil Walker quickly grounds out to Simmons at short, two outs. Wood quickly retires Garrett Jones via the strikeout to complete the 1-2-3 inning.
Ryan Reid stays in for his second inning of work and quickly gets Simmons to ground out for out number one. Heyward then hits a chopper to Walker for the second out. Justin Upton also grounds out to Barmes to end the inning. Braves lead 7-1 after 8.
9th inning:
Alex Wood, in for his second inning of relief, allows a lead-off single to Gaby Sanchez. The wild pitch on Wood allows Sanchez to move into scoring position. On the very next pitch, Snider strikes out for the first out of the 9th. Michael McKenry falls victim to Wood as well, via the strikeout. Pedro Alvarez with a great at-bat, forces a two-out walk. Clint Barmes lines a soft single to right to score Sanchez, Pirates cut the lead to 7-2. Brandon Inge to the plate to pinch hit for Reid and grounds out to Simmons to end the ballgame. BRAVES WIN 7-2.
WP: Kris Medlen (2-6, 3.14 ERA), LP: AJ Burnett (3-6, 3.22 ERA)
Kris Medlen (ATL): 7.0 IP, 7 H, R, 0 ER, 6 K
AJ Burnett: (PIT): 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Player(s) of the Game: Kris Medlen/Braves offense
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| "Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (right) embraces Freddie Freeman after hitting a home run in the fifth inning". Kris Medlen absolutely dominated Pirates hitters tonight, pitching seven innings of shutout ball with the one run scoring due to BJ Upton's throwing error in the 3rd inning. Medlen picks up his first win since April 9th and has given up three runs or less in 11 of 12 starts this season.Braves offense finally gave Medlen some runs to work with tonight with three two-run home runs off the bat of Brian McCann, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman. Coming into play tonight, Braves have given about three runs (2.85) of support per start this season, the second lowest in the Majors. |
Conclusion:
Braves take the first of three against the Pirates at Turner Field and look to even up the season series tomorrow night when Mike Minor takes the mound. Minor is tied for 4th in the NL in wins (7) and sports an ERA of 2.48. Opposing Minor is Pirates starter Jeff Locke, who has been as impressive for Pittsburgh. Locke is 5-1 this season with an ERA of 2.25. With tonight's win, the Braves extend their NL East lead to seven games over the Nationals, the largest lead of any division in baseball. Pirates fall to 35-23 this season and fall to third place in the NL Central, three games behind the division-leading Cardinals.
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