Red-Hot Braves Clobber Astros
Troy Glaus, Brian McCann, and Eric Hinske drove in three runs apiece to power the red-hot Braves to a 10-5 win over the Houston Astros in this afternoon’s Grapefruit League action.
Almost everyone got into the act for the hot-hitting Braves, who pounded Astros’ starter Wandy Rodriguez for nine hits and nine runs (all earned) in his 2 and 1/3 innings.
Glaus, McCann, and Hinske led the hit parade for Atlanta, with Glaus going 3-for-3, McCann going 1-for-1, and Hinske going 1-for-3 as the trio combined to drive in nine runs for the Braves.
Astros’ pitching wasn’t fooling hardly anyone else either though as Martin Prado went 2-for-3 and Melky Cabrera, Jason Heyward, and Yunel Escobar all went 1-for-3.
Opening Day starter Derek Lowe started for Atlanta and got his third Grapefruit League win of the Spring (he’s 3-0 in Spring play), while relievers Jesse Chavez, Craig Kimbrel, Peter Moylan, and Jonny Venters each tossed a scoreless inning for the Braves as they combined to toss four scoreless innings of three-hit baseball at the Astros.
Atlanta improved their record to 17-9 (second best in the Grapefruit League) with the win, while the loss dropped Houston’s spring record to 13-13.
The Braves now travel to TigerTown in Lakeland, Florida to take on the Detroit Tigers tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 ET in their Grapefruit League finale.
Come on out and see the Braves and Tigers play if you can!
Maddux’s 31 Joins Braves’ Monuments
Greg Maddux’s number 31 joined the Braves’ other retired numbers on display in Monument Grove at Atlanta’s Turner Field on Tuesday.
Maddux, a certain Hall of Famer and the best pitcher of his era, joins Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro, and Dale Murphy as one of six Braves to have their numbers retired and displayed in Monument Grove.
That number is sure to increase in the near future, however, with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Bobby Cox, and Chipper Jones all certain to have their Braves’ numbers retired and displayed in Monument Grove as well.
Braves Beat Sabathia, Yankees
Kenshin Kawakami outpitched C.C. Sabathia and Atlanta continued it’s hot Spring hitting as the Braves beat the New York Yankees 9-6 this afternoon in Grapefruit League action.
Kawakami pitched five strong innings for the Braves, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run, while Sabathia was ripped for eight hits and five runs (all earned) in his 4 and 2/3 innings pitched.
Top-of-the-order hitters Melky Cabrera and Martin Prado continued their hot hitting for the Braves, combining to go 3-for-6 in the game, with Cabrera going 2-for-3 and Prado going 1-for-3.
Chipper Jones, Troy Glaus, and Matt Diaz continued their hot Spring hitting as well, with Jones going 1-for-3 with a run-batted-in, and Glaus and Diaz going 2-for-3 to raise their spring batting averages to .372 and .339, respectively.
Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner each tossed a 1-2-3 inning to close out the game for the Braves.
Atlanta improved to 16-9 (second best in the Grapefruit League) with the win, while the loss dropped the Yankees’ spring record to 11-14.
Next up for the Braves is a Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros, scheduled for 1:05 ET tomorrow afternoon at Champion Stadium.
The game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast and will also be shown on a tape-delay basis at 9:00 ET by the MLB Network, so if you can’t come see the game live and in person, be sure to tune in to CSS and/or the MLB Network and watch the Braves and Astros play!
Hudson Shines Against Gwinnett Braves
Following in the footsteps of teammate Tommy Hanson, Braves’ pitcher Tim Hudson skipped his regularly scheduled Grapefruit League start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, pitching in a minor league game instead.
In a bit of gamesmanship before the real games begin, Hudson and Braves’ skipper Bobby Cox decided not to give the NL East rival Phillies their second look at the Atlanta righthander in less than a week (Hudson pitched six shutout innings against Philadelphia last Wednesday).
And like Hanson, Hudson was overpowering against the AAA Gwinnett Braves, pitching six strong innings and allowing just four hits, while striking out eight.
Also like Hanson, Hudson has been equally overpowering against major league hitters this Spring, going 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA in his five Grapefruit League starts.
Hinske Blast Lifts Braves Over Phillies
Eric Hinske blasted what proved to be a game-winning ninth-inning homerun and six Atlanta pitchers combined to pitch eight innings of five-hit, one-run baseball as the Braves edged the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 this afternoon.
Hinske delivered his game-winning solo shot off Phillies’ reliever Ryan Madson and went 2-for-4 in the game, raising his spring batting average to .395, and Martin Prado, Matt Diaz, and Omar Infante all went 1-for-3, raising their spring averages to .383, .321, and .385, respectively.
Kris Medlen, Jo-Jo Reyes, Jesse Chavez, Eric O’Flaherty, Craig Kimbrel, and Vladimir Nunez tossed eight innings of five-hit, one-run ball at the Phillies, with Reyes, Chavez, O’Flaherty, and Kimbrel combining to pitch five scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
Kimbrel (2-0, 0.00 Spring ERA) got the win for Atlanta, while Madson took the loss for Philadelphia.
The Braves improved to 15-9 (second best in the Grapefruit League) with the win, while the loss dropped Philadelphia’s spring record to 12-10.
The Braves will now return to Lake Buena Vista, Florida and Espn’s Wide World of Sports where they will take on the New York Yankees at Champion Stadium at 1:05 ET tomorrow afternoon.
The game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast, so if you can’t make it out to the game, be sure to tune in and watch the Braves and Yankees play!
