Five Braves Named To NL All-Star Team
The American and National League All-Star teams were announced on Sunday and the Braves have had five players selected to play for the National League All-Star team in this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Atlanta will be represented by rightfielder Jason Heyward, second baseman Martin Prado, starting pitcher Tim Hudson, catcher Brian McCann, and super-sub Omar Infante, who was a surprise selection by NL manager Charlie Manuel.
Heyward and Prado will both start for the National League, assuming that Heyward recovers from his thumb injury in time to play in the game, while Hudson, McCann, and Infante will likely play in the game as well.
And if having five players on the NL All-Star team just isn’t quite good enough for you, Braves fans, you still have a chance to vote for Braves’ closer Billy Wagner in the balloting for the final spot on the NL All-Star team.
Congratulations to Jason Heyward, Martin Prado, Tim Hudson, Brian McCann, and Omar Infante on being named to the 2010 National League All-Star team.
And don’t forget to get those votes in for Billy Wagner, Braves fans.
Let’s make it SIX Atlanta Braves on this year’s NL All-Star team!
Hanson Pitches Braves Past Marlins
Tommy Hanson pitched 6 and 2/3 strong innings to get his eighth win of the season, and Omar Infante and Yunel Escobar each scored a run and drove in a run, as the Braves defeated the Florida Marlins 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.
Hanson (8-5) tossed 6 and 2/3 innings of five-hit, one-run ball for the Braves to get his eighth win, while Florida starter Anibal Sanchez (7-5) surrendered seven hits and four runs in his six innings and took the loss for the Marlins.
The Marlins took an early 1-0 lead in the game, scoring an unearned run in the second inning, but the Braves rallied to score four fourth inning runs, and cruised on to the 4-1 win from there.
Atlanta’s fourth inning uprising was highlighted by Infante’s rbi-single, Escobar’s rbi-double, and Gregor Blanco’s two-run single, and it proved to be decisive.
Hanson was not the only Atlanta pitcher to shine either as Peter Moylan, Takashi Saito, and Billy Wagner combined to pitch 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the game for the Braves, with Wagner tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning to notch his 17th save.
The Braves improved to 48-33 with the win, while the loss dropped the Marlins to 37-43.
Braves Edge Marlins In 11 Innings
Omar Infante delivered a game-winning two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Braves edged the Florida Marlins 4-3 on Friday night in Atlanta.
The game featured a good pitchers’ duel between Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson and Braves’ starter Kris Medlen, with both pitching six strong innings of one-run ball.
The Marlins broke on top 1-0 in the game when Florida star Hanley Ramirez blasted a first inning solo shot, but the Braves rallied to score single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, taking a 2-1 lead on a pair of rbi-singles by the hot-hitting Martin Prado, who went 3-for-5 in the game to raise his National League leading batting average to .337.
The Braves carried their 2-1 lead into the ninth inning, but the Marlins tied the game at 2-2 on a solo shot by Gaby Sanchez, and then pushed another run across in the top of the eleventh to go up 3-2, setting the stage for Infante’s game-winning heroics.
And Infante didn’t let the home crowd down as he lined a two-run single to left that sent Brian McCann and Brandon Hicks home with the tying and winning runs as the Braves rallied to win 4-3.
Jonny Venters (3-0, 1.21 ERA) notched up his third win of the year for the Braves, while Florida reliever Leo Nunez (3-2) gave up the game-winning hit to Infante and took the loss for the Marlins.
The Braves improved to 47-33 with the win, while the loss dropped the Marlins to 37-42.
Braves Set To Take On Marlins
The Braves are all set to take on the NL East rival Florida Marlins this weekend in a three-game series that begins tonight at 7:35 ET in Atlanta.
Kris Medlen (5-1, 3.15 ERA) will start tonight’s series opener for the Braves, and will be opposed by Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson, who is 8-3 with a 1.83 ERA this season.
Tommy Hanson (7-5, 4.50 ERA) will start for Atlanta in the second game of the series on Saturday, and Florida will counter with Anibal Sanchez, who is 7-4 with a 3.18 ERA.
Atlanta ace Tim Hudson (8-3, 2.37 ERA) will start for the Braves in Sunday afternoon’s series finale, while Ricky Nolasco (7-6, 4.84 ERA) will start the finale for the Marlins.
Those are some great pitching matchups, and this should make for a great series, so come on out to the Ted this weekend and watch the Braves and Marlins play!
Braves Prospect Named Triple-A All-Star
Michael Dunn, a highly-rated Braves pitching prospect, has been selected to play for the International League’s All-Star team in this season’s Triple-A All-Star game.
Considered one of the top prospects in the pitching-rich Braves system, Michael Dunn has been sensational all year long, posting a 2-0 record with a microscopic 0.70 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 38 and 1/3 innings pitched while pitching for the Gwinnett Braves.
This year’s Triple-A All-Star game will take place on Wednesday, July 14 at Coca-Cola Field in Allentown, Pennsylvania and will be broadcast live on the MLB Network.
Be sure to tune in and watch Michael Dunn pitch, Braves fans. He’s a great prospect!
