Braves pile up runs in support of Lowe
He’s not sure why, but the Braves sure score runs when Derek Lowe is pitching.
Lowe worked five innings Sunday in the Braves’ 7-1 win over the Astros, completing a three-game sweep at Turner Field. He is 4-2 on the season with a 5.18 ERA.
Here is where the stats get startling. In his six starts, the Braves have scored 46 runs for an average of 7.7 a game. In the 19 other games, the Braves have scored 56 runs for an average of 2.9 a game.
“It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” Lowe said. “Those things you can’t explain. There are years when I’ve gotten even better [run support] than this and there are years when you lose 10 games and they score five runs in the 10 losses. There is no rhyme or reason to it. You are happy when it happens but you don’t go into any game expecting them to score or not to score. I’m definitely fortunate we’ve scored a lot of runs in my six starts and as you’ve seen I’ve needed pretty much all of them.”
The right-hander has not gone more than six innings in any start this season. He was taken out after five with the Braves holding a 7-1 lead Sunday. Manager Bobby Cox and Lowe said he was removed after a lengthy fifth inning, where Lowe threw 20 pitches and then the Braves scored three times.
“He was at 80 [pitches] or so,” Cox said. “The inning lasted forever. The fifth inning, he had to pitch like heck to get out of that inning. We were probably going to let him go back out if it was a quick inning, but it turned into a real long inning. And we had a full bullpen in force today.”
Lowe gave up six hits and one earned run Sunday, with three strikeouts and one walk.
“It’s exactly what we needed,” Lowe said of the three-game winning streak that came after a nine-game losing streak. “We didn’t play well for nine games and Tommy [Hanson] got us off on the right foot on Friday and that was a really big game for us to get us back on our winning ways. We’ve pitched well and all three days the offense has been really good. We are headed back on the road with some confidence, which we dearly needed.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
47 comments Add your comment
williamshakespeare
May 2nd, 2010
5:44 pm
Offense showing some life.
bruce
May 2nd, 2010
5:53 pm
lets get three from the Nats…
San Fran Ryan
May 2nd, 2010
5:56 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Hanson get a lot of run support last year? Or at least more than usual? I think I remember Jurrjens getting the short end of the stick on run support last year, too. Then again, I think everyone on the rotation got the short-end for a lot of starts in the first half of last year
stew
May 2nd, 2010
6:02 pm
Lowe’s problem is his velocity. Somebody please wake up Chip. Nice to see Mac getting back on track. They still need a big righty bat for left field. How would Andruw’s eight homers look in the clean up spot? He only needs 106 hrs to get into Hall of Fame.
TMAN
May 2nd, 2010
6:08 pm
If i had Lowe’s luck i would move to Vegas.
Trey
May 2nd, 2010
6:14 pm
Let’s see how many fair weather fans start commenting on this page. Hear stuff like “I knew the Braves could do it all along”, Lowe is one lucky son of a gun.
todd
May 2nd, 2010
6:21 pm
The reason the Braves score a lot of runs when Lowe pitches is simple – because they have to. The Braves hitters know that Lowe’s ERA is 3 times higher than what they average per game. There is a gun to their head every time he pitches.
bill
May 2nd, 2010
6:37 pm
How in the world can Chipper stay in the 3-hole? He looks completely lost up there.
beauvighn
May 2nd, 2010
6:57 pm
It helps when you are playing a team worse than you are.. Face it , the Astros are really bad. If they had not swept then something would have been wrong. If they can do this to the beter teams in the league , then I will be believe again..
rough road
May 2nd, 2010
6:59 pm
Whaaaaat? Andruw Jones in the Hall Of Fame?
Doc Holiday
May 2nd, 2010
7:06 pm
Road has been so miserable to braves, it is scary.
Surprisingly we can get to 3.0 GB of 1st place if the phillies win. But I think that we still need the muts to win, it will be better in the long run.
On the other hand, Im tired it seen our team play catch, I think this has affected the guys that have been around more time (chipper, Mc, matt, etc). You know, when you are behind it is tougher for them, I think it get exhausts their minds.
SWAT Native
May 2nd, 2010
7:07 pm
D. Lowe needs to share some of those runs.
Anon21
May 2nd, 2010
7:09 pm
Yeah, Andruw is not going into the Hall. That’s just the grass-is-greener-on-the-players-you-let-walk stupid fans talking.
MitchC
May 2nd, 2010
7:16 pm
Dave, its about time that the Braves started scoring some runs, and winning some games. We had a very good weekend against the Astros.
The numbers on Derek Lowe are incredible. With the 5.18 ERA, Lowe could easily be 0-6 on this team, instead of the 4-2 that he is, considering the anemic run support the Braves have given most of their other starting pitchers this season.
This weekend was good, but now the road will get a bit tougher. Hopefully we can play well in Washington, and we know that going into Philly is never a walk in the park. If we could pull off a 500 road trip, that would be decent, I’d say,
AdirondackDave
May 2nd, 2010
7:22 pm
I don’t know whether Andruw is getting into the Hall or not but this 10-year all-world defensive player who will end with upwards of 500 homers (or more) certainly WILL get serious HOF consideration.
rough road
May 2nd, 2010
7:32 pm
The Braves had a very difficult schedule in Apr., in my opinion.
Also Glaus and McCann had a lot of called strikes on them that were outside of the strike zone.
Colin
May 2nd, 2010
7:33 pm
this weekend was awesome..3 wins..we better sweep the nationals too.
DawgDad
May 2nd, 2010
7:34 pm
It’s hard to believe an MLB team can lose nine straight and have all but one starter hitting below .240 and still encounter a team playing worse baseball, but that’s what just happened. Nice weekend, but the Braves aren’t out of the woods yet. Maybe guys like Glaus and McCann will relax a bit and start producing, but this offense is still woefully short of pop in the middle and in need of a true catalyst leadoff hitter. Wouldn’t a player like Bourn look good in CF and leading off?
rough road
May 2nd, 2010
7:37 pm
Andruw Jones could of been a HOFer if he had applied himself and not of done just the minimum to get by.
But I don’t see how he could ever be considered. It will be a miracle if he gets 500HRs.
I have my doubts that, Chipper Jones will get into the HOF. II don’t think he is a shoe in.
rough road
May 2nd, 2010
7:40 pm
The Braves just won three straight. I think that I will just enjoy it for now, and not worry about the other team being worst than them.
79
May 2nd, 2010
7:45 pm
Andruw is not a HOF candidate. He played a nice CF and hit a bunch of HRs during the steroid era. He’s a .258 lifetime hitter. He struck out 100+ times per full season of ABs.
Dale Murphy is not a HOF’er and neither is AJ
good, bad and ugly
May 2nd, 2010
7:52 pm
Against the good they were bad.
Against the bad they were good.
That just leaves ugly…
Pressing questions:
1. How many of those slumping players simply don’t have it anymore?
2. How long do you keep the kids on the farm?
3. What can the Braves do and still not look like they are already panicking?
4. Will Bobby’s swan song turn into the “Nightmare on Peachtree #3″, or is there still time for it to turn into a new rendition of “Happy Days are Here Again”?
Hmmmm….
williamshakespeare
May 2nd, 2010
7:52 pm
AJ played “a nice” CF???
That’s bound to be the understatement of the decade.
That’s like saying Sandy Koufax had a nice arm.
Kidding, right?
Jones might be the greatest CF I ever saw, and I go back to the 1960s.
No one could cheat so shallow like him and get away with it. He was remarkable tracking the ball on backflight, after playing practically behind the shortstop.
He was remarkable. I’m sorry for you – that you saw him play and apparently had no idea what you were witnessing.
AdirondackDave
May 2nd, 2010
8:16 pm
79 — Andruw was a “nice centerfielder”??? The guy’s what, 33? Let’s talk in 5 years or so and sum up his accomplishments. By the way, the vast majority of power hitters, including many in the HOF, have averaged more than 100K per year.
Greene Hornet
May 2nd, 2010
9:31 pm
I’m not going to bash or hype the Braves. I’m just going to wait and see. Good, Bad, and Ugly is sorta right in the fact that we fattened up on a team that was a mirror image of us in the batting dept. I know we played well as far as hitting, but there are alot of areas we still need to work on like defense, hitting against higher caliber of pitching (which we will for sure against Philly later this week), and just in general climbing out of the hole we made. I’m happy they did well and I wasn’t ready to ditch the Braves because they were so bad. It’s time for Cox and company to get to work and continue to do better than they did in April. Judging by this weekend, it is a great start.
Heyward and others got congrats for their batting, but my MVP for the weekend goes to Glaus for not only hitting so well, but jumpstarting the offense in so many offense outbursts by this team. It shows he can be a spark plug for the offense, so I hope he can keep doing what he’s doing.
Either way, Go Braves!!!
williamshakespeare
May 2nd, 2010
9:46 pm
Good post, GH.
I’m also tired of the new guys getting bashed, here. Give them a chance to get it going.
brave101
May 2nd, 2010
10:00 pm
BTW anyone see how wonderful Mr. Vazquez
brave101
May 2nd, 2010
10:00 pm
I meant anyone see how wonderful Mr. Vazquez is doing
Horner's Corner
May 2nd, 2010
10:36 pm
Seriously, don’t try to sell AJ short when it comes to playing centerfield. The 10 seasons he provided ATL were amazing and I think Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine would be the first to agree. I never saw Willie play, but in my lifetime there has never been anyone who could go back on a ball like Andruw. The guy absolutely eliminated the bloop single and still got to everything over his head. Watching him play CF was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if you didn’t appreciate it, you don’ really appreciate watching baseball.
Mitchell
May 2nd, 2010
11:24 pm
“And we had a full bullpen in force today.”
What the hell does that mean. No, see, your starting pitchers are suppose to be the ones pitching. He’s Derek Lowe. He’s good for almost nothing except just being out there whether he’s pitching well or not. Don’t just let him pitch. Make him pitch.
He can’t go five innings every start. That’s retarded.
ANTI-NEGATIVE GUY
May 2nd, 2010
11:57 pm
Dawg Dad if yuo look at glaus recently I believe he is producing
jj
May 3rd, 2010
12:17 am
I agree Andruw might not be a HOF,but he surely should be on the WALL at The Ted.When you consider his goldgloves,hr’s,and rbi’s,I think he should be considered.When you put his numbers up against DJ and Murph,I think he def should be in the ballpark.People only remember the last years in The ATL and forget those catches that brought them to their feet and helped the Fav 3 win a lot of games.Ask Maddog?
Anon21
May 3rd, 2010
1:25 am
Obviously Andruw is (was) a great defensive centerfielder. But there are not too many guys who are in the Hall mostly on the basis of defense. You’ve got Ozzie Smith, Andre Dawson, and a fair number of catchers. I think generally, you shouldn’t go into the Hall for defense unless you’re playing SS, 2B, or C, the very marginal (and probably undeserving) Dawson notwithstanding.
Robertwiththe411
May 3rd, 2010
4:59 am
wonder if Chipper needs check the ego, and switch to a lighter bat!
dub366
May 3rd, 2010
6:16 am
why is Chipper still hitting third
dub366
May 3rd, 2010
6:21 am
what you got to say about TP now that the Braves r hitting
dub366
May 3rd, 2010
6:22 am
I meant why is Chipper batting third,because he’s not hitting at all.He is lost
Kelly Leake
May 3rd, 2010
8:19 am
Andre Dawson in the Hall based on his defense??? How old are you and how long have you followed the game? Andruw was the best CF in baseball for 10 years. He has a decent shot at 500 HR. If he plays at his current level for 4-5 more years, I say he’s in. 10 straight Gold Gloves AND 500 HR. How could you keep him out?
AJ
May 3rd, 2010
9:49 am
There were none better in CF than Andruw in his prime. Defensively, he is HOF material. He hit a ton of HR’s and drove in a lot of runs, but his K’s and relatively low career BA, primarily caused by his time in Texas and LA will keep him from getting serious consideration for the Hall. Maybe he will be Comeback Player of the year. By the way, Chipper has the great career avg., and over 400 hr for a switch hitter is huge. However, does Chipper have any Gold Gloves? This may be the issue that keeps him out of HOF.
Really?
May 3rd, 2010
10:04 am
K’s and low batting average are not a rarity for sluggers. Killebrew was a lifetime .256 hitter. Andruw played better defense than he did.
Kelly Leake
May 3rd, 2010
10:49 am
I agree with the above poster. If Andruw hits 500 HRs, he is a lock for the HOF. Chipper has a good shot as well. There are lots of HOFers that put up good offensive numbers and were average/below average defensively
dawgs01
May 3rd, 2010
11:10 am
I am going to keep making fun of Glaus bc he started doing better once i started criticizing him. I hope we are turning it around hard to tell since we were playing the Astros. We will see with the Nationals they always give us trouble and now they are playing decent ball. Went to bark in the park yesterday it was fun but probably last time i take my dog there. It is a big hassle when people have to go get food or use the restroom you have to walk the dog out of the row and move all your stuff, but it was fun. He is also a bigger dog i think bark in the park is more for lap dogs bc he could never get comfortable. Chipper looked awful not only hitting but his lack of effort really frustrates me. If he is scared to sprint bc of fear he will pull something he does not need to be playing.
W/E
May 3rd, 2010
11:58 am
Andruw is HOF if he gets to 400 hr’s. 10 Gold Gloves is nothing to sneeze at and not only was he great at tracking balls down anywhere in the outfield, but he had a cannon for an arm. I’d take him over anyone save J-Hey in the current outfield.
Kelly Leake
May 3rd, 2010
12:52 pm
Andruw just turned 33 last week. He will probably be at 400 HRs by the end of this month. As poorly as he has played the last 3 years, he still has an excellent shot.
Mark Biles
May 3rd, 2010
1:25 pm
Is there any way we could get KK even half of the runs we got Lowe yesterday when he pitches Tuesday night? I’m sure KK would settle for 3 or 4 runs in a game the way his luck has gone this year so far.
Hawk4
May 3rd, 2010
2:05 pm
Will someone please check Rough Road Temp. You obviously have no baseball knowledge… Chipper has lost more than a step and he really struggled last and this year. But lets not forget he is one of the top 3 switch hitters to ever play the game. I agree he should consider hanging it up, but wow what a short memory we have in Atl!!!
He is a first ballot HOF !!!
brian in athens
May 3rd, 2010
6:03 pm
Why does the AJC make me go elsewhere to get the actual standings? Is it hidden somewhere here in small print?