Braves have one more vs. Dodgers before Big Trip

Good morning or afternoon to everyone out in Braves Country and parts beyond. In case you missed it earlier, the line of the day has already been uttered. It was in the clubhouse this morning, Tim Hudson announced to the rest of the players that chapel would be starting shortly.

Without missing a beat, Eric Hinske replied, “Take my bats with you.”

Ba-da-bum tcsh.

The Braves will leave town this afternoon to start a crucial 10-game road trip that kicks off with a marquee matchup against the NL East-leading Nationals at Washington, a series that will feature two of the three hottest teams in the majors over the past six weeks (Cincinnati is the other) and could go a long way in determining whether the Braves can realistically catch them.

Chipper Jones is resting his achy knees today, which means he might try to play all three games against the Nationals in the big series starting Monday.

After D.C., they’ll trek across the country for a four-game series at San Francisco and three at San Diego.

But first, there’s an important game this afternoon against the Dodgers, which the Braves need to win if they want to extend their streak of series wins – it’s currently at seven – and be assured of going to D.C. either three or four games behind the Nationals, instead of potentially five if the Braves were to lose and the Nats win today.

The Braves can’t afford to look ahead past today’s game, because they’re facing one of the majors’ hottest pitchers in Chad Billingsley, who is 5-0 with a 1.56 ERA and .209 opponents’ average in his past five starts, with only one homer and six walks allowed in 34-2/3 innings.

The right-hander is is a mere 1-3 despite a respectable 3.67 ERA in nine games (seven starts) against the Braves, and he’s allowed only one homer in 41-2/3 innings against them. Billingsley lasted just four innings (nine hits, five runs, three earned) in his last start against them, getting a no decision in that Sept. 2 Dodgers win in Atlanta.

He’ll face Mike Minor, who has pitched better lately than a lot of people realize, judging from the number of comments I get from people who think Minor should or will be the pitcher dropped from the six-man rotation at the end of the month.

Minor has a 2.45 ER and .219 opponents’ average in his past seven starts, with 35 strikeouts and eight walks in 44 innings. He’s only 2-3 in in that stretch, but that’s primarily because the Braves scored no runs while he was in three of those starts, and two and one while he was in two others.

• Uggla’s extreme season: Did you know that Dan Uggla leads the NL in walks (75) and is tied for the NL lead in strikeouts (137)? Well, he does and is. Uggla is on pace for 185 strikeouts, which would obliterate the franchise record of 156 that he set last season. No other Brave has ever struck out 150 times.

By the way, did you know Joe DiMaggio never struck out as many as 40 times in a season? Or that Hank Aaron never struck out 100 times? Or that Albert Pujols, in an era when strikeouts don’t seem like much of a concern to many, still has struck out as many as 70 times only twice in his career? Pujols has 472 career homers and 763 strikeouts.

Today’s remarkable stats: The great Ted Williams never struck out as many as 50 times in a season after the age of 23. And DiMaggio finished with almost as many homers (361) as strikeouts (369).

Anyway, getting back to Uggla: He’s on pace for 101 walks, which would be nine more than his career high set in 2009 with Florida, and would tie Chipper Jones’ 2009 total for 10th on the Atlanta Braves chart. Jones has three of the top 10 Atlanta walks totals, including 126 to equal Darrell Evans’ 1974 total for second behind Jimmy Wynn’s Atlanta-record 127.

The all-time franchise record for walks is 131 by Bob Elliott in 1948.

Problem is, Uggla is still hitting just .212 with 15 home runs, after hitting a career-low .233 with 36 homers last year in his first season with the Braves. Uggla had a .263 average in five seasons with the Marlins, including a career-best .287 with an .877 OPS in his final season with them in 2010, before the Braves traded for him that November and signed him to a five-year, $62 million contract extension that same winter.

Uggla is on pace for 20 home runs, after hitting 31 or more in each of the past five seasons. His career low is 27 as a Marlins rookie in 2006.

Etc.

Sheets gave up four homers and six runs Saturday, only the third time Atlanta has allowed more than four runs during its torrid stretch since July 3.

Atlanta’s bullpen has a 1.63 ERA during the team’s majors-best 29-12 run since July 3. The Nationals are 29-14 during that same period, and the Reds are 29-13. Since returning from the 15-day DL, Jonny Venters has not allowed a run in 10 appearances, posting a .152 opponents’ average with five hits, six walks and 11 strikeouts in 9-2/3 innings….

Craig Kimbrel has 60 strikeouts, an 0.53 ERA and .081 opponents’ average in 34 innings over his past 34 appearances….

The Braves are 18-6 with a 2.08 ERA in their past 24 games, and Saturday’s 6-2 loss was just the third time an opponent scored more than four runs against the Braves during that period….

The Braves have two of the NL’s five lowest home batting averages, Uggla at .176 (second-lowest) and McCann at .220 (fifth)….

Three of the highest eight NL strikeout totals belong to Braves: Uggla (137, tied with Washington’s Danny Espinosa for the lead), Jason Heyward (sixth with 122 strikeouts) and Michal Bourn (eighth with 119)….

Juan Francisco’s walk-off single in Friday’s 4-3 win against the Dodgers was the first game-winning RBI by a Braves pinch-hitter this season. Reed Johnson had his majors-leading 15th pinch-hit three innings earlier. Braves pinch-hitters have a meaguer .155 average through July 27, but are 9-for-25 (.360) since then. Johnson came from the Cubs in a July 30 trade.

BRAVES LINEUP

1. Bourn CF
2. Prado LF
3. Heyward RF
4. Freeman 1B
5. Uggla 2B
6. Francisco 3B
7. McCann C
8. Janish SS
9. Minor P
   

• OK, let’s get this up so you can read it before the game. Brian McCann is back in the lineup, as expected, after being held out the past two starts to rest his troublesome shoulder. And Chipper Jones, as he tweeted after last night’s game, is out of the lineup today to rest his achy knees.

We’ll close with one of my favorite tunes by John Hiatt, and a video that also features guitarist Sonny Landreth. Watch and listen to it by clicking here.

“MEMPHIS IN THE MEANTIME” by John Hiatt

I got something to say little girl
You might not like my style
But we’ve been hanging around this town
Just a little too long a while
You say you’re gonna get your act together
Gonna take it out on the road
But if I dont get outta here pretty soon
My head’s going to explode

Sure I like country music
I like mandolins
But right now I need a telecaster
Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

I need a little shot of that rhythm baby
Mixed up with these country blues
I wanna trade in these ol country boots
For some fine Italian shoes

Forget the mousse and the hairspray sugar
We dont need none of that
Just a little dab’ll do ya girl
Underneath a pork pie hat

Until hell freezes over
Maybe you can wait that long
But I dont think Ronnie Milsap’s gonna ever
Record this song

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

Maybe there’s nothin’ happenin’ there
Maybe there’s somethin’ in the air
Before our upper lips get stiff
Maybe we need us a big ol whiff

If we could just get off-a that beat little girl
Maybe we could find the groove
At least we can get a decent meal
Down at the Rendez-vous

‘Cause one more heartfelt steel guitar chord
Girl, it’s gonna do me in
I need to hear some trumpet and saxophone
You know sound as sweet as sin

And after we get good and greasy
Baby we can come back home
Put the cowhorns back on the cadillac
And change the message on the cord-a-phone

But…

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

– David O’Brien, Braves/MIB blog