LIVE: Braves can clinch tonight (and it starts with Lowe)
The Braves will do more scoreboard watching tonight, and hope to have another banner to raise.
Amid all of the angst of the Braves’ collapse (10-18), the injured starters (Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson), the slumping hitters (Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, Brian McCann) and the overused bullpen, guess what? The Braves can actually clinch the wild card tonight.
OK, for that to happen, the Braves need to hit a long-odds parlay: 1) The maligned starter, Derek Lowe, needs a strong outing to defeat the Phillies at Turner Field; 2) The St. Louis Cardinals need to lose for a second straight game in Houston. Those two developments would give the Braves the National League wild card spot for the second straight year, and render Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Philadelphia meaningless.
Few expected the Cards to lose to the Astros Monday night. It happened (5-4 in 10 innings). But the Braves’ postseason chances mostly hinge on Lowe. If he and the Braves win tonight, at worst the magic number is down to one, with Tim Hudson on the mound Wednesday against Joe Blanton (advantage: Braves).
What the Braves need is the Lowe of Sept. 2010, not 2011. Last season, he went 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA (29 strikeouts, three walks) in his final five regular season starts. But this has been the worst season of his career. He’s 9-16 with a 4.92 ERA. He’s 0-4 in his last four starts with an 8.24 ERA (though his last start at Florida was solid).
The other obvious issue for the Braves is a lack of offense. They lost 4-2 on Monday, have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last five games and three or fewer in six of their last 10. They’re also hitting only .239 in the month of September and .181 (32-for-177) with with runners in scoring position this month.
They’ll need to break out of that against the Phillies’ Roy Oswalt, who has been strong in two starts against the Braves this season (1-0, 2.08 in two starts) but in his career is only 1-3 with a 5.15 ERA.
As you prepare to scoreboard watch, your second favorite team, the Astros, will start Henry Sosa (3-5, 4.68) against the Cardinals’ Jake Westbrook (12-9, 4.48).
And with that, I turn it over to you. We wait to see what Lowe gives us.
Can this be an omen? There was a rainbow over Turner Field two hours before the Braves' game.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,258 comments Add your comment
Flailing Grade
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
Where’s Jeff Schultz gone?
jim692
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
Don’t take it out on Bourn. He was a nice pickup. Kept our young talent too.
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
If Fredi looks like a deer in the headlights he could be in trouble with the Buck Commander.
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
Did anyone here really believe Lowe would pitch any better than he did? This game was thrown away the minute it was decided that he was in the lineup.
Rabid Dawg
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
F Gonzalez…..let me guess sir….we just need to tip our caps!
Vino Fino
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
I would rather watch the last place teams of the late ’80s than this garbage! At least then we were entertained by Skip, Pete, and EJ.
Vain Jangling
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
My dog is all bowed up and growling at the television. I guess it’s true what they say; terriers have a sixth sense about bad baseball.
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
Now the TV guys are talking hockey. Maybe they will mention the Flames or the Thrashers!
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
Jeff’s gone to buy him a Phillies jersey.
braves fan
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
jeff
inside sources-clubhouse
Dan
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
Lowe is worthless. He needs to be gone this winter even if the Braves have to eat soem salary. They will be getting rid of KK’s over priced salary. Any one of the young guns could have done what he did. We needd to get a hard hitting outfielder. Send Heyward to winter ball or the minors next year unless he has a great spring training. Unfortunately, this team is not ready for the play-offs.
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
Hit a single-did you ever see Eddie Matthews play? Not that was something. My grandfather told me he was at the “Ponce” when Matthews hit a ball in the “Tree” (magnolia I think) in centerfield.
He said that was about 525 feet from home.
FlaBrave695
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
This is gut-wrenching…
C3PO
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
Gotsa feelin Cards win tonight. Pressure will be on Hudson (unfairly). The offense deserves the firing squad…
Vino Fino
September 27th, 2011
9:30 pm
Hey Rabid, c’mon. Phillies are a helluva team and they played a helluva game.
bart
September 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
I’m ticked off like most here but really doesn’t it seem like somethings just not right behind the scenes? For all the hugs and luv their seems to be something wrong amongst the troops which the media has not picked up on – this is too epic a collapse to explain otherwise.
George Washington
September 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
@Hit a Single: Ha Ha! That’s pretty good!
RJ
September 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
Hey the Rays just went up 5-3 on the Yankees.
braves fan
September 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
Did anyone here really believe Lowe would pitch any better than he did? This game was thrown away the minute it was decided that he was in the lineup
BRAVES HAVE 0 RUNS,IDIOT
count_schemula
September 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
Winnipeg Braves.
dogoneit
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
These arn’t the Braves I know and love! Gonzalez , If he is a leader now is the time to step up!
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
Hit a Single-Best comment of the night-Jeff has gone to buy a Phillies Jersey!
Mitchell
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
Jeff Schultz, you are a tool.
Hillbilly D
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
Can’t remember who it was but last year about this time, some poster on here referred to Roy Oswalt as “mentally weak”. Reckon where that poster is now?
extremus
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
Maybe it’d get better if they tear down Turner Field and bring back Fulton County Stadium again; despite an overall winning record there it seems there are more negative than positive memories for Braves fans at the Ted.
The Tomahawk Chop is dead. Long live the Chop. No electricity, no passion, no sense that anything will ever get better in 2011 from either the fans or certainly the Braves players and management. Call us fair-weather fans if you like, but your team has to show some semblance of heart for you to believe in them, and we’ve long since gone past that point. Welcome to the year of the Tomahawk Choke.
braves fan
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
Vino Fino
September 27th, 2011
9:29 pm
I would rather watch the last place teams of the late ’80s than this garbage! At least then we were entertained by Skip, Pete, and EJ
GO WATCH THAT TOMORROW YOU WONT BE MISSED
Big Wally
September 27th, 2011
9:32 pm
We got ‘em right where we want ‘em. Get ready for the rally folks, here we go.
Bruce Mac
September 27th, 2011
9:33 pm
Apparently every one of these relief pitchers that no one ever heard of is Cy Young reincarnated according to our gutless hitters.
Good News Just In!
September 27th, 2011
9:33 pm
Good to hear that the cardinals just tied it! I’m a die-hard Braves fan but this is pretty embarrassing. Its not Chippers fault. But its the whole teams fault! And the injuries with Hanson and Jurrgens has hurt us more than we realize! Lets just go ahead and start over for next year! (And tell Lowe to take a long walk off a short peer) Lets GO BRAVES! How Bout that Schultz?
u got to be kidding
September 27th, 2011
9:33 pm
braves , are you ready for golf or hunting…freddi make sure you throw lowe again and start conrad at second tomorrow.
Jack Daniels
September 27th, 2011
9:33 pm
Bart is right………………………There is something going on behind the scenes with this team. No team can be this flat for this long……………….Very strange
rugburn
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
i think chipper has ruined this team by blaming everyone else. again, chipper is/was a great player, he is just a poor example
RJ
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
Could they not have run anyone else out there tonight than Lowe?
It is very painful to watch this all unfold and there is absolutely nothing that can be doen to change it.
I honestly think that the Braves could not win a gams eright now if all their lives depended on it.
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
I did get to see him a couple of times, but I mainly remember Clete Boyer as the Braves third basemen in the early Atlanta years. Alot of people didn’t realize Clete played for the Braves. My dad said that Mathews had one of the prettiest swings there ever was and he wasn’t a bad glove.
Flailing Grade
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
38,000 plus showed up for the game … except for the 25 in the dugout.
dogoneit
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
Tommy knocka homa would of set fire to his teepee a while ago to send out distress signal! Houston riding in!
FlaBrave695
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
Least it won’t be a shut-out…
tired
September 27th, 2011
9:34 pm
i think we are all tired of Lowe being on the mound. I’d rather see a rookie try it instead of Lowe.
count_schemula
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
Wow, Prado. Way to prolong the agony.
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
And then there was 1.
jim692
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
ok that’s one
Randal Patrick McMurphy
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
Of course everyone in the Atlanta metropolitan area KNOWS there will be NO ACCOUNTABILITY from these Ass-Clowns. The 400 lb Gorilla is in the room management… will you choose to address this or just look the other way? Inquiring minds of Braves fans everywhere would LOVE to have an answer to this one…
Vino Fino
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
Braves fan- I took my lumps last night. Don’t think I can sit through another torture session like that!
Big Wally
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
Told ya, big rally fixin to happen.
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
A solo homerun, are we surprised? We can’t hit with men on base.
Ridonkulous
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
It’s all about timely hitting.
braves
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
meaningless hr go hug your mommy stupid
u got to be kidding
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
freddi give the damn team to terry pendleton or glenn hubbard like it should of been..QUIT NOW
C3PO
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
So what. That homerun in a 7-0 game is like a slam dunk in an NBA game losing 127-79….
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:35 pm
Home run Prado-Wow-announcers says there is the start!!!
Start to what? He knew it too!!! I guess they are just needing something to talk about.
I like them talking about the Flames!