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
•
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
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
1,258 comments Add your comment
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
Crowd already on Lowe in a big way.
And here’s Utley. What’d he do last time up?
Trbaes
September 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
Alright…..
Bye Bye Blog…See ya next year!
Lowe Lowe Lowe
Nick N Richmond
September 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
lol….wouldn’t it be really ironic if somehow the Braves played the Red Sox in the World Series….I wonder what the media story-line would be for the whole series……..hmmmm???
OuttaGas
September 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
calling it now we lose 9-0 cardinals win 9-0
the truth...
September 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
Yep we’ve got the Lowe we have had all year…………
Top of the 3rd….no outs down 2-0…..
JulioTeheran
September 27th, 2011
7:46 pm
I was ready to pitch tonight too. Stupid manager…
"Chef" Tim Dix
September 27th, 2011
7:46 pm
if Bill Watts called baseball he’d be Joe Simpson(Morgan).
Kissinger
September 27th, 2011
7:46 pm
Why are they on Lowe? It’s not like he makes an exorbitant amount of money or anything.
Trbaes
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
I was ready to pitch tonight too. Stupid manager…
That manager deal comes in the package when you play for the braves
George Washington
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
OuttaGas: I’m putting the Over/Under on Philly runs at 8. I’m taking the over, of course.
Larry
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
Phillies have situational contact hitters like Rollins, Utley, Victorino, Ibanez, and Pilanco. Fruity, like Cox, likes hard, wild free swingers all the while Constanza sits.
Biggest idiot to ever manage a game.
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
Are they on him or just disgusted with him?
OuttaGas
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
lets let them steal home why there are at it…
Jo
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
Let another runner go to 2nd uncontested. Braves have mailed this one in.
Ando
September 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
Why does it always seem we are down by 4 runs before the 4th inning every time D.Lowe pitches???!!!
Trbaes
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Phils will score more runs than the braves will have hits tonight
soduK
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
We were up 2-0 last night. Please baseball gods, make this right…
Roy Oswalt
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
To keep it fair, I’ll pitch lefthanded the rest of the game.
Jo
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Lucky it’s 3 to nothing rather than 5
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Hard not to hate this team right now.
Cheese
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Screw this I can’t watch this total lack of effort no through by McCann, Hacking at anything and everything that comes across the plate
LakeDawg
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
I just tuned in. They really are starting Lowe?!? LMAO.
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Make that 3-0. Imagine how bad it would be if this game actually meant something to the Phillies.
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
Jo, just give it time.
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:48 pm
You have a better shot at the 37 million than a Braves win.
Craig
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
That lowe sure is bringin it tonight. Stupid bunch of losers. Gonna be tied tomorrow and by 10 pm tomorrow night, turn out the lights on these pathetic losers.
the truth...
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
Fredi is dumb as a rock…………..
There is nothing to convince me that Lowe had a chance tonight…………..he is done….
Now we’re down 3-0 in the top of the 3rd…..
"Chef" Tim Dix
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
Lowe to be beaten, tasered, and arrested again tonight for impersonating a MLB pitcher.
Jaime
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
Ballgame !
Brave-less
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
in all seriousness, who really wanted to see this offense in the post season? And don’t give me that “Anything can happen in the post season” mess, this team has flailed all month long and has given zero indication of coming out of it anytime soon
justin
September 27th, 2011
7:49 pm
well atleast we got hudson tomorrow!!
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Typical start for Lowe, typical poor play by Braves. 3-0 in the third already. Braves are terrible
Kimbrel rocks
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
this is a total joke. i honestly can’t wait for this season to be over. tired of watching the braves trot this bozo out on the mound. it doesn’t matter if the rookies pitch better, the good old boys club in atlanta will keep letting lowe pitch, regardless of his impact on the club
G
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Lowe…. Epic fail!!
Red Clay Hound
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
F Gonzales….you are an idiot!
LakeDawg
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Fredi just lost my respect. Go Cards!
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
3 runs against this team will be enough. Of course, Fredi usually lets Lowe give up 4 or 5 before he goes to get him. We was wondering how the Phillies can get runners in from 3rd base like that?
SuperDave
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
I guess it’s “too hot” to pitch tonight Lowe you big lard-&%* POS…..He needs to be fired tomorrow along with the GM, Gonzalez, Delgado, and every other worthless piece of crap player on this team. We need new owners….NOW.
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Way to go Bravos and get the Cards all loose for tonights game.
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Can’t wait for this: Assuming they don’t hit for him, Lowe leads off the inning. Wait for the reception.
Bud Light
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Braves thinking about facing Milwaukee and Lowe thinking about a six pack of Old Milwaukee…
B
September 27th, 2011
7:50 pm
Boy that brilliant retard leo mazzone sure was spot on. The braves bats are on fire! Anyone else sick of that homer.
OuttaGas
September 27th, 2011
7:51 pm
when is the last time we scored 3 runs…?
Kimbrel rocks
September 27th, 2011
7:51 pm
brian mccann screaming “three” is about the dumbest thing i have seen in awhile. just when you think he can’t screw up anymore, he pulls this. congrats brian
SR
September 27th, 2011
7:51 pm
The real question is, can this stinking team win ONE stinking game or do they really go down in flames and get swept at home by the Phillies. Methinks its the latter.
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:51 pm
Ha…messin with sasquatch commercial…braves are the stupid guys always messin with sasquatch…phillies are sasquatch…
Concerned Braves Fan
September 27th, 2011
7:51 pm
This is going ugly early and I am not even at the bar!
Rabid Dawg
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
They might as well just place the ball on a tee when Lowe is in there!!
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
And soft boos for Lowe . . .
Chief
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
I’d have to be severely intoxicated to be at the ted right now