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
"Chef" Tim Dix
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
Lowe wins the tool race tonight.
NagoyaBrave
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
What a waste of time rooting for this team. Terrible pitching. No hitting. Can’t believe this dude makes $15 million a year. What a joke. This country is ridiculous. Guys as mediocre as this making bank, while almost all of us work blood, sweat and tear, to make ends meet, paycheck to paycheck. And we are cheering for them. Ridiculous.
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:52 pm
A smattering of something
GT 2011
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Lowe’s sinker is looking pretty flat along with his slider. His change-up is about a 5 mph difference from his cutter. He is just old and worn out. Enough said. Lowe is not to blame, this Braves team cannot hit. Plan and simple.
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Henry Grady would have got the tag down.
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Can Jack Wilson pitch? I’ll take him over Lowe right now?
Oregon Brave
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Hey Jeff, I’ve got a question for you. Today on MLB Radio, they talked about the White Sox clubhouse quitting on Ozzie G. So do you think this team has quit on Fredi, or just quit? Or perhaps it’s the whole headlights thing. Most of these batters don’t act like they know WHAT a strike zone is, let alone WHERE it is. Thanks. I’ll take your answer off the air. Never understood what that means, but I hear it all the time on the radio. Go Braves.
braves fan
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
ok so its 3-0 whats your point?every pitcher feels like they have to make a perfect pitch,or a shutout when they pitch because of the offense.
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Alex Gonzalez — right calf strain.
NagoyaBrave
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Test. Last comment didn’t post. It was too real, I guess.
Larry
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Jeff,
When the Braves blow this, will you support the retention of a manager with such an epic failure given this talent, pre season expectations, and robust wild card lead to start this month?
If the Braves keep this goof the stadium will be a ghost town next season as no one will believe in a manager this poor and ineffective.
GT 2011
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Plain*
Atlanta = choke
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Braves = choke
Hawks = choke
Falcons = choke
Bulldogs = just plain garbage
we live in LOSERVILLE fellas
George Washington
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Okay, NOW we’re ready!
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Jeff this blog is a “bravesuckathon” I sure hope they make it interesting or it will be a long night of it.
Kimbrel rocks
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
i think any self respecting fan would have to be honest—–this is a terrible terrible team. braves managemnet has NEVER been able to make tough decisions regarding players. they let pitchers go and go until they screw up the whole team. nice gets you nowhere in MLB, hence the 1 WS title
Chief
September 27th, 2011
7:53 pm
Bourn doesn’t move past first
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
About time we got a guy we can strand on base.
MitchC
September 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
It’s almost like this team wants to blow it. They arent hitting, and Lowe is his usual self tonight.
I want to have faith, but, my gut tells me the Braves arent going to make it. Either they will get swept by Philly, and the Cards will win two, and it will be over tomorrow, or it will go to a one game playoff, that the Braves will lose.
I hope I’m wrong, but I cant think anything positive with the way this team is playing now.
Kissinger
September 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
Only 3rd inning and we’ve used up two of our four allotted hits.
Brave rave
September 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
IF THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN, WHATS HE WAITING FOR????
jc
September 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
Why in the world is Derek “blow” pitching tonight?! How stupid is Freddie Gonzalez for inserting him? so sick of hearing all this talk about how good Lowe has been in the post season, how he’s ready for tonight’s start..blah blah blah..HE SUCKS!!!!! already given up 3 runs and the game isn’t even 1/3 over!! Braves will get swept by the Phillies and St.Louass will win the next two to capture the wild card..congratulate yourselves,Braves! you did this to yourselves!! NO EXCUSE!!!! what better team for the Phillies to get “well” against than the Braves? this surely doesn’t look like the same team fresh off an 8 game losing streak..
dongkumong
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
ATL Choke, you forgot…GA justice system=murderers
LakeDawg
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
Lowe has a great slow ball. Right now, I don’t think he could finish a high school game. Doesn’t matter though. Braves lose 9-0 with Lowe instead of 4-0.
TN Jeff
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
The Ace is on his game tonight. Should be able to get through 5 innings with only 5 runs scored on him.
GT 2011
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
Hudson is the only positive.
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
Yeah…I want to believe too…but then I hear Chipper talk about being okay with the loss last night…
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
RiSP…now we’re really screwed
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
This is not new with Fredi. This is Atlanta baseball. Ending a week early.
Brave rave
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
This better be be the LAST TIME I ever see Derrick Blowe and Spanky Gonzalez wearing a Braves Uniform!!
Robbie
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
Fredi is a Bobby clone, period
Has anyone checked for an ear piece in Fredi’s ear connected to BC.
Parrish needed to be fired the 8th of April
Eat Lowe’s 16 million
Wren has become a bean counter!
Vain Jangling
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
Derek Lowe: “I feel terrible about this. I mean, I’m really stinking the place up. It’s getting kind of predictable, isn’t it. I’m just not that good anymore. I tell you what; I’m going to give back my $15,000,000 salary this year. It’s only fair. . . Ha! Had you going there. Hahaha! I’m keeping the money. Matter of fact, win or lose, I’m probably going to buy a new Porsche on the way home tonight. Ha! Get it? ‘Win or lose?’ Like it’s even an option!!! Every start is a quality start if you’re making $15,000,00 per year. I’M KING OF THE WORLD!”
Bud Light
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
Braves have Michael Bourn and 8 automatic outs…
The Braves, they...
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
This is a perfect storm for the “glass half empty guys” like ME. I can’t see Braves winning with old Lowe on the mound and old Chipper playing. This team needs a makeover and we might as well get a head start on things.
For the time being, help put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame where he rightfully belongs.
GT 2011
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
And Prado show’s us his concentration…
jc
September 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
The rainbow shown over Turner Field tonight blew in from St.Louis a day before they’ll be celebrating winning the wild card.
Jo
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Martin is not even following the pitch count!
Roy Oswalt
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
When do you think you’ll get a major league franchise?
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
The gods are trying to give us something. Will we blow it?
later gator
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Freddie has got to go most poorly motivated team out there.
shawn
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Hate is such a strong word, but I absolutely hate Derek Blow….He absolutely, positively sucks….
Hater
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Time for Chipper to start limping after the out…
TN Jeff
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Why in the world is Lowe batting? Is there EVER gonna be a sense of urgency with this idiotic manager & team?
Robbie
September 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Even the announcers live for the home run
B
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
Time for another choke double play
Jeff Schultz
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
Clutch. Not.
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
“There’s the opening Atlanta’s been waiting for!” Chipper stands in with one out . . . DP!!!
Furman Bitcher
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
Braves Suck
B
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
Haha called that
Jo
September 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
Didn’t chipper do that last night too?