LIVE: Braves try to follow wild Game 2 with win over Phils
Chipper Jones was mobbed by teammates after his game-winning homer (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Good morning. Did anybody go home?
I talked to a the elevator operator and few other stadium employees and they all look a little bleary-eyed. After Wednesday night’s crazy, E-ticket of a game — you know it’s special when 40-year-old Chipper Jones says it’s the greatest game he ever has been associated with — the Braves and Philadelphia have a short-turnaround today and close out their three-game series with a rare noon game at Turner Field.
Today’s game will have a lot of to live up to. The Braves won 15-13 Wednesday on Jones’ two-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning.
To recap in Twitter-form: The Braves trailed 6-0, led 8-6, trailed 12-8, led 13-12 and were tied after nine innings. (I think that’s under 140 characters.) Braves highlights: Jones’ two-run homer, Brian McCann’s grand slam in a six-run fifth, Jason Heyward’s go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run single in the sixth, Martin Prado’s two-run single in a five-run eighth and … well, that’s enough.
You can go to the how-they-scored here.
The 28 runs tied a Turner Field record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the highest-scoring, extra inning game in the National League since the New York Mets defeated the Braves 16-13 in 1985.
Our Carroll Rogers and Chris Vivlamore are sitting to my right, furiously working on follow stories on the game that will be posted later.
Funniest thing I heard from after the game was manager Fredi Gonzalez saying, “I forgot who started.” Answer: It was Tommy Hanson vs. Roy Halladay, which made a 23-run game that much more implausible.
Here’s a link to some post-game comments from the Braves.
About today: The Braves will go for the rare series win over Philadelphia, with Randall Delgado starting against the Phillies Joe Blanton. Delgado has allowed nine earned runs in 9 2/3 innings in his lat two outings and only five runs in 10 1/3 in his first two starts.
That’s it for now. I’ll be live-blogging during the game.
Feel free to join in while you pretend you’re working.
By Jeff Schultz
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129 comments Add your comment
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:11 pm
4-0…bummer
Hey RecentWreck, the Braves have had plenty of players in their history they’ve payed not to play. Unfortunately, that was not their thinking when the player was signed.
Jeff Schultz
May 3rd, 2012
2:12 pm
That’s it — Braves get 1 stirring win but lose series (which is bigger in the big picture).
VABravesFan
May 3rd, 2012
2:13 pm
WOW – CG for Mean Joe B.
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:14 pm
One game out of first….chill out people.
iTiSi
May 3rd, 2012
2:14 pm
Didn’t take much to erase last night’s big win did it? Braves went 3-4 on the homestand. That’s even worse because the Phils were missing two key players.
Turtsnap
May 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
3rd career shutout – 7th career complete game…. and YES, we can make the Average Joe look STELLAR!!
iTiSi
May 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
“Instant Dawgma” Did you say that after the last game last year? Why throw away games like today, which is what FG just did. He learned well from Cobby Box.
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
Agree Jeff, gotta get series wins. That’s what will move you in the standings to playoff status.
RecentWreck
May 3rd, 2012
2:19 pm
Instant Dawgma, true enough… I think we’re still paying Mike Hampton.
Bearer of Bad News
May 3rd, 2012
2:19 pm
Despite the emotion of last night’s game, the Braves have lost 4 out of their last 6. As for today, it appears the Braves blew their load last night.
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:20 pm
iTiSi, No, but it is only May….
last night should’ve easily been a loss but wasn’t. So add that as your one game pick up.
Turtsnap
May 3rd, 2012
2:20 pm
Oh, and iTiSi – must point out that the Bravos are now 3-6 within their division this year. Not gonna make the playoffs with that percentage.
I wonder how long we go with Prado in LF , Livan and Durbin in the pen, and Francisco taking up a roster spot.
We need a true LF with a little pop – even if not HR capable, at least a good 2 slot hitter.
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:22 pm
Is D Lowe still on payroll? hehe
iTiSi
May 3rd, 2012
2:25 pm
ID, yes he is, but he’s playing for Cleveland and is 4-1 last I heard. Rumor has it that he was a little “shaky” in two of those games and not toeing the line too well in the other two.
Sonny Clusters
May 3rd, 2012
2:26 pm
Gotta tip our cap.
Instant Dawgma
May 3rd, 2012
2:28 pm
Jeff that was a blazing fast game today by most standards.
Did the braves swing away at everything?
RecentWreck
May 3rd, 2012
2:30 pm
Too soon, Instant Dawgma, too soon…
Joe Bling
May 3rd, 2012
2:30 pm
To all concerned (iTiSi), you don’t just throw away wins. If you are a manager you have to make reasonable decisions about how and when to play your stars so that your team can endure a 162-game season. Durability has become the single most important factor to overall team success over such a brutal long haul. You can’t just throw Chipper and McCann out there every day. It doesn’t matter how much money they are making. To do so would be negligent mismanagement. You can’t throw O’Flaherty, Venters and Kimbrel every day. That would also be negligent mismanagement (as we learned last year). A manager has to have some vision, some sense of the environment around him, and has to make strategic decisions that will position a team for the playoffs six months from the start of the season – not just today!
And by the way, iTiSi, all of the players who back up our stars are being paid, too. When they sit on the bench they are being paid to do nothing. So, you can’t have it both ways. Use your brain. It’s about strategic management. Losing today’s game is not the end of the world if it preserves the core of our team to compete for a greater part of the overall season. And those backups who got sent out there today are not expected to just throw the game away. They are expected, and are paid, to compete and win.
Sonny Clusters
May 3rd, 2012
2:31 pm
On a day they needed a 3-run homer, they sat the home run hitters. Go figure. McCann and Chipper must have been too tired to play and try to even the series. Well, it’s still early in the season and this game doesn’t count for much. Wait until they have to win one in September. We was thinking about how that EPIC Collapse started this way. When we was playing ball Coach tried to win every game and Coach was no cap tipper.
iTiSi
May 3rd, 2012
2:37 pm
“Joe Bling”, All BS. Oh, Sonny Clusters I think he was talking to you too, even though he singled me out. That all sounds like typical “liberal” logic if this were politics. Real ballplayers use to do it, and gave their heart and soul to the game. They played through these wimpy little injuries and didn’t need a “rest every two or three games. A great example is Cal Ripken. Also, managers use to be managers and not just “baby sitters”! If the homeplate ump turned to FG and said “BOO” he would probably fall over.
Common
May 3rd, 2012
2:47 pm
Joe BLanton and Roy Halladay switched personalities this week
Sonny Clusters
May 3rd, 2012
2:52 pm
Different from last year . . . in several games the batters have made the pitcher throw a good pitch. In several games the Braves have slowed the swing and put the ball in play. Same as last year . . . lots of hugging and fanny patting. Too much cap tipping. Heck, it was Joe Blanton and this after they beat Halladay.
Chopisdumb
May 3rd, 2012
2:52 pm
Blanton is in his contract year, so now he starts to pitch well. Thanks Braves for allowing the Phils to finally score some runs … see you later this season … good luck to ya (finishing 2nd).
Joe Bling
May 3rd, 2012
2:58 pm
iTiSi you sound like a tired old fool. I’m not sure how strategically managing your baseball team has anything to do with politics. Why would you characterize strategic management as “liberal”? This is 2012, and if you are not aware of the impact that injuries are having on the game then you obviously don’t watch a lot of baseball. The players today can no longer just take a steroid shot to heal up and get back out there. If you are a manager and you aren’t doing everything in your power to manage injuries and the health of your team, then you are going to lose. The object is to keep your best players on the field for the maximum amount of time over the course of a 162-game season. Do you really think Chipper Jones can play every day without getting hurt? Is that really what you are saying? Because there isn’t a shred of evidence to support such a stupid idea. And by the way, how many championships did Cal Ripken win?
Matt
May 3rd, 2012
3:00 pm
The Braves were too impatient once again today, swinging away at everything. I don’t think Blanton even threw 100 pitches. Lots of outs were made on the second or third pitch of the at-bat. That has to stop if this team is going to be successful.
DawgDad
May 3rd, 2012
3:07 pm
“That’s it — Braves get 1 stirring win but lose series ”
Yep, what could have been a huge positive boost turned into another dull reminder this team as constituted has major flaws. May will tell us far more about the Braves chances in 2012 than April did.
Game Changer
May 3rd, 2012
3:31 pm
3,4 5 6 batters today avg 30% strikeouts in at bats. today 3k’s out of 12 25%
cannot win with these four in the same lineup
Winston
May 3rd, 2012
3:39 pm
Doh! I hate it when the game is over before I realize it was even on!
Robert
May 3rd, 2012
4:11 pm
Well!! Well!! The Phillies start their climb to the top by wiping the floor with the Braves.