The Braves finished their regular season off in a good way on Sunday afternoon by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 12-5.
The Braves crushed out seventeen hits in the game. Gerald Laird had the biggest day as he had four hits and scored four runs in the victory. Evan Gattis added three hits, including his 21st home run of the year in the first inning, Andrelton Simmons also added three hits and drove in a run. Elliot Johnson had two hits and led the Braves with five RBI's in the win, Freddie Freeman also had two hits and drove in a run. Freeman finished the year batting .319 with 109 RBI's, the most RBI's by a Brave since 2006. Jose Constanza had a hit and drove in two runs, Justin Upton and Julio Teheran also added a hit apiece.
Teheran pitched well enough to earn the victory and improve his record to 14-8, but it wasn't his best outing of the year. He went five innings and gave up four runs on six hits including a three-run homer to Erik Kratz. Luis Avilan then pitched a scoreless sixth inning for Atlanta. Luis Ayala struggled and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the seventh before Alex Wood came in and recorded the final out of the inning. David Carpenter came in and struck out two in a perfect eighth inning and then Craig Kimbrel retired the side in the ninth to close out the victory.
The Braves finish the year with a 96-66 record. They ended up being the second place team in the National League behind the St. Louis Cardinals meaning Atlanta will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the Division Series. The first game will be played in Atlanta on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Kris Medlen (15-12) is expected to start that game for the Braves against the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (16-9).
Evan Gattis hits a two-run homer in the first inning in the Braves' 12-5 victory over the Phillies on Sunday in their regular season finale.
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The Braves staged a late comeback in the ninth inning on Saturday night, but it wasn't enough as the Phillies won 5-4.
The offense had twelve hits in the game but could only muster a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer in the ninth. Justin Upton led the team with four hits in the game, including the homer in the ninth which was his 27th of the year. Freddie Freeman added two hits and an RBI with the sac fly and Gerald Laird also had two hits in the game. Jason Heyward, Evan Gattis, Elliot Johnson and Jose Constanza each had a hit apiece in the loss.
Mike Minor started the game and was decent, but he didn't get any offensive support as his record fell to 13-9 on the year. He pitched six innings and gave up two runs on five hits and struck out six batters. Jordan Walden then came in and gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits while striking out two before Scott Downs got the final out of the seventh. Anthony Varvaro then came in and gave up a run in the eighth on three hits before Alex Wood retired the final batter of the inning. Kameron Loe entered the game in the ninth and pitched a scoreless inning.
The Braves are now 95-66 on the season and they will play their final regular season game tomorrow at 1:35 p.m. against the Phillies. Julio Teheran (13-8) will start the finale against Zach Miner (0-1) for the Phillies.
Justin Upton rounds the bases after his three-run homer in the ninth, but the comeback fell short as the Braves lost the game 5-4.
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Kris Medlen and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies and Cliff Lee 1-0 on Friday night in a classic pitching duel.
The Braves recorded only three hits in the game. Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons each had a hit, but the biggest was the third and final hit in the eighth inning. Chris Johnson hit a solo homer, his twelfth of the year, off of Lee that proved to be the winning and only run of the game.
Medlen was masterful in his final outing of the season as he improved his record to 15-12 on the year. He pitched eight innings and gave up two hits while striking out seven batters. Craig Kimbrel then struck out two batters in the ninth as he earned his 50th save of the season. The 50 saves also is a new career-high in a season for Kimbrel.
The Braves are now 95-65 on the year and they will take on the Phillies again tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Mike Minor (13-8) will take the mound for the final time this regular season against Ethan Martin (2-5) of the Phillies.
Kris Medlen delivers a pitch in his masterful performance against the Phillies on Friday night in the Braves' 1-0 victory.
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Jason Heyward and the Atlanta Braves cruised past the Phillies on Thursday night with a 7-1 victory.
The Braves had twelve hits in the game, and scored five runs in the first inning as they dominated all night. Heyward had a career night with five hits, including his fourteenth homer of the season to lead off the game, three doubles and a single. Heyward earned a few of his doubles with his speed by legging them out and giving the Braves the hustle they have lacked without him in the lineup. Evan Gattis added two hits and drove in a team-high three runs, Freddie Freeman also had two hits and an RBI. Chris Johnson and Jordan Schafer each added a hit and an RBI and Elliot Johnson had a hit and scored two runs in the victory.
David Hale made another spot start on the mound for Atlanta and did well by earning his first Major League victory and going 1-0 on the year. He wasn't the strikeout pitcher that he was in his Major League debut, but he did pitch six innings and gave up a run on seven hits and struck out five. Alex Wood pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Luis Ayala pitched a scoreless eighth. Luis Avilan was able to finish the game out in the ninth with a perfect inning.
The Braves are now 94-65 on the year and they are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in the National League. They will play the Phillies again tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m. Kris Medlen (14-12) will make his final start before the postseason while Phillies' ace Cliff Lee (14-7) will pitch.
Jason Heyward had five hits, including a homer, in the Braves' 7 to 1 victory over the Phillies on Thursday night.
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The Atlanta Braves lost again on Wednesday night to the Milwaukee Brewers, this time it was 4-0.
The Braves managed only two hits in the game that was marred by a near-brawl at the beginning. Andrelton Simmons had a hit in the first inning and Evan Gattis got a hit in the eighth inning and that about sums up the night for the Braves' offense. Kyle Lohse pitched a masterpiece for the Brewers, using only 89 pitches in the two-hit shutout.
Paul Maholm pitched seven effective innings for the Braves but suffered the loss and is now 10-11 on the year. He gave up three runs on eight hits, including a homer to Carlos Gomez, and he also struck out seven. The homer to Gomez is what almost set off a mass brawl on the field, as he ran around the bases and yelled at Maholm and Freddie Freeman before Brian McCann met him at home plate, which set off the benches clearing incident. Reed Johnson got in a few shoves to Gomez's face but that was the most of it. Freeman, Gerald Laird and Gomez were thrown out of the game.
Anthony Varvaro pitched the eighth inning and gave up two hits and a walk but no runs. Scott Downs gave up a run and two hits in the ninth before Kameron Loe came in and got the final out of the inning.
Atlanta is now 93-65 on the year. They will start their final series of the year against the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow night at home at 7:10 p.m. Rookie David Hale (0-0) will try to have another impressive start as Tyler Cloyd (2-6) starts for Philly.
Reed Johnson (right) gets in a few shots on Carlos Gomez after Gomez hit a home run and taunted the Braves all around the bases.
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Andrelton Simmons helped the Braves come back and defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Tuesday night with a walk-off hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The Braves' offense looked a lot better than the night before as they had ten hits in the victory. Evan Gattis led the team with three hits and he also drove in a run. Freddie Freeman had two hits and also drove in a run while Justin Upton also had two hits. Simmons had his big hit and RBI that ended the game, Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward each added a hit apiece too. They did strike out nine times though against a pitcher that isn't known for strikeouts, Uggla, Elliot Johnson and Freddy Garcia each fanned two times.
Garcia had another good outing on the mound though and with this outing he might have solidified himself a place on the postseason roster. He pitched six and two-thirds innings and gave up two runs on six hits while striking out seven men. Alex Wood came in and recorded the final out of the seventh as he continues to transition back to the bullpen. David Carpenter struck out two batters in a perfect eighth as he continues to show he is a reliable set-up man to Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel pitched the ninth and struck out all three batters he faced, he also earned the victory and is now 4-3 on the year.
The Braves are now 93-64 on the season and kept themselves a half game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in the National League. They will play their final game with the Brewers tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Paul Maholm (10-10) will start his final game of the year against the Brewers' Kyle Lohse (10-10).
Andrelton Simmons follows through on his RBI single that drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth in the Braves' 3-2 victory.
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The Atlanta Braves apparently had a little too much fun on Sunday night after clinching the NL East Division crown as they looked lifeless on Monday and were shut out by the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0.
The Braves managed only three hits in the game. Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons and Elliot Johnson had the three hits for Atlanta. The offense struggled mightily all night, continuing their recent run of games where they can't rally anything together to score runs. Jordan Schafer did steal his 22nd base of the year, which leads the team.
Mike Minor started the game for Atlanta and did a pretty good job even though he suffered the loss and is now 13-8 on the year. He pitched seven innings and gave up three runs on eight hits, including homers to Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy. Anthony Varvaro pitched the eighth inning and fell apart for the first time in awhile. He gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits including a homer to Aramis Ramirez. The other run scored on a bizarre play that included a Simmons' throwing error that bounced off the mound all the way to the net behind home plate. Kameron Loe took the mound for the ninth inning and struck out a batter in a perfect inning.
The Braves are now 92-64 on the year and they will play the Brewers again tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Freddy Garcia (4-7) will start for the Braves as he tries to secure a spot on the postseason roster while Tyler Thornburg (3-1) will start for Milwaukee.
After struggling in his first few appearances with the team, Kameron Loe has put together a few good outings from the bullpen, including a scoreless inning against the Brewers on Monday night.
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The Miami Dolphins marched down-field to score a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to stun the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon 27-23.
The Falcons had 377 total yards and held onto the ball almost fifteen minutes longer than Miami but somehow they still found a way to lose. They started the first quarter with a touchdown on a seven-yard pass to Jason Snelling. Then in the second quarter Atlanta got two field goals, a 52-yard and a 20-yard, from Matt Bryant but they only led 13-10 at the half. Then in the third quarter, after a Miami turnover, the Falcons scored again on a two-yard pass to Levine Toilolo, his first career NFL touchdown. The Dolphins ended up tying it at 20 all going into the fourth quarter before Bryant added a 33-yard field goal. Bryant missed a 35-yard attempt later in the quarter before Miami drove down the field with three minutes left to win the game.
Ryan had a decent day passing, he threw for 231 yards with the two scores but he also threw an interception on the last drive that sealed the victory for Miami. On a good note, he wasn't sacked once as the offensive line had its best showing yet of the season. Jacquizz Rodgers had a good day running the ball as he carried it eighteen times for 86 yards. Snelling also had a good day with 53 yards rushing and 58 yards receiving on four receptions. Julio Jones had another big day receiving as he hauled in nine passes for 115 yards. Robert McClain led the defense with six tackles on the day, including a sack, Atlanta sacked Ryan Tannehill five times in the game. Osi Umenyiora had two sacks in the contest, Akeem Dent got credit for 1.5 sacks and Joplo Bartu got the other .5 for his first sack of his career. William Moore also added an interception for the Atlanta defense.
The Dolphins got touchdowns on a five-yard run by Daniel Thomas in the second quarter, an eighteen-yard pass to Brian Hartline and the winning score came on a one-yard lob pass to Dion Sims with 38 seconds remaining. They also got a 46 and 50-yard field goals from rookie Caleb Sturgis. Tannehill passed for 236 yards on the day with his two touchdowns. Hartline led the receiving corp with four receptions for 56 yards. Former Raven Dannell Ellerbee led the Miami defense with ten tackles in the victory.
The Falcons are now 1-2 on the season. They will play their next game at home next Sunday at 8:30 p.m. against the New England Patriots. The Patriots are now 3-0 on the year after they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-3 on Sunday.
Jason Snelling dives into the end zone for a touchdown in the Falcons' 27-23 loss on Sunday. Snelling had over 100 yards of offense in the game.
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With a Nationals loss earlier in the day, the Atlanta Braves clinched the National League Eastern Division on Sunday and they made things even better with a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the final road game of the season. It's the Braves first division title since 2005, their last of fourteen straight division titles.
The Braves managed to get twelve hits in the game. Freddie Freeman led the team with three hits, including a two-run homer in the first inning, his 23rd of the year. Andrelton Simmons had a huge day at the plate with two homers, one a solo shot and the other a two-run shot, which gives him seventeen home runs on the season. Justin Upton and Brian McCann each added two hits while Jason Heyward, Elliot Johnson and Jose Constanza each had a hit in the victory.
Julio Teheran had a great start in the clincher and improved his record to 13-8 for the year. He pitched six innings and gave up a run on four hits while striking out seven. Luis Avilan then pitched a perfect seventh inning while striking out a batter. Luis Ayala pitched a third of an inning and gave up a run on two hits before Alex Wood came in and got the final two outs of the eighth. Craig Kimbrel gave up two hits but struck out three batters in the ninth to record his 49th save of the year.
The Braves are now 92-63 on the season. They will return home for the final week of the season and start a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at 7:10 p.m. Mike Minor (13-7) will start in game one for Atlanta against Marco Estrada (6-4) of the Brewers.
Andrelton Simmons is congratulated by Elliot Johnson after hitting one of his two homers in the Braves' 5-2 victory on Sunday. Atlanta claimed the NL East Divsion Crown for the first time since 2005.
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The Braves had a chance to clinch the division against the Cubs, but instead they will have to wait another day as Chicago won 3-1 on Saturday.
The Braves managed only five hits in the game as the Cubs out-hit them again. Chris Johnson had two hits, while Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman and Evan Gattis each had a hit in the loss. The only run of the game for the Braves scored when Gattis got his hit and an error was committed by the Cubs' Nate Schierholtz. The Braves struck out ten times as a team, including two times apiece by Gerald Laird, Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton.
Kris Medlen started the game and ended up not factoring into the decision even after having a great performance. He pitched seven and a third innings and gave up a run on six hits while striking out six. Scott Downs was the man who lost the game for the bullpen today by giving up two runs on two hits, he suffered the loss and is now 4-4 on the year. David Carpenter also pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up a hit that scored one of Downs' runs.
The Braves are now 91-63 on the season and they will play the Cubs for the final time tomorrow at 2:20 p.m. Julio Teheran (12-8) will take his shot at trying to help the Braves clinch while Edwin Jackson (8-16) will start for the Cubs.
Kris Medlen delivers a pitch during the Braves' 3-1 loss on Saturday against the Cubs, Atlanta will have to wait another day to clinch the division.
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The Atlanta Braves had a big lead, gave it up, but then came back in the ninth to defeat the Cubs 9-5 and drop their magic number to one game on Friday afternoon.
Atlanta had eight hits in the game while the Cubs had eleven. Chris Johnson had a great game as he led the team with three hits, including his eleventh homer of the year in the second inning and he drove in two runs. Freddie Freeman had a big three-run homer in the third inning, his 22nd of the season. Brian McCann also had a hit and an RBI that drove in the winning run, Andrelton Simmons added a hit and two RBI's in the ninth also. Pitcher Paul Maholm added an RBI double earlier in the game to help himself out. Evan Gattis also added a hit and Jason Heyward scored a run in his return to the lineup, he only played five innings.
Maholm had a decent outing on the mound but he did not factor into the decision. He pitched five and a third innings and gave up four runs on eight hits, including homers to Donnie Murphy and Starlin Castro. Scott Downs, Luis Ayala and Luis Avilan combined to pitch the next inning and two-thirds, Downs and Ayala did well but Avilan gave up the tying run on a homer to Dioner Navarro. David Carpenter pitched a perfect eighth inning and he ended up getting the victory and is 4-1 on the year. Craig Kimbrel came in and pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation.
The Braves are now 91-62 on the season and they will play the Cubs again tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. Kris Medlen (14-12) will take the mound for Atlanta as they try to clinch the division while Travis Wood (9-11) will pitch for Chicago.
Brian McCann drives in the eventual winning run in the Braves' 9-5 victory over the Cubs on Friday afternoon.
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In the final meeting against the Washington Nationals this season, the Atlanta Braves came out on top 5-2 thanks to some intensity that was created by rookie pitcher Alex Wood and manager Fredi Gonzalez.
The Braves had eight hits in the game. Justin Upton and Jordan Schafer led the team with two hits apiece, Upton also hit a two-run homer that put the Braves on top for good in the sixth inning, it was his 26th of the year. Schafer also added an RBI and scored a run, it's the first good day he has had at the plate in awhile. Dan Uggla broke up Ross Ohlendorf's no-hitter in the sixth with a solo homer, his 22nd of the season, which also got Atlanta on the board. Brian McCann had an RBI double to complete the scoring for the Braves who also got hits from Evan Gattis and Chris Johnson.
Wood made the start for the Braves and he was doing well until running into trouble in the fifth. He appeared to strike Jayson Werth out but the umpire didn't call strike three and instead it walked in a run. Wood was hot and started cursing out the umpire, Gonzalez came out of the dugout and got thrown out immediately. Wood stayed in the game for one more batter and gave up a sacrifice fly before getting thrown out while he was being taken out of the game. Apparently that fired the Braves up though and the bats got going in the next inning to give the Braves a victory.
Wood ended up pitching four and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs, both unearned, on six hits while striking out three. Kameron Loe came in and got the final out of the fifth inning and he earned the victory moving his record to 2-3 on the year. Anthony Varvaro pitched a perfect sixth inning while striking out a batter. Luis Ayala, Scott Downs and David Carpenter combined to pitch a scoreless seventh before Carpenter came back out and pitched a perfect eighth. Craig Kimbrel redeemed himself from the day before and pitched a perfect ninth for his 48th save of the year.
The Braves are now 90-62 on the season and they will have an off day on Thursday before starting at three-game weekend series in Chicago with the Cubs on Friday at 2:20 p.m. Paul Maholm (10-10) will return to the mound after an extended period of rest for his elbow while Scott Baker (0-0) will start for the Cubs.
Fredi Gonzalez is ejected by the home plate umpire after arguing a called ball four in the fifth inning. Alex Wood was also ejected in the inning which in turn fired the Braves up as Atlanta beat Washington 5-2 on Wednesday night.
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The Nationals completed a sweep of the day-night doubleheader with the Braves on Tuesday by winning game two 4-0.
The Braves' bats didn't come to play in the second game as they only managed five hits. The Braves are batting a meager .197 in their past eleven games. Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, Gerald Laird, Dan Uggla and Elliot Johnson each had a hit in the loss. As a team, Atlanta struck out nine times, including two times by Uggla.
Freddy Garcia started the game and gave the Braves a great performance against Washington but unfortunately he suffered the loss and is now 4-7 on the year. He pitched seven innings and gave up only one run on seven hits while striking out six batters. Garcia is slowly pitching his way into a rotation that could use a veteran presence for the postseason. Jordan Walden pitched the eighth inning and struggled for the second straight outing, he gave up three runs on four hits, including a homer to Ryan Zimmerman. He has raised concerns on how ready he will be to set up Craig Kimbrel in the playoffs.
The Braves are now 89-62 on the year and have lost nine of the their last thirteen games. They will finish their series with the Nationals tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Alex Wood (3-3) will make his first start in a few weeks while Ross Ohlendorf (4-0) will take the mound for the surging Nationals.
Freddy Garcia throws a pitch on Tuesday night against the Nationals. Garcia pitched seven strong innings but didn't get any help from the bats in the 4-0 loss.
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Craig Kimbrel had converted 37 consecutive save chances but that ended on Tuesday afternoon in the first game of the Braves' doubleheader with the Nationals. After Monday's tragedy at Washington's Navy Yard, Monday's game was pushed back to Tuesday as part of a doubleheader and the Braves lost 6-5.
The Braves had nine hits in the game, while the Nationals only had four and they still won. Elliot Johnson and Andrelton Simmons had two apiece, Johnson also scored two runs. Evan Gattis hit a two-run shot, his 20th of the year, to give the Braves a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. Dan Uggla had a pinch hit single to drive in a run and Freddie Freeman added an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Justin Upton, Brian McCann and Chris Johnson each added a hit in the loss.
Mike Minor started the game and had a rough first inning but settled down after that and didn't factor into the decision. He worked six innings and gave up three runs on three hits and struck out four. Luis Ayala worked a perfect seventh inning and then David Carpenter and Luis Avilan completed the eighth inning by striking out three batters. Kimbrel then entered in the ninth inning and gave up three runs, two earned, on one hit and two walks while recording only one out. It was his fourth blown save of the year and his record fell to 3-3.
The Braves are now 89-61 and they will play the Nationals tonight at 7:10 p.m. to complete the doubleheader. Freddy Garica (4-6) will start for the Braves against Tanner Roark (6-0) for the Nationals.
Evan Gattis hits a two-run homer to put the Braves on top 4-3 in the eighth inning. Atlanta eventually lost 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth though.
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Seeking help on defense the Atlanta Falcons signed two linebackers on Tuesday and brought fullback Patrick DiMarco up from the practice squad.
They signed Jamar Chaney and Omar Gaither to contracts and to help out on defense. Chaney had only 24 tackles in fourteen games last season after he recorded 92 tackles the year before. He has recorded 158 tackles and three interceptions in three seasons in Philly. Gaither spent his first five years in Philadelphia before a year in Carolina and then last year in Oakland. Last year with the Raiders, he played in only seven games and recorded only fourteen tackles. His best season was in 2007 when he recorded 103 tackles in sixteen games with the Eagles, he has 337 tackles in his seven-year career. The Falcons also announced that linebacker Chase Thomas was added to the practice squad, he was most recently with Oakland.
Jamar Chaney was signed to help at linebacker after Sean Weatherspoon was injured and will miss the next eight games.
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The Atlanta Falcons held off the St. Louis Rams late on Sunday afternoon and won 31-24 but they lost five starters in the process and some of them will be out for awhile.
The Rams had more total yards with 421 compared to the Falcons 393, they also had five more first downs even though Atlanta held onto the ball longer. The Falcons completely dominated the first half but then they struggled after halftime. The first touchdown came on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Steven Jackson, then Ryan connected with Julio Jones for an 81-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter. Osi Umenyiora started the scoring in the second quarter by getting his first career interception and returning it 68 yards for the score. Matt Bryant added a field goal to give Atlanta a 24-3 halftime lead. The Rams were charging back before Jason Snelling ran a touchdown in from eleven yards out in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Ryan had a good day throwing the ball, completing 33 of his 43 passes for 374 yards and the two scores. Jones had the best day for the receivers with eleven catches for 182 yards and the touchdown. Robert McClain led the defense with nine tackles followed by William Moore who had seven, including a few bruising tackles. The Falcons lost Steven Jackson, Asante Samuel, Bradie Ewing, Sean Weatherspoon and Kroy Biermann in the game. It was announced that Jackson had a hip injury and he will be out two to four weeks. Samuel's status is still up in the air, while Weatherspoon was placed on injured reserve-designated to return meaning he will miss eight weeks with a foot injury. Ewing and Biermann were both placed on season-ending injured reserve as both are big losses to the team but especially Biermann as he is one of the team's top pass rushers.
The Rams looked lifeless in the first half as they only got a field goal from Greg Zuerlein. But Sam Bradford and company came to life in the second half. Bradford threw three touchdowns, including two to rookie Tavon Austin. The two passes to Austin were for six and ten yards and the other touchdown was on a three-yard pass to Austin Pettis. Bradford threw for 352 yards to go with the three touchdowns and the interception and almost led his team to another come from behind victory. Chris Givens led the receivers with five receptions for 105 yards while Pettis had eight receptions for 78 yards. Rookie linebacker Alec Olgetree, a former Georgia standout, led the team with eight tackles in the loss. Robert Quinn and Eugene Sims each had a sack in the game for St. Louis.
The Falcons are now 1-1 on the year and they will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins next Sunday at 4:05 p.m. The Dolphins are now 2-0 on the year after they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24-20 on Sunday.
Julio Jones breaks away from a tackle in the Falcons' 31-24 victory on Sunday. Jones had eleven catches for 182 yards in the win.
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Burch Smith entered Sunday's game 0-1 with a 9.17 ERA, but he found his best stuff against Atlanta as the Padres shutout the Braves 4-0.
The Braves managed to get only four hits in the game. Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, Chris Johnson and Julio Teheran had the hits for Atlanta. The offense was again plentiful with their strikeouts, whiffing thirteen times as a team. Justin Upton struck out three times alone, his brother B.J. struck out twice as well as Jordan Schafer and Evan Gattis. Smith pitched great for San Diego and once again, a pitcher that has struggled, pitched like a Cy Young contender against the Braves.
Teheran didn't pitch horribly, but he got no production from the offense to help his cause as he fell to 12-8 on the year. He pitched six and two-thirds innings and gave up four runs on seven hits, including homers to Tommy Medica and Chase Headley, who hit a homer in all three games of the series. Scott Downs came in and got the final out of the seventh by striking out the last batter. Kameron Loe pitched the eighth inning and struck out two in his perfect inning, Anthony Varvaro then pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.
The Braves are now 89-60 on the year. They will travel to the Nation's Capital to play the Nationals for three games beginning tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Mike Minor (13-7) will take the mound in game one for the Braves against Dan Haren (9-13) who will start for Washington.
Julio Teheran throws a pitch against the Padres on Sunday afternoon, he didn't receive any offensive support in the Braves' 4-0 loss.
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The Braves got another quality start from Kris Medlen as the Braves held on to defeat the Padres 2-1 on Saturday night.
The Braves had nine hits in the game but could only manage the two runs. Freddie Freeman had three hits, including his 21st homer of the year, to lead the Braves. Chris Johnson and Justin Upton added two hits apiece, Johnson also drove in the Braves other run. Elliot Johnson and Andrelton Simmons had the Braves' other two hits in the victory.
Medlen won a game for the eighth time in his past nine starts to improve his record to 14-12 on the season. He pitched seven and a third innings and gave up no runs on four hits while striking out five batters. David Carpenter came on to get the final two outs of the eighth before Craig Kimbrel entered the game in the ninth. Kimbrel gave up a home run to Chase Headley before settling down and getting the final three outs to record his 47th save of the year and to close out the Braves' win.
The Braves are now 89-59 on the season and they will finish off their series with the Padres tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 p.m. Julio Teheran (12-7) will take the mound in the finale against Padres' rookie Burch Smith (0-1).
Freddie Freeman is congratulated by teammates after hitting his 21st home run in the Braves' 2-1 win on Saturday night.
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The Braves couldn't have asked David Hale to pitch better, but they do expect more out of their bullpen as they couldn't hold a lead and the Braves lost to San Diego, 4-3.
The Braves managed five hits in the game and all the hits came in only two innings. Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman each had two hits while Brian McCann added one. All the scoring came in one inning, which is happening too frequently for Atlanta. Upton hit a solo homer, his 25th of the year, and then McCann hit a two-run shot, his 20th of the year, both in the fourth inning. Atlanta was also back to its striking out ways, doing it eleven times as a team, including two times each by Evan Gattis, Jordan Schafer and Andrelton Simmons.
Hale, a rookie making his first Major League start, did a fantastic job and it appeared he was going to win his first game before the bullpen blew it. He pitched five innings and gave up no runs on four hits while striking out a franchise record nine batters in his first start. Luis Ayala struggled and gave up two runs on three hits in an inning-plus. Luis Avilan and David Carpenter combined to get all the outs and get out of the jam Ayala created in the seventh. Jordan Walden came in to pitch the eighth and the first ball he threw of the inning was sent over the right field fence by Chase Headley to tie the game. Walden ended up only getting two outs while giving up two runs and suffering the loss, he is now 4-3 on the year. Scott Downs returned from his finger injury and gave up the eventual winning run that Walden had allowed to get on base. Kameron Loe pitched the ninth and did a lot better than his spot start a few weeks ago and used only eleven pitches to have a perfect inning.
The Braves are now 88-59 on the year and they will play the Padres again tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Kris Medlen (13-12) will start against the Padres' Robbie Erlin (2-2).
David Hale struck out a franchise record nine batters in his first Major League start but unfortunately the Braves' bullpen blew the game in the eighth inning.
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Freddy Garcia made a spot start on Thursday and it was more than good enough to help the Braves defeat the Marlins 6-1.
The Braves had nine hits in the game. Freddie Freeman and Chris Johnson each had three hits apiece in the victory. Freeman also added his 20th homer of the year, he also drove in two runs and scored two runs, Johnson also added two RBI's. Evan Gattis also added a hit and drove in the Braves' other two runs. Elliot Johnson and B.J. Upton had the other two hits for the Braves.
Garcia was just making a start so the Braves could rest Alex Wood, but he did good enough to give the Braves a reason to leave him in the rotation for now. He pitched six innings and gave up a run on five hits while striking out three batters. He also earned his first victory as a Brave and moved his record to 4-6 on the year. Jordan Walden returned from his injury and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. David Carpenter pitched a scoreless eighth inning and struck out two men and then Anthony Varvaro pitched a perfect ninth and struck out two batters.
The Braves are now 88-58 on the year. They will return home for a three-game series against the San Diego Padres which starts tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. David Hale (0-0) will start in place of Paul Maholm and make his Major League debut, while Ian Kennedy (6-9) will make the start for San Diego.
Freddy Garcia throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, Garcia threw six innings as he earned his first victory with the Braves.
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Jose Fernandez finished off his season in a spectacular way against the Braves on Friday night. Atlanta didn't appreciate the way he did it though as they suffered through a 5-2 loss.
Atlanta only managed seven hits against the rookie phenom. Evan Gattis drove in the only run against Fernandez with a solo shot in the sixth inning for his nineteenth homer of the year. Andrelton Simmons led the Braves with two hits and he also scored a run. Elliot Johnson had a hit and drove in the Braves' only other run. Jordan Schafer, Freddie Freeman and Mike Minor each had hits in the loss.
Minor had a rough outing and ended up taking the loss and is now 13-7 on the year. He pitched six innings and gave up five runs, four earned, on eleven hits including homers to Giancarlo Stanton and Fernandez. When the rookie pitcher hit his homer though, he showed the Braves up by standing at the plate and admiring the homer, tossing his bat and spitting by Chris Johnson as he rounded third. All of that irked the Braves and caused a benches clearing spat with some shoving but no punches thrown. Anthony Varvaro also pitched in the game, throwing scoreless ball in the seventh and eighth innings.
Atlanta is now 87-58 on the year and they will finish their four-game series with the Marlins tomorrow afternoon at 12:40 p.m. Freddy Garcia (3-6) will make a start so the Braves can rest Alex Wood, and he will be facing Brian Flynn (0-0) of the Marlins.
Brian McCann gets into it with Marlins' rookie Jose Fernandez after the pitcher took it a little too far in the Braves' 5-2 loss to Miami on Wednesday night.
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The Atlanta Braves got offense in more than one inning for a change and they hung on to beat the Marlins on Tuesday night, 4-3.
Atlanta had nine hits in the game. Evan Gattis had two hits and drove in two runs in win. Chris Johnson also had two hits and drove in a run and Freddie Freeman also tied for the team lead with two hits. Brian McCann had a hit and drove in the Braves' other run, Justin Upton and Elliot Johnson had the other two hits in the victory.
Julio Teheran was a little shaky in his return to the rotation after the Braves skipped his turn last time through, but he did earn the victory and is now 12-7. He ended up pitching six and two-thirds innings and gave up three runs on five hits while striking out six men. Luis Avilan came in to relieve Teheran and try to get out of a jam in the seventh but instead he hit a batter to load the bases. Luis Ayala then came in to face Giancarlo Stanton with the bases loaded and he struck him out to end the inning. David Carpenter pitched a perfect eighth inning and struck out a batter. Craig Kimbrel then came on and struck out two batters in the ninth to earn his 46th save of the year.
The Braves are now 87-57 on the season and they will play game three of their series with the Marlins tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Mike Minor (13-6) will try to help the Braves win their third straight while Jose Fernandez (11-6) will be making his final start of the year for Miami.
Evan Gattis drives in a run on one of his two run-scoring hits in the Braves' 4-3 victory over Miami on Tuesday night.
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The Atlanta Braves used all their offense in one inning and beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 on Monday night to end a four-game losing streak.
The Braves had five hits to go with the five runs, all of that came in the fourth inning. Evan Gattis had a big two-run double to get the Braves on the board. Chris Johnson and Elliot Johnson also had a hit and drove in a run apiece. Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman had the other two hits in the victory.
Kris Medlen did well and he earned the victory to move to 13-12 on the year and moved his record above .500 for the first time all season. He pitched six and a third innings and gave up two runs on six hits while striking out six batters. Luis Avilan relieved Medlen in the sixth and got two big strikeouts to get out of the jam. Luis Ayala pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Craig Kimbrel came in and struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 45th save of the season.
The Braves are now 86-57 on the year and they will continue their series with the Marlins tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Julio Teheran (11-7) will return to the mound and face Tom Koehler (3-9) of the Marlins. Also, the Braves called up one of their top prospects, Christian Bethancourt, from Double-A Mississippi to get some experience in the big leagues. Bethancourt was an All-Star in Double-A this year.
Kris Medlen throws a pitch against the Marlins on Monday, Medlen and the Braves won 5-2 and Medlen is now 13-12 on the year.
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The Atlanta Braves once again got no offense from over half their team and the Phillies completed a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon by winning 3-2.
The Braves had only two hits in the game. Or it should be Evan Gattis had two hits in the game, both were homers and one turned out to be the longest hit by any Major Leaguer this season. The homers give Gattis eighteen on the year now. The offense did strike out ten more times, bringing their total for the three-game series to 32. Dan Uggla, Chris Johnson and Freddie Freeman all struck out twice.
Paul Maholm started the game for the Braves and gave up two runs in the first inning but then settled down after that. He ended up pitching six innings and gave up the two runs on seven hits while striking out five batters. Anthony Varvaro then pitched a scoreless seventh inning. David Carpenter came in and pitched the eighth inning and he gave up the game-winning homer to Darin Ruf. The loss was Carpenter's first of the year and he is now 3-1.
The Braves are now 85-57 and are surely ready to get out of Philly. They will travel to Miami and begin a four-game series with the Marlins starting tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Kris Medlen (12-12) will take the ball and try to help Atlanta end it's four-game losing streak. Henderson Alvarez (3-3) will get the ball for the Marlins.
Evan Gattis launches one of his two home runs on Sunday afternoon in the Braves' 3-2 loss to the Phillies.
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The Atlanta Falcons didn't have an impressive regular season opener, but they blew a chance to win the game in the final seconds as the New Orleans Saints won 23-17.
The Falcons were out-gained on yardage by the Saints, 419 to 367. Also, the Saints had the ball over ten minutes longer than Atlanta. The Falcons started quick though in the first quarter, Matt Ryan threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez and Matt Bryant added a 23-yard field goal. The Falcons didn't score again though until the third quarter when Ryan threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones. The Falcons had a chance to score again with less than a minute remaining but unfortunately Ryan's pass was picked off by Roman Harper of the Saints and that all but ended the game.
Ryan had a good day, throwing for 304 yards to go with the two touchdowns. Steven Jackson ran the ball eleven times for 77 yards, including a big 50-yard run in the third quarter touchdown drive. Jackson also had five receptions for 45 yards. Harry Douglas had four receptions and the most yards for any receiver with 93. Jones had the most receptions with seven for 76 yards and his touchdown. Akeem Dent led the defense with eleven tackles, followed by Robert McClain with ten. Peria Jerry and Corey Peters each added a sack in the game. Robert Alford also recorded his first career interception in the second half.
The Saints stormed back in the second quarter against Atlanta. Garrett Hartley kicked a 48 and 31-yard field goal and Drew Brees threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston to give the Saints a 13-10 lead at the half. After the Falcons took a 17-13 lead in the third, Brees threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham and then Hartley added another field goal in the fourth to complete the scoring. Brees finished the day with 357 yards passing along with his two touchdowns. Darren Sproles had six receptions for 88 yards and Kenny Stills had two receptions for 86 yards in the passing game. Parys Haralson, Junior Galette and Akiem Hicks all had sacks for the defense.
The Falcons are now 0-1 and have yet to win a game this year including the preseason. They will get another chance next Sunday when they take on the St. Louis Rams in the Falcons' home opener. The Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-24 in their first game.
Tony Gonzalez scores a touchdown in the Falcons' 23-17 loss to the Saints on Sunday afternoon. Gonzalez had a chance to catch the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter but the pass was intercepted by the Saints' Roman Harper.
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Just when it appeared as the Braves were going to make a fantastic comeback on Saturday night, the Phillies' Freddy Galvis had other plans and Atlanta lost 6-5.
Atlanta had seven hits in the loss compared to Philadelphia's fifteen hits. Andrelton Simmons led the Braves with three hits in the game, including a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the ninth with two outs and two strikes. It was Simmons' fifteenth home run of the season. Freddie Freeman had two hits and drove in two runs, Chris Johnson had two hits also and drove in a run. No other Brave had a hit as they struck out twelve times total as a team, B.J. Upton had four strikeouts alone.
Alex Wood didn't bounce back well enough from his last outing and he produced another sub-par outing. He lasted only four and two-thirds innings as he gave up four runs on nine hits and three walks. Luis Ayala, Scott Downs and David Carpenter combined to finish out the fifth and pitch the sixth and the seventh and didn't give up a run while striking out two batters. Downs left the game after breaking his right index finger, he shouldn't miss too much time as the injury occurred on his non-throwing hand. Luis Avilan pitched only two-thirds of the eighth inning and gave up a run on two hits, Anthony Varvaro came in to record the final out. Then it was Freddy Garcia who came into the game in the bottom of the ninth and served up the game-winning homer to Galvis, who began the night with a .211 average and then had four hits against Atlanta. Garcia is now 3-6 on the season.
Atlanta is now 85-56 on the year and they will finish their series with the Phillies tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 p.m. Paul Maholm (10-10) will try to help the Braves avoid being swept while Cole Hamels (6-13) will take the mound for Philadelphia.
Andrelton Simmons rounds the bases after tying the game at five in the ninth with a two-run homer. The Braves eventually lost 6-5 though in the bottom of the ninth.
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Cliff Lee and Mike Minor had an old-fashioned pitching match-up on Friday night, but Minor made one mistake and Lee and the Phillies came out on top, 2-1.
Atlanta had only three hits in the loss. Andrelton Simmons provided the only real offense for the game with a solo homer in the third inning. It was his fourteenth homer of the season. Freddie Freeman and Chris Johnson each added a hit apiece in the loss. Atlanta struck out ten times as a team in the game, including two times each by B.J. Upton, Evan Gattis and Minor.
Minor had everything going his way on the mound until giving up a single and then a two-run homer to Cody Asche with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. His offense then couldn't bail him out as he suffered the loss and fell to 13-6 on the year. He pitched seven innings and gave up the two runs on four hits while striking out nine batters. Luis Avilan pitched a perfect eighth inning and struck out a batter.
Atlanta is now 85-55 on the season and they will play the Phillies again tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Alex Wood (3-3) will try and bounce back from the rough outing he had last time out and he will face Kyle Kendrick (10-12) of the Phillies.
Andrelton Simmons rounds the bases after hitting a solo homer in the Braves' 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Friday night.
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Kameron Loe made a spot start on Wednesday and it wasn't an impressive one as the New York Mets defeated the Braves 5-2.
The Braves managed only seven hits in the game off their nemesis Dillon Gee. Two unlikely men, Elliot Johnson and Paul Janish, led Atlanta with two hits apiece in the contest. Freddie Freeman blasted his nineteenth home run of the year in the bottom of the eighth inning, but by that time it was too late. Evan Gattis and Dan Uggla each added hits and B.J. Upton drove in the other run with a sacrifice fly.
Loe looked miserable and provided the Braves with one of the worst starts of the year by one of their starting pitchers. He pitched only four and a third innings and gave up five runs on eleven hits, including homers to Lucas Duda and Andrew Brown. He also walked three batters as his record fell to 1-3 on the year. Freddy Garcia then pitched two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief while striking out two batters. Anthony Varvaro then came in and pitched the final two scoreless innings of relief.
The Braves are now 85-54 on the year. They will have an off day on Thursday before traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies for a three-game weekend series. Mike Minor (13-5) will take the ball on Friday for Atlanta against Cliff Lee (11-6) of the Phillies in the 7:05 p.m. game. Also, the Braves announced David Hale will be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett before the Phillies series to provide depth in the bullpen. Hale was 6-9 with Gwinnett this year and had a 3.22 ERA, it is his first call-up to the Majors.
Kameron Loe provided the Braves with absolutely nothing in his spot start on Wednesday as Atlanta lost 5-2.
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The Atlanta Braves used a couple of late homers to push themselves past the New York Mets on Tuesday night, 3-1.
The Braves had seven hits in the game. Evan Gattis led the Braves with three hits in his return from Triple-A Gwinnett. He also hit a game-tying homer, his sixteenth of the season, in the bottom of the seventh. Andrelton Simmons then hit the eventual game-winning two-run home run two batters later, it was his thirteenth of the year. B.J. Upton also added two hits for the Braves in the victory and Freddie Freeman had one.
Kris Medlen had everything going his way in the game, and he even got lucky enough to earn the win after the two late homers by the offense. He pitched seven innings and gave up one run on seven hits while striking out nine and improving his record to 12-12. Scott Downs and Luis Ayala combined to retire the side in the eighth. Craig Kimbrel then came on in the ninth and struck out two batters while earning his 44th save of the season.
The Braves are now 85-53 on the year and they will finish their series with the Mets tomorrow afternoon at 12:10 p.m. Kameron Loe (1-2) who was called up from Gwinnett to make a spot start so Julio Teheran could rest, will start for Atlanta against Dillon Gee (10-9) of the Mets.
Evan Gattis hits a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game against the Mets. Gattis went 3-3 in his return from a Minor League stint.
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The Atlanta Falcons finally made a move to help out the offensive line, which struggled mightily throughout the preseason.
Jeremy Trueblood was signed to help Lamar Holmes out on the right side of the line, which has been the weak spot thus far for Atlanta. Trueblood has started 84 games in his NFL career, all with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He fell out of favor with them after an injury forced him to miss most of last season. He signed with the Washington Redskins over the off season but they released him after training camp ended. To make room for Trueblood on the roster, the Falcons cut Terren Jones.
Jeremy Trueblood (center) was released by the Redskins and then signed by the Falcons to provide depth on their offensive line, which struggled in the preseason.
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The Atlanta Braves celebrated Labor Day on Monday afternoon in a big way by defeating the New York Mets 13-5.
The Braves clobbered out seventeen hits in the game. Jordan Schafer led the team with four hits. He also added an RBI, scored two runs and stole three bases to give him 20 steals on the season. Freddie Freeman added two hits, including his eighteenth home run of the year, he also drove in five runs in the victory. Justin Upton, Brian McCann, Chris Johnson, B.J. Upton and Andrelton Simmons all added two hits apiece. Simmons had three RBI's, while McCann and B.J. each had one. Dan Uggla added a hit and Joey Terdoslavich had an RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Paul Maholm had a pretty bad day on the mound, but the offense gave him enough support so he could earn the win and move his record to 10-10. He struggled through five innings and gave up three runs on six hits and walked three batters. Luis Ayala then pitched a perfect inning in the sixth. Scott Downs struggled for his first time as a Brave, as he gave up two runs on four hits while recording only one out. David Carpenter relieved him and ended up pitching an inning and two-thirds and didn't allow anyone to get on base. Luis Avilan then pitched a perfect ninth inning while striking out two batters.
Atlanta is now 84-53 on the year and they will continue their series with the Mets tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Kris Medlen (11-12) will take the mound for the Braves against Carlos Torres (3-2) of the Mets.
Freddie Freeman belts a homer in the Braves' 13-5 win on Monday afternoon, Freeman had five RBI's in the victory.
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The Miami Marlins salvaged one game of their series with the Braves on Sunday evening and shut them out 7-0.
The Braves had eight hits in the game but could never string a rally together. Eight different players got a hit for Atlanta; Jordan Schafer, Andrelton Simmons, Elliot Johnson, Justin Upton, Gerald Laird, Paul Janish, Jose Constanza and Chris Johnson all had the hits. It just wasn't a good day for the offense as Marlins' pitcher Nathan Eovaldi dominated the Braves, as he always does, for eight innings.
Alex Wood had the worst outing of his short Major League career and he suffered the loss to fall to 3-3 on the year. He pitched two and a third innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits, including a homer to Jeff Mathis. Freddy Garcia, who was called up earlier in the day, made his Braves debut in a good way by replacing Wood and pitching four and two-thirds innings and giving up three hits and no runs. Anthony Varvaro then pitched the final two innings and gave up two hits and no runs.
The Braves are now 83-53 on the season. They will welcome the New York Mets to town for a three-game series starting tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Paul Maholm (9-10) will take the mound for Atlanta in the opener against Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) for New York.
Alex Wood had the worst start of his Major League career on Sunday, giving up seven runs in only two innings to the Marlins in the Braves' loss.
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The Atlanta Falcons made their final cuts in preparations for next Sunday's season opener. Here is the list of the following players who were cut; Running backs Ronnie Wingo and Patrick DiMarco, Wide receivers James Rodgers, Darius Johnson and Martel Moore, Offensive linemen Jacques McClendon, Phillipkeith Manley, Theo Goins and Alec Savoie, Defensive linemen Adam Replogle, Neal Huynh, Micanor Regis, Linebackers Robert James, Brian Banks, who was mentioned before, and Pat Schiller, Cornerbacks Jordan Mabin, Terrence Johnson and Peyton Thompson, Safety Charles Mitchell and Kicker Jeremy Shelley.
The only surprises on this list were Johnson, Manley, James and Mitchell. Johnson had a strong showing in camp and did fantastic in the preseason games, so it was interesting that the Falcons didn't want him on the roster. Manley was doing good in games during the preseason and with little depth at the offensive line position, it didn't make sense to see him cut. James led the Falcons' special teams in tackles last season, he will be hard to replace but look for Paul Worrilow and Joplo Bartu to do a good job of that. Mitchell was a strong special teams player last year as a rookie, but the Falcons kept a few new rookies at the position this year so someone had to go.
Robert James makes a tackle in the Falcons' last preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, he was the biggest surprise of the Falcons' cuts on Saturday.
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B.J. Upton finally had a big game and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins in eleven innings on Saturday night, 5-4.
The Braves had eleven hits in the game. Upton and Chris Johnson had four hits apiece to lead the team. Upton had a home run, his ninth of the season, and three RBI's, including the game-winning hit in the eleventh. Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI and Freddie Freeman drove in the other run with a sacrifice fly to complete the Braves' scoring. Jordan Schafer and Mike Minor added the other hits for the Braves in the victory.
Minor pitched decently against Miami but got a no-decision. He pitched seven innings and gave up four runs on five hits, including homers to Justin Ruggiano and Giancarlo Stanton. David Carpenter pitched a perfect eighth, Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth and Luis Avilan completed a scoreless tenth inning. Luis Ayala walked two in the eleventh but was able to get out of the inning without giving up a run and he earned the victory and is 2-1 on the year.
Atlanta is now 83-52 on the year and they will complete their three-game series with the Marlins tomorrow at 5 p.m. Alex Wood (3-2) will take the mound in the finale against Nathan Eovaldi (2-5) of the Marlins.
B.J. Upton drives in the winning run in the eleventh inning against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night.
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The Atlanta Braves got just enough offense to defeat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Friday evening.
The Braves only had five hits in the game and for the second night in a row all the scoring was provided with one swing. Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the first inning and that held up throughout the remainder of the game. Freeman's seventeenth homer of the year was one of two hits he had in the game to lead the team. Elliot Johnson, Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton had the other hits for the offense. Evan Gattis walked in his only plate appearance on "El Oso Blanco Night", his nickname in a night to celebrate the rookie. It wasn't a night filled of celebration though for Gattis, as he didn't start on his night and was then sent to Triple-A Gwinnett following the Braves' win.
Julio Teheran matched Marlins' rookie Jose Fernandez inning for inning and came out on top to earn the win and improve his record to 11-7 on the year. He pitched six and a third innings and gave up a run on four hits while striking out eight batters. Scott Downs and Luis Ayala combined to pitch the rest of the seventh inning and they did well. Anthony Varvaro then pitched the eighth and ninth innings and gave up only a hit to earn the first save of his career.
The Braves are now 82-52 on the season and they will play the Marlins in game two of the series tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Mike Minor (13-5) will make the start for Atlanta against Jacob Turner (3-5) for Miami.
Freddie Freeman gets a hit, he also hit a two-run homer earlier in the game to propel the Braves to a 2-1 victory on Friday night over Miami.
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The Atlanta Falcons lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, completing an 0-4 preseason for the defending NFC South Champions.
The Falcons got more yards in the game with 344 compared to 275 by Jacksonville, but the Jaguars were just more effective when they had the ball. Also, rookie kicker Jeremy Shelley missed a field-goal and an extra point, that would have made the game 20-20 at the end of regulation. The biggest play of the game for the Falcons was a 65-yard touchdown run by Josh Vaughan to give the Falcons a 16-13 lead at the time. The other touchdown came when Jonathan Massaquoi recovered a fumble by Jacksonville quarterback Matt Scott and returned it nine yards for the score. Shelley added a 42-yard field goal to complete the scoring for Atlanta.
Dominique Davis played most of the game at quarterback for Atlanta and did good at times but overall wasn't impressive. He passed for 175 yards and threw an interception. Vaughan led the Falcons in rushing with 83 yards on five attempts. Chase Coffman had a good showing at tight end as he caught four passes for 47 yards to lead the team in both categories for the game. Linebacker Robert James led the Falcons in tackles with seven, while Massaquoi had the only sack of the game for Atlanta. Also, rookie cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford both picked off passes in the first half in a good showing for them.
The Jaguars won their final preseason game to give them a 1-3 record before the start of the real season next weekend. They got two field goals from kicker Josh Scobee, an 18-yard touchdown run by Jordan Todman and finally a 13-yard pass from Mike Kafka to Jeremy Ebert for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete their scoring in the game. Todman rushed the ball nine times for 60 yards to lead the Jaguars. LaRoy Reynolds had a big game on defense for Jacksonville coming up with eleven tackles. Newly acquired Will Blackmon had the interception for Jacksonville off of Davis.
The Falcons regular season opener will be on September 8th against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Before then, the Falcons will have to cut their roster down to the league limit of 53 by Saturday evening. They began that process by announcing linebacker Brian Banks, who was falsely accused of rape and spent five years in prison for it, was released on Friday morning. An immediate fan-favorite as fans were pulling for the man to make the team, Banks recorded only four tackles while playing in all four of the Falcons' preseason games.
Josh Vaughan points to the sky after scoring on a 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave the Falcons the lead at the time in their loss to Jacksonville.
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The Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night winning 3-1.
The Braves had eight hits in the game. Brian McCann had two hits, but his three-run homer provided all the offense the Braves would need to win. It was McCann's nineteenth homer of the season. Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons also added two hits in the game, Upton was later hit in the hand by a pitch and had to leave the game, he is day-to-day with the injury. Chris Johnson and B.J. Upton each added a hit in the victory.
Kris Medlen was fantastic in the victory and improved his record to 11-12 on the year. He pitched seven innings and gave up no runs on six hits while striking out six. David Carpenter pitched the eighth inning and gave up a solo homer to Lonnie Chisenhall but was perfect other than that. Craig Kimbrel came out to pitch a perfect ninth inning to earn his 43rd save of the season.
The Braves are now 81-52 on the year. They will begin a three-game series with the Miami Marlins starting tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Julio Teheran (10-7) will start for the Braves against Jose Fernandez (10-5) for the Marlins.
Brian McCann rounds the bases after hitting a three-run homer to help the Braves defeat the Indians 3-1 on Thursday night and complete a three-game sweep.
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Chris Johnson came through in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Braves to a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.
The Braves collected ten hits in the game. Jordan Schafer led Atlanta with three hits, including a big two-run single in the second inning. His speed also played a factor as it helped him beat out throws for a base hit, the winning run and he also stole two bases. Johnson's one hit on the night was a big one though, as it drove in Schafer for the winning run. Brian McCann also had two hits in the game and scored a run, Dan Uggla, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons all added a hit in the victory.
Paul Maholm did a fantastic job pitching but unfortunately he didn't get the victory. He pitched six innings and gave up a run on six hits, one was a homer to Mike Aviles. David Carpenter and Scott Downs combined to pitch a scoreless seventh inning. Luis Avilan came in and gave up a run on two hits in the eighth which caused Maholm to not earn the victory. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth by throwing only eight pitches and he earned the victory and is now 3-2 on the year.
Atlanta is now 80-52 on the season and they will wrap up their three-game series with the Indians tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Kris Medlen (10-12) will make the start in the finale against Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8) for Cleveland. Also, the Braves made room for Uggla on the roster by sending Todd Cunningham back to Triple-A Gwinnett, but he will most likely be back with the Braves next week when rosters expand for September.
Chris Johnson drives in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Braves a 3-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday.
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The Atlanta Braves have thrived playing at home of late and they continued that trend on Tuesday night by beating the Cleveland Indians 2-0.
The Braves were out-hit as they only had three in the game while Cleveland had six. The biggest hit came off Elliot Johnson's bat, as he had a two-run triple in the second inning of his debut at Turner Field as a Brave and it was all the Braves would need to help them win. Chris Johnson and Joey Terdoslavich had the other two hits for Atlanta in the victory.
Alex Wood had a good start but did struggle a little with his command. He pitched five and two-thirds innings and gave up five hits, four walks and struck out five batters while improving his record to 3-2 on the season. Luis Ayala and Scott Downs helped Wood to get out of the sixth inning before Downs returned to pitch the seventh inning, he had three strikeouts in his inning and a third. Luis Avilan pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Craig Kimbrel came on to pitch a perfect ninth and pick up his 42nd save of the year.
Atlanta is now 79-52 on the season and they will continue their series with Cleveland tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. Paul Maholm (9-10) will take the ball for the Braves against Justin Masterson (14-9) for the Indians. Also, the Braves received good news as Brandon Beachy's visit with Dr. James Andrews went well. His elbow is still in great condition and he should only need a little rest before returning and helping Atlanta down the stretch and into the postseason.
Elliot Johnson hits a two-run triple to provide the Braves the only runs they needed in their 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
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The Atlanta Falcons cut fifteen players from their roster to get down to the NFL league mandated limit of 75 players on Tuesday. Here is the list of players that were released from the team; Quarterback Seth Doege, Running back Donald Russell, Fullback Devonte Campbell, Tight ends Colin Cloherty and Tim Biere, Wide receivers Marcus Jackson, Marcus Sales and Rashad Evans, Offensive linemen Jeff Nady and Matt Smith, Defensive linemen Cam Henderson and Brandon Thurmond, Linebacker Nick Clancy and Safety Troy Sanders. None of the players are a surprise as none of them figured to make the team. A few of the players have a possibility of ending up on the Falcons' practice squad once players can be signed to that on Sunday.
Former Georgia State running back Donald Russell was among the first-round of cuts from the Falcons on Tuesday.
Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press
The Atlanta Braves were able to avoid a four-game sweep and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Sunday afternoon.
Atlanta had ten hits in the game. Jordan Schafer, Elliot Johnson and Joey Terdoslavich all had two hits apiece to lead the Braves, Schafer and Johnson each added an RBI in the victory. Andrelton Simmons added a solo homer in the seventh inning, it was his twelfth of the season. Paul Janish and Gerald Laird each added a hit and an RBI in the victory as a lineup of reserves did the majority of the damage in the game. Mike Minor had the only other hit in the game for the Braves as Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman combined to go 0-7 with three strikeouts.
Minor had a great day on the mound and it was just what the Braves needed to take the finale of the series from the Cards. He pitched seven innings and gave up a run on six hits to improve his record to 13-5 on the year. Luis Avilan recorded two outs in the eighth but did give up a run on two hits. Craig Kimbrel came in to get the final out and then shut down St. Louis in the ninth to record his 41st save of the season.
Atlanta is now 78-52 on the year. They will have an off day on Monday before welcoming the Cleveland Indians to town for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. Alex Wood (2-2) will start that game for the Braves against Danny Salazar (1-1) who will be making the fifth start of his career for Cleveland.
Jordan Schafer knocks one of his two hits on Sunday in the Braves' 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Images
The Atlanta Falcons didn't show much of anything as they struggled again and fell 27-16 to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night and dropped to 0-3 in the preseason.
The Falcons managed 308 total yards of offense, but could only manage three field goals by Jeremy Shelley and a touchdown Dominique Davis. The pass was for 41 yards, but most of that came from receiver Darius Johnson, who caught the ball after about five yards and moved down field with speed and a few jukes for the score. Johnson has impressed and is creating competition to make the team as a fifth or sixth receiver. Matt Ryan had a decent day while in, passing for 138 yards, but he was sacked five times and its obvious now that the offensive line is a real concern. Davis threw for 105 yards to go with the touchdown, but he also threw a pick.
Steven Jackson had his best showing on the ground yet, as he rushed for 51 on twelve carries. Davis also had 45 rushing yards on two scrambles. Julio Jones led the team with four receptions for 81 yards, Johnson also had four receptions for 62 yards and Tony Gonzalez made his preseason debut with two catches for 21 yards. Kroy Biermann had a big day on defense, he came up with seven tackles and two sacks. Robert Alford, who got beat a lot during the game in coverage, did record an interception later in the game.
Tennessee had three touchdown passes in the game to go with two Rob Bironas' field goals. Their two quarterbacks also connected on 17 of their 22 passes as they had terrific showings. Jake Locker passed for 133 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Fitzpatrick had the other two touchdown passes to go with his 76 yards of passing. Chris Johnson also had a good day in the ground game, carrying the ball eleven times for 65 yards. Nate Washington led Tennessee's receiving corps with four receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons are now 0-3 and they will play their final preseason game at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Jaguars are also 0-3 on the preseason. The Falcons also will have to cut fifteen players by Tuesday to get down to the NFL's mandated league rule of 75 players on the roster by midnight of that day.
Receiver Darius Johnson avoids a tackle and heads to the end zone for the Falcons only touchdown in their 27-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy of the USA Today
