Three Cuts: Braves drop fifth in a row, early lead impossible to hold
ATLANTA -- In the span of just one week, two teams celebrated at Turner Field with champagne, goggles and all the celebratory accouterments after clinching a spot in the postseason.
Not one was the Atlanta Braves.
With a 3-2 victory over the Braves on Tuesday, and with a little help from the Cincinnati Reds' win over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates secured at least a Wild Card spot in the 2014 postseason. Their subsequent celebration came exactly seven days after the Washington Nationals won the National League East and partied in the visitor's clubhouse.
Here are three observations from Atlanta's loss on Tuesday; it's fifth in a row and 10th in 11 games:
On a high note, the Braves scored a run in the first inning off Gerrit Cole. In fact, they scored a run in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead.
Looking at the negative, the first-inning run was Atlanta's first in the opening frame in the month of September. The last time the Braves scored in the first inning was on Aug. 27 when Jason Heyward blasted a leadoff home run to get things going against the New York Mets.
Even though the Braves scored in the first, Freddie Freeman made the second out at third base when he was gunned down trying to advance on his double that scored Phil Gosselin. To make matters worse, Justin Upton singled next, and was then thrown out trying to steal second.
Missed opportunities.
The first three batters in the second inning reached base, but then a double play followed by an Alex Wood strikeout ended the threat.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he didn't have anything negative to say about Freeman or Upton trying to make something happen in the first, especially with the lack of run production of late. But only scoring one run in the second after loading the bases hurt.
"We had some people on base, we just didn't get to put a crooked number up," said Gonzalez.
When Andrelton Simmons grounded into a double play in the second inning, it marked the first of three times when the Braves were hurt from the Pirates turning two.
Evan Gattis, who was pinch-hitting, grounded into a double play in the eighth inning, and Freeman ended the game on a double play. On both occasions, a one-out single was wasted--and remember the Braves were only down by one run--with a grounder that was turned into two outs.
The Braves haven't necessarily been bad at grounding into double plays this season. They ranked 16th entering Tuesday's action with 115. But two hitters in this lineup have been notoriously unlucky this season.
Simmons ranked third in the majors with 25 entering Tuesday's game, and Chris Johnson was fifth with 22. Simmons added to his total with his second-inning ground ball.
Wood said he felt good on the mound on Tuesday, and his results showed. He faced 28 batters and allowed seven hits, two earned runs (three total) and struck out six. Gonzalez was more than satisfied with Wood's performance.
"I thought he was terrific," said the Braves manager. "Another solid performance--6 2/3 innings, three runs. I don't think you can ask for anything more than that."
But Wood said he also made a huge mistake.
"You'd like to be able to bear down a little more than I did," said Wood. "I made a couple of mistakes, that one to (Travis) Snider, you can't miss big. Up here you've got to miss small when you miss, and that was a really big miss to Snider, and he made me pay for it."
That mistake to Snider ended up being a solo shot that tied the game at two. Wood also said he had a few near misses that the Pittsburgh hitters turned into something good.
Andrew McCutchen hit a broken-bat "blooper down the line" for a double in the sixth inning. He'd later score the go-ahead run when Starling Marte "golfed" a double into right. McCutchen also singled off a 3-2 changeup in the fourth inning, and later crossed the plate to open the scoring for Pittsburgh.
Wood took the loss on Tuesday, and is now 11-11 on the season. His ERA didn't change, remaining at 2.78.
In his last 11 starts Wood has been masterful. He's allowed just 56 hits and struck out 76 in 75 innings, and his ERA is a minuscule 1.92.
The same shoulder soreness that forced Minor to miss the month of April will force the Braves to shut the left-hander down early.
Prior to Game 2 of the Pirates-Braves series on Tuesday, manager Fredi Gonzalez told the media that Minor would be held back from his start on Thursday, and shut down for the rest of the season.
"He's just going to go rest and rehab," Gonzalez said. "He'll be ready to go at the start of Spring Training."
Minor got a late start this spring, and then felt discomfort in his left shoulder. Starting on May 2, Minor made 25 starts, but left his most recent start on Sept. 20 after just one inning with shoulder discomfort in the same shoulder.
An MRI exam on Monday revealed no structural damage in his shoulder. That means if the offseason goes well, Minor should be able to participate much earlier in the spring in 2015, giving him a much better chance for success next season.
In his first 17 starts, Minor was 4-7 with a 5.42 ERA. He gave up 18 home runs and 127 hits in just 98 innings of work. But Minor started to pitch better beginning on Aug. 12.
Minor made seven starts prior to Saturday's one-inning outing, and he showed a marked improvement there to his first 17 starts of the season. His ERA dipped to 3.30, he only allowed three home runs and gave up less than one hit per inning (38 hits in 46 1/3).
David Hale will pitch on Thursday in place of Minor.
