You would not know by looking at the 5-0 score that Atlanta posted against Florida that: a) it was a close game b) the Braves had only two hits and no runs until the 7th inning or c) fans were crucifying management for not having made a deal for another bat.

One swing by Dan Uggla not only extended his hitting streak to 20 games, but it also busted the game open for the Braves.  Martin Prado and Freddie Freeman did their part by getting on base for Uggla to drive them in.  Long time minor leaguer Jose Constanza added to the total and notched major league hit and RBI after Brooks Conrad doubled to start off the inning.  Constanza also showed his speed and later scored on a Prado single and Freeman sacrifice.

While many of us watching could not help but focus on the lack of offense (especially after word came down that Philly acquired Hunter Pence) Brandon Beachy was busy pitching 7 1/3 shutout innings.  Beachy gave up only two hits.  Clay Hensley pitched well for six innings, until Uggla broke up his shutout.  Beachy pitching into the eighth and the offense finally giving the luxury of run support allowed Fredi Gonzalez to stray from the OVentrel formula.  O’Flaherty came on for 2/3 of an inning, and Scott Linebrink found himself in the role of closer.

Now that we have addresses a & b from my opening statement, let’s talk about c.  » Continue reading “Oh How Quickly Things Can Change!”