17 July 2006
The Braves hammered Cardinals pitching to win their 6th game in a row, and took the first game of the series.
Chipper Jones was 3-5, but had no extra base hits. His hitting streak was extended to 17 games.
Horacio Ramirez (5-3, 4.39) pitched 5 innings and allowed 1 run on 2 hits, 1 homer, 3 walks, and 0 strikeouts. He had to leave the game after warming up in the 6th for some reason, reports varied from "injured leg" to "fatigue." Hopefully it was just precautionary.
Sosa pitched 3 innings, allowing 2 runs, and was yelled at by Bobby. Moylan pitched the 9th.
The Braves scored 5 runs in the 3rd, highlighted by a Brian McCann grand slam (the first of his career). They added 8 runs over the next 3 innings, and 2 more in the 8th.
Offensive contributors: The only 2 starters without a hit were Andruw and Thorman. Adam LaRoche hit his 16th homer along with 4 hits. Wilson Betemit hit his 8th homer along with 4 hits. Jorge Sosa hit his 3rd homer. Francoeur had 3 hits, and McCann and Diaz each had 2.
Tim Hudson will go on 3 days rest tomorrow against Jason Marquis.
