07 April 2007

It wasn't exactly the anticipated pitcher's duel -- both Smoltz and Glavine were a little wayward -- but the Braves won a tightly contested game by 5-3 thereby handing the Mets their first loss of the season. That neither pitcher was at his best perhaps wasn't a surprise given the near Arctic conditions that settled over the Atlanta area (it was little more than 45 degrees during gameday). After swapping runs in the first, the Braves took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second as Diaz launched one into the seats. Smoltz then managed to shut down the Mets until the fifth, which included getting out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth. Apart from the second inning Smoltz allowed at least two base runners in each inning he pitched -- vintage Smoltz it wasn't. The Braves really went to town in the sixth scoring three. After a double from Andruw Jones and a single from Francoeur, Diaz brought the first run home with a sac fly that was dropped by Green; Woodward launched another sac fly (this time caught) to bring home Frenchy; Renteria slapped a single to score Wilson for the third run of the inning. After that the Braves were in shut down mode. Gonzo, again, looked average and gave up a run; Soriano was perfect in a 1-2-3 eighth; and Wickman got the save despite putting runners on second and third. All in all a good win for the Braves -- this is a game we'd probably have lost last year with a leaky bullpen. Tonight it's Davies vs Hernandez.† I think we'll struggle to win this one -- I might tune into the U.S. Masters instead.