Braves season recap

Braves Season Recap
Henry Laseter
        The Braves draft plan was to get very strong hitting in early rounds and find some little-known but solid pitchers. The draft went more or less according to plan, with Atlanta signing bit bats such as Troy Tulowitzki, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Braun.  They also drafted their opening day starter Tanner Roark In the eighth round.  The majority of the contracts they extended made up the Braves' bullpen, which was a strong point throughout the year.
       Through the first half of the season, the Braves were painfully consistent, seeming unable to go on a win streak, yet not getting swept in any series. The season opened against the Dodgers. Despite their daunting lineup, few runs were scored by Braves, and the Dodgers won.  The Braves made a late-inning comeback to win the second game, and they found themselves somewhere that would become very familiar for them: the .500 mark.
      In their second series of the season, two important factors became evident. The first was that Joey Terdoslavich should become the Braves' closer. Terdoslavich was the Braves' most pleasant surprise of the year, pitching consistent shut-down ballyhooing hour the season.  The second factor was the one that derailed the Braves' season: Freedie Freeman. Sporting a WAR of -4.5 in a 19-game season, Freddie Freeman became the least valuable player in MLB history. In a game against the Pirates, Freeman stepped up to the plate with the Braves down two and runners on first and second, nobody out. Freeman hit a liner to shortstop, who stepped on second and fired to first for a triple play. Freeman would get a chance for redemption in the ninth, coming to the plate with runners on second and third as the tying run, a situation where it seemed he couldn't cause any outs other than his own. However, he hit a liner to second this time, and the second baseman flipped to the shortstop at second for a double play.  David Wright, the next batter, hit a homer, which would be tied the game had Freeman struct out.
       The Braves neither won or lost a series through their first ten games. Due to American League dominance in interleague play, this set up the Braves for a playoff spot. However, they were swept by the Reds in one of their low points of the season. Freddie Freeman hit a soft grounder to second, setting up base runner David Wright to get injured by the shortstop sliding into second, the second time David Wright was injured with Freeman batting. The Braves found themselves in fourth in the NL, two games out of a playoff spot. They would split a series with the Dodgers before starting their only win streak of the season.
       The Braves began their late season tare against the Red Sox. At this point, it finally seemed that the Braves high-powered offense was finally clicking. The a braves hit back-to back homers in the ninth of game 1, winning 6-3, and they won in a blowout in game two, 9-2. Even Freeman contributed to the offense, hitting two homers in the final game of the series. Finding themselves in position to make the playoffs, the Braves traveled to Saint Louis and swept the Cardinals, this using their pitching to win games by scores of 3-2 and 1-0. After clinching a spot, the Braves lost their final regular season game to the Nationals.
       The Braves gave up 6 first-inning runs in their playoff game against the Reds, and it was an upward battle from there. They battled back to 6-5 from a three-run homer by Jayson Werth and a two-run double by Khris Davis. However, in. Position to tie the game or take the lead, Freddie Freeman came to the plate in the seventh with tp runners on second and third and two down. He hit a hanging curveball that didn't move at all, but he hit it softly to second, making the third out of the inning.
        I think our strategy for picking the team worked well. Our plan was to pick some of the league's best hitters in the draft, hopefully finding all the pitching we need from our own team. It went as planned, I thought, as we ended up with an incredibly strong bullpen, a strong lineup, and a decent rotation. However, our lineup was never quite good enough to be dominant, and it resulted in a lot of split series. In the future, when I see someone who hinders a team as much as Freddie Freeman did, I wouldn't hesitate to bench them.

Rangers v As 2

Rangers score first with an RBI from Coco Crisp in the first inning and this is all they would score. The Indians scored first with a bases loaded walk by Travis Wood. They scored again with an RBI single from Callaspo in the second and then again with an RBI double from Denorfia. They scored again with a solo homer in the sixth from Donaldson to take the lead 4 to 1. They later added two RBI homers from Pence and Posey to take this game 6 to 1.

Rangers v Indians

Game 1 - Rangers struck first in this game with a solo homer from Stanton in the bottom of the second. They would score one more time with another solo homer from Gentry. The Indians would score once in the top of the ninth with a solo homer from Jason Kipnis. This would not be enough against David Price who threw a complete game 4 hitter. Game 2 - The Rangers scored twice in the second with a solo homer from Chris Davis that went a measured 673 feet. They would score again on an RBI double from Craig Gentry. They would add another solo shot later from Coco Crisp in the third inning. It would be all Indians after that. They tied the game back up on one swing of the bat from Robinson Cano who hit a bases loaded three RBI double. They would then hit four straight RBI doubles in the5th inning to take the lead 7 to 3. They would add on one more with an RBI single from Brantley. The Rangers would attempt a comeback with an RBI single from Stanton and another solo homer from Davis but it would not be enough as the Indians took this one 8 to 5.

Rangers v Reds

Game 1 - Rangers strike first with a solo home run from Daniel Murphy in the top of the third. This would be all Rangers pitcher would need while he threw 8 innings of shutout baseball and also added a solo homer of his own as the Rangers take this low scoring affair 2 to 0. Game 2 - Reds score first in this game with a sac fly from Matt Carpenter in the bottom of the first. Rangers would go on to toe the game in the 4th with an RBI single from Salvador Perez. The Rangers would take the lead later with a sac fly from Evan Longoria. Joe Nathan would get the save with the rangers winning this game 2 to 1.

Day 10 Pirates Recap

Game 1: Pirates vs. Braves

4-0, Braves

L – Shields (1-2)
Pirates: (9-10)

In a winner-take-all final regular season game, the Pirates’ offense simply could not rise above their weak ability that they had shown all season. The team was not built to score enough runs to win in the playoffs. The 4-0 loss was not as close as the scoreboard read and the front office knows what it must change in the offseason. Though disappointing, the Pirates seemingly overachieved with the roster that they were given. On reflecting on the game and season, Andrew McCutchen said: “Our offense was embarrassing, my performance was embarrassing, and this team sucked.”

Pirates Day 9 Recap

Game 1: Pirates vs. Nationals

7-0, Pirates

W – Moore (3-2)

HR – McCutchen (1), Rosario (6), Sandoval x2 (2)

Pirates: (9-8)

Game 2: Pirates vs. Nationals

1-0, Nationals

L – Sale (2-2)

Pirates: (9-9)

In game one, Matt Moore continued to exhibit his unhittable pitching in rout to a huge victory for the Pirates’ playoff chances. McCutchen got the scoring started in the first inning with his first homerun of the season - a two run shot to left center field. But the real story on the day was Matt Moore and his second straight complete game shutout. He now has 18 consecutive scoreless innings and has given up just one run in his last 24 innings pitched. After a poor start to the season, Moore has corrected his struggles in a major way. This start is potentially his last of the season if the Pirates cannot reach the playoffs.

Game two was a frustrating game for Pirates fans. Just needing a win to clinch a playoff berth, the Pirates could not seem to come up with a single run to match the Nationals’ early score. The Pirates wasted 14 strikeouts and seven magnificent innings from Chris Sale who, undeservedly, got the loss. The 1-0 loss puts the Pirates in a win-or-go-home situation in the final game of the season against the Reds. The aptly nicknamed “Big Game” James Shields will take the hill, but will be on a short leash in an all-hands-on-deck strategy. It all comes down to one game for the season.

Rangers As

Game 1 - Rangers take an early 1 to nothing lead on a solo home run by Giancarlo Stanton. The As would later tie it up on an RBI single by Brandon Moss and than take the lead in the sixth on a double by Jed Lowrie. Then in the bottom of the sixth the Rangers would take a 3 to 2 lead on A tow run homer by Stanton, his second of the night. This would go on to be the final score. Game 2 - The As would score first in this game with a three run third inning behind RBI hits by Donaldson, Pence, and Posey. Deloris would later also have an RBI hit to give the As a 4 to 0 lead which would be more than enough for Bartolo Colon who threw a complete game shutout with 9 strikeouts.