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Atlanta Braves End Skid on Perez’s Single, Beat Cubs 4-2

By John Buhler

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The Atlanta Braves end their five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory Friday night over the Chicago Cubs.  It was a close ball game all night long until Eury Perez delivered a clutch two-out, two-RBI single that plated Kelly Johnson and AJ Pierzynski to give the Atlanta Braves the deciding 4-2 lead.

-= Related: Atlanta Braves Host Cubs After All-Star Break =-

Atlanta grinded tonight, as the club seemed set on ending their skid.  The best cure for a road sweep in Denver heading into the All-Star Break was to beat the up-and-coming Chicago Cubs at home.  I didn’t understand why Fredi Gonzalez didn’t let Atlanta Braves starter Julio Teheran finish the 5th inning.  He needed just one out to qualify for a win and only threw 90 pitches before getting pulled.  I guess Fredi wanted to try his hand in the unconventional with the ever-entertaining Joe Maddon in the opposite dugout.

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    • And it worked as the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen did not surrender a run in 4.1 innings of work tonight.  Newcomers Ross Detwiler and Ryan Kelly joined Luis Avilan, Arodys Vizcaino and our new closer Jim Johnson in shutting down the Chicago Cubs’ offense.

    But really where the Atlanta Braves took advantage of the Cubbies tonight was with clutch two-out hitting.  All three run scoring situations came with two outs for the Braves tonight.  Kelly Johnson singled to right to plate Nick Markakis in the bottom of the first.  Nick Markakis doubled in Cameron Maybin in the bottom of the third.  And Eury Perez came through in the clutch in the eighth inning with a sharp single to right off Pedro Strop.

    This was a game that the Braves needed to win.  I feel that they needed to prove to themselves that they can manufacture runs without Freddie Freeman in the batting order.  The Braves’ best player likely will not return from the Disabled List until after August 1st.

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    For Atlanta to survive offensively in Freeman’s extended absence, hitters like Cameron Maybin, Kelly Johnson, and Nick Markakis are going to have to knock runners in when they are in scoring position.  Tonight the Atlanta Braves actually scored more runs than they did in any game in the four game road series with the Denver Rockies.

    Apparently there is no place like home.  Home is where good Julio Teheran resides and the Braves seemed a bit sharper than the Cubbies this evening as youth and inexperience got the best of Joe Maddon’s club tonight.  With a win either tomorrow night or Sunday evening, the Braves can get an impressive series victory at home over the Wild Card contending Chicago Cubs.  Braves win!

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