Atlanta Braves end losing streak with close-fought win over St. Louis Cardinals

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chris Johnson (23) hits an RBI single in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last week, the Atlanta Braves aren’t scoring many runs right now. The pitching staff has to feel like giving up one run means they get caned in the clubhouse. With Gavin Floyd starting his first MLB game of the season, I was really looking to see how his control looked after Tommy John surgery. Floyd answered my questions with 7 innings of great work, but he gave up a single run after a lead-off walk in the 6th. That earned him a no-decision in the game. Usually, that outing would turn to gold for almost any other team. At the very least Justin Upton hit a solo homer in the 4th, so Floyd wasn’t on the hook for a loss.

The Braves haven’t chased home many runners from second since the calendar flipped to May. In the short term, the Braves stranded small African villages on the basepaths. In the long term, the team is seeing their season average dip below .235. The Braves only managed 5 hits going into the bottom 8th inning, so while the pitching was strong the bats weren’t helping tonight either. It’s tough to win games unless the team starts to string them together. That’s what happened in the Braves half of the 8th inning.

Justin Upton had a single with one out in the 8th, which brought Freddie Freeman to the plate. With a 3-2 count, Freddie ripped a ball right off the Cardinal’s pitcher and ricocheted onto the 3rd base side. That would be an infield hit, and Chris Johnson would step into the batter’s box to keep the rally going. He did just that by delivering a ground ball single through the first base hole, and the Braves took the lead 2-1. That meant it was Kimbrel time in the 9th, and with a save on the line for the first time since April.

Kimbrel would face Matt Adams first, and promptly struck him out on a slider. Next came Jhonny Peralta, and Craig got him to pop out to first. After that was Allen Craig, and Kimbrel bid him fairwell with a strikeout to finish the game. A perfect save to break the streak.

It was a great outing by Gavin Floyd, who kept the Braves in the game with a big-time performance. Still, the player of the game goes to Chris Johnson who came up with the huge hit to give the Braves the win. Braves finished 1-7 with runners in scoring position, 8 hits, 10 strikeouts, and one home run by Justin. The team stranded 6 runners, but they got across the 2 that mattered.

Tomorrow ,the Braves play the rubber game against the Cardinals, and they hope to extend their winning streak to two games. Nobody change their socks, we need all the luck we can get!