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Jonny Gomes Pitches, Atlanta Braves Shelled by Yankees 15-4

By Jonathan Savitske

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Jonny Gomes pitched the top of the 9th for the struggling Atlanta Braves, as Williams Perez and the Braves bullpen were utterly outclassed by New York Yankees, losing by a final score of 15-4.

The Atlanta Braves also welcomed home one of their hometown heroes on Friday, as former Brave and Atlanta Native Brian McCann made his return to the confines of Turner Field. Though McCann was well received on this night, what occurred in this game completely overshadowed his return to Atlanta.

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The Yankees started the game with an early lead and never looked back, completely demolishing the Atlanta Braves and any confidence that they may have left for the remainder of the 2015 season. Coming off a forgettable start against the Chicago Cubs last weekend, Atlanta Braves starter Williams Perez needed to be effective this evening. Perez’s performance was anything but effective, as the rookie allowed 8 earned runs off of 5 hits and 3 walks in his 1.2 innings pitched.

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    • The Yankees scored 5 first innings runs off of Williams Perez. Chase Headley drove in the first two for the Yanks, hitting a ground-rule double to deep center-field, plating Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, making the score 2-0. The inning would continue in horrible fashion for the Atlanta Braves, as Yankee’s shortstop Didi Gregorius hit a 3-run, scoring Greg Bird and Chase Headley to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

    The Atlanta Braves would however get on the board in the bottom of the 1st, as Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single to score Nick Markakis. Then former Yankee Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to center-field, scoring Cameron Maybin, and suddenly this contest was a game again with a score of 5-2 in favor of the visitors.

    This contest got out of hand in the next frame, as Williams Perez’s struggles continued into the 2nd inning. Perez was pulled with 2 outs left in favor of Ross Detwiler, who walked Greg Bird with the bases loaded to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Then, in typical Atlanta Braves fashion, Detwiler walked Chase Headley to make the score 7-2, only to give up a 2-run single to Didi Gregorius in the next at-bat, making the score an unreasonable 9-2.

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    In the month of August, Perez is now 0-4 with a 6.12 ERA: a far cry from his excellent first 8 starts of his career where he had a 4-0 record with a 2.38 ERA. He has lost his confidence since his return from suffering an ankle injury. Hopefully he can right the ship in the month of September or he may find himself the odd man out in the Braves rotation.

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    Freddie Freeman would get the Atlanta Braves another run back in the bottom of the 3rd inning, making the score 9-3. The Braves bullpen would hold the Yankees until the 8th inning, when lefty Andrew McKirahan poured salt on an open wound. McKirahan allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in the 8th inning, while giving up a 3-run homer to Brian McCann and another RBI single to Didi Gregorius.

    This was already a horrible game, but in the top of the 9th inning, this contest just got simply bizarre. Because of the sheer incompetence of the Atlanta Braves bullpen, Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez elected to let Jonny Gomes pitch the top of the frame. Yes, you read this correctly: Jonny Gomes.

    It gets better…

    You heard it from DOB of the AJC. Jonny Gomes was more effective than Andrew McKirahan. This demonstrates not only how bad the Atlanta Braves bullpen has been this season, but the mismanagement of the Braves’ pitchers on the part of Fredi Gonzalez. Maybe next game instead of having Matt Marksberry come in to face a lefty, maybe Nick Swisher or Nick Markakis can pitch. Or, have Andrelton Simmons set up Arodys Vizcaino. The possibilities are endless, Braves fans!

    The Yankees are now 15-2 at Turner Field, including the playoffs. In any other season, it may have taken a while to get this game out your system as a fan of the Atlanta Braves, but in this disappointing season that seems to get worse every day, this is the new norm.

    Tomorrow, Game 2 of the series between the Yankees and the Atlanta Braves will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1, with rookie Matt Wisler trying to avoid the same outcome as what Williams Perez experienced on Friday. He will be opposed by Luis Severino.

    Next: Manny Banuelos: Poised for September Return?

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