The Atlanta Braves maintained their deathgrip on the “short end of the stick” Friday evening at Petco Park in San Diego. Padres pitcher Jake Peavy was flashing his Cy Young Award credentials all over the place for seven four-hit shutout innings. The Braves got four more hits off Padres relievers Mike Adams and the ever-portly Heath Bell but they still couldn’t score. The Padres, one of the lowest scoring teams in MLB, had a markedly different experience against Atlanta starter JoJo Reyes. Reyes continued the struggle with his control that has plagued his brief MLB career; pitching behind in the count and giving in often led to an early 2-0 San Diego lead. In the top of the fifth, Braves manager Bobby Cox lifted Reyes for pinch hitter Greg Norton, who promptly popped out to end the inning. Centerfielder Gregor Blanco was left stranded at second base; Atlanta stranded eight such baserunners in the game.
Third baseman Chipper Jones has gone 1 for 14 on the current West Coast swing. Atlanta hitters in general seem to have abandoned any attempts to work pitchers deeper in the count. The Braves have the worst road record in either league. Their Friday night loss combined with Philadelphia’s extra inning win over Arizona drops Atlanta to 7 1/2 games back in the N.L. East. In tomorrow’s bizarre pitching matchup, rookie righthander Charlie Morton will work against a legend.
Morton’s last two starts provide evidence that the proverbial book on him might be out among N.L. scouts. Do you suppose the Padres have their copy yet? The book’s been out on his opponent, Greg Maddux, since the book was an actual book. But the Braves are easy fodder for any finesse pitcher right now, much less the quintessential soft tosser of our time. It’s one of those rare extreme contrasts in a baseball game, Mad Dog is going to the Hall of Fame, Morton’s just trying to get through the sixth.
