Category: Sports

Anthony Rendon continued his hot hitting on Sunday with a home run and four RBIs to back seven strong innings from Tanner Roark in the Nationals’ 9-1 win over the Braves at Nationals Park.

With the victory, the Nationals still have a comfortable 8 1/2-game lead over the Marlins in the National League East. The Marlins edged the White Sox, 5-4, on Sunday.
To show how hot Rendon has been, since July 16, he is 27-for-84 (.318) with six homers and 21 RBIs. Rendon had a hand in Washington’s three-run first against right-hander Tyrell Jenkins. Rendon drove in one with a sacrifice fly, and added a three-run shot in a four-run fifth.
“Just finding holes. Balls are falling in. I feel like I’ve been squaring ball the entire year,” Rendon said.
Said Nationals manager Dusty Baker, “Anthony has been a good hitter all his life. So his timing is there. His hands are unbelieveable. He has some of the quickest hands, offensive and defensively. That’s what impressed me during Spring Training. He is the guy I told my son to watch. I told my son, ‘That’s your friend. Your hands. You watch Anthony Rendon, he uses his hands.'”
After the home run, Jenkins was done for the day. He lasted last 4 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits. His most glaring mistake was walking Roark to begin the fifth.
Roark left the mound to a standing ovation in earning his 13th win. Once he left, Oliver Perez and Matt Belisle blanked the Braves, who split a 10-game road trip, despite losing four of the final five games. Roark allowed one run, going at least seven innings for the 15th time in 24 starts this season.
Bryce Harper returned after missing five games with a stiff neck and had an RBI double in his first at-bat.
“You can’t go out and give free passes to these guys,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s a really good offensive club. You’ve got to make them earn everything they get. You can’t put extra guys on base or it will bite you and it did. You just have to stay on the attack and go after hitters. When you start putting them on, you’re just asking for trouble.”
Harper played his first game since Aug. 6 against the Giants and went 1-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and two runs scored. In his first at-bat, his RBI double into the left-field corner highlighted a three-run first inning.
“I felt good to get out there and help the team win. That’s your biggest thing,” Harper said. “I had a couple of good ABs and had some success and I felt pretty good.”
Jenkins surrendered a pair of extra-base hits and two runs before throwing his eighth pitch in a 25-pitch first inning in which he allowed three runs. He had retired nine straight before walking Roark to open the fifth. Harper drew another walk to load the base before Rendon followed Wilson Ramos’ sacrifice fly with a three-run homer. Jenkins had allowed just two earned runs while issuing 11 walks in 18 innings over his last three starts.
“I thought I pitched better in the first than what the score might have shown,” Jenkins said. “The long first inning led to some troubles down the road…Once [I walked Roark], it kind of went downhill from there. That can’t happen. It’s something I’ve got to work on.”
Roark allowed five hits in his 15th start of at least seven innings — this time in 96-degree heat. The Braves had runners in scoring position three times against Roark, but they scored their only run in the third when Ender Inciarte scored on a single by Erick Aybar.
“It was a very hot afternoon,” Baker said. “He fielded his position, which really helped out a lot. That was some performance in the heat out out there. He never complains about the heat. He doesn’t complain about anything. He goes out and pitches and the team responded behind him.”
Roark acknowledged it was out at Nationals Park, but as he put it, he has no control over mother nature.
“You still have to pitch. You still have to go out there and do your job. You have to block it out,” Roark said. “I was getting ahead of guys. I was pitching aggressive. The two seamer was working well and the curveball started kicking in.”
The Braves grounded into a double play twice within the first four innings and did not score a first-inning run after putting runners at the corners with one out. Inciarte sparked that early threat with a leadoff single and also quieted it when he made the mistake of attempting to score on Matt Kemp’s soft grounder to Roark.
“It was just one of those days,” Snitker said. “You can’t get behind and come back every day. In the first inning in a game like this, you kind of like to go out there and stay competitive in this game and make their guy work a little harder. It’s tough, especially against [Roark]. He’s been good against us.”
Inciarte has now reached base safely in a career-best 25 consecutive games. He has recorded at least one hit in 24 of these games and is hitting .354 (35-for-99) over that span.
The Braves have now lost 16 of the 17 games played at Nationals Park since the start of the 2015 season.
Atlanta will return home to begin a two-games series against Minnesota on Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Joel De La Cruz will start for the Braves, who swept a two-game series from the Twins at Target Field in late July.

Reno starter Matt Koch quieted the Nashville Sounds offense in the Aces’ 6-3 win in front of 7,153 fans Sunday night at First Tennessee Park.

The right-hander worked seven strong innings to give the Aces (64-58) their first win of the four-game series. He allowed three runs on nine hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out five.

Todd Glaesmann started the scoring in the top of the second when he belted a solo homer off Nashville’s Chris Jensen to give Reno a 1-0 lead.

Nashville (70-52) answered back with a solo blast of their own as Matt Olson drilled an opposite field solo smash for his 13th long ball of the season.

It looked like the Sounds were going to break it open against Koch in the third when they started the inning with three straight singles. Koch limited the damage to just one run when he got Olson to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play, and then retired Matt McBride on a groundout to end the inning with a 2-1 deficit.

Reno got to Jensen in the fourth when Peter O’Brien and Ed Lucas worked back-to-back walks to start the inning. Jack Reinheimer followed with an infield single to load the bases. Jensen struck out Glaesmann but a run scored on Kevin Medrano’s RBI groundout, and two came in when Dan Rohlfing plated a pair with a single up the middle.

The Aces extended their lead to 6-2 with a pair of runs in the sixth. Medrano walked and came around to score and Ildamaro Vargas reached on an error and later scored.

Nashville cut into the lead in the seventh when Bryan Anderson and Arismendy Alcantara came up with back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to 6-3.

That’s as close as they’d get as Silvino Bracho tossed a zero in the eighth and Jimmy Sherfy retired the side in order in the ninth.

Renato Nunez extended his hitting streak to 12 games in the loss with a 2-for-4 night. Alcantara had a two-hit night as well for the Sounds.

Even with the loss, the Sounds have a double digit game lead in the American Southern Division with 22 to play.

The series concludes with the finale Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Jharel Cotton (10-5, 4.33) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Shelby Miller (3-1, 3.82) for the Aces. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Call it Thunder and Thunder.
Call it “exotic smashmouth.”
Whatever you want to call the Titans’ improved running game, the team’s performance in Saturday night’s 27-10 preseason win against the Chargers has to be called a success.

Running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry were equally impressive for the Titans right out of the gate on a night when the offense rolled early against the Chargers. Later in the game, third-year running back Bishop Sankey stepped in and added an impressive run of his own.

The Titans ran for a whopping 288 yards on the night. Murray led the way with 93 yards, while Henry (74) and Sankey (53) also had big moments.

“It was a nice start for our team,’’ coach Mike Mularkey said. “It was fun to see the style of play. I was proud of them. … I’d love to see that all season (in the run game). But that shows what they are capable of doing. They had a really good night.”

Murray busted loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on the team’s third offseason series. On the run, he started in the middle of the field, cut to his left, and then raced downfield en route to the end zone. He made sure he got there with a stiff-arm, and the result gave the Titans an early 10-7 lead.

“It was a great blocking job by the offensive line and the receivers, tight ends,’’ Murray said. “It was a power play, so they caved the entire side, and the linebacker sprinted over to the right. I felt it, and I felt the backside A-gap. DGB [Dorial Green-Beckham] made a helluva block as a receiver. Those are how big plays—especially run plays—that’s how they break, by receivers blocking downfield. Him and Harry (Douglas) did a great job, and obviously Marcus (Mariota) got us in the right look.”

On the next series, Henry replaced him in the backfield, and the Titans just kept on rolling. Henry scored on a six-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

“That’s how we want it to look,’’ Henry said. “It was my first NFL game, so I was ready to get out there and make something happen.

“We definitely want to be a physical team, especially running the ball. We want to be smashmouth. … Today was a good day with the o-line blocking and us running.”

The one-two offensive punch put on display by the Titans running backs provided even more reason for optimism following an offseason when the team bolstered personnel behind quarterback Marcus Mariota via trade, and the NFL Draft.

Murray needed just six carries to get to 93 yards. The Titans traded with the Eagles for Murray, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 while in Dallas, in March. Henry, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, carried the ball 10 times, and busted off a 16-yard run.

The Titans had 179 yards by halftime on the ground. Sankey scored on a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Titans stretched the lead to 27-10.

“I have been blessed and lucky to be here as a Titan, and I am excited about this year,’’ Murray said. “It is preseason and we understand that, but at the end of the day we have to go out there and make plays. We are headed in the right direction.”

Mariota played three series and completed all five of his passes, for 45 yards. It was good for passer rating of 104.2.

The Titans gave up some plays early on defense, but held the Chargers to just 10 points in the first half before both teams emptied their benches and played with reserves. The Chargers scored a touchdown on their first possession of a 44-yard completion from Philip Rivers to running back Melvin Gordon.

Rookie safety Kevin Byard, the team’s third-round pick from MTSU, had an interception in the second half.

“We obviously wanted to start a little bit better,’’ cornerback Jason McCourty said. “We didn’t want to give up a touchdown, but it’s just something we’ve got to work back from. We came back out and got a stop, but we want to go out there and start the game a lot better than we did tonight.

“It’s only the preseason, but just being in front of our home fans, hearing how loud they are, the excitement that’s in the air—it’s just a blast to be back out there with the guys. And for our team, we’ve worked so hard in training camp just to be able to come out here and try to do our best. It was a blast and it lets us know the regular season is around the corner.”

The fifth spot in the Nationals’ rotation has been a bit of a revolving door during the past month, bouncing back and forth between two of the club’s top prospects while Joe Ross has been on the DL. But right-hander Reynaldo Lopez may have provided some stability in the rotation for the time being, after he tossed seven innings of one-run ball to help guide the Nationals to a 7-6 victory Saturday night against the Braves at Nationals Park.

Daniel Murphy drove in four runs, including his 22nd homer in the first, and Trea Turner homered as part of a three-hit night, finishing a double shy of the cycle as Washington secured its seventh victory in the past 10 games.

“It all starts with Rey-Rey on the mound. He did a great job tonight,” Murphy said. “That was not the easiest conditions… to give up the homer and then go seven in those conditions was impressive.”
The Nats led 7-1 after six innings, but the Braves got a run in the eighth and four in the ninth — two on Erick Aybar’s double in which he was thrown out trying to extend it to a triple — before Mark Melancon retired Matt Kemp on a grounder to short to pick up the save.
Atlanta was trying to win its first series in Washington since April 2014, but could not overcome a rough outing from right-hander Rob Whalen, who gave up six runs on six hits in five innings. The Braves’ only offense against Lopez came from a first-inning solo home run from Freddie Freeman — his 23rd of the season.
“We’re never out of it,” Freeeman said. “That’s just kind of our team. We put ourselves in a hole, so we had nothing to lose and we came out swinging. We just came up a little short.”
After a pair of uneven performances in his first two Major League starts, when he allowed nine runs in 8 2/3 innings, it was fair to wonder exactly what the Nationals would get in Lopez’s third career outing. But Lopez — the Nats’ No.3 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com — turned in the strongest outing of his career. In his two previous starts, Lopez had allowed nine runs in 8 2/3 innings. On Saturday, Lopez made it past the fifth inning for the first time, limiting the Braves to one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Manager Dusty Baker said earlier this week he would like to settle on one starter to fill in while Ross is out, but those decisions would come based on performance.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “Especially since I’m trying to help the team get a playoff spot.”
Manager Dusty Baker said earlier this week he would like to settle on one starter to fill in while Ross is out, but those decisions would come based on performance. So has Lopez earned another start?
“Probably,” Baker said.
Whalen has allowed four home runs through the first 16 innings of his career, including three within his past seven innings. He surrendered four home runs over 120 innings for Double-A Mississippi, Triple-A Gwinnett and the big leagues this season. Jason Hursh entered in the sixth to make his big league debut. Hursh allowed one run and three hits over one inning, but his line would have been uglier had Jace Peterson’s not robbed Turner of a hit with a diving stop to end the sixth.
“I thought I made a lot of good pitches today,” Whalen said. “I had a good feel for the strike zone. I was throwing a lot of strikes and getting ground balls. They’re just a good team with good hitters. The top of the lineup, they didn’t miss those mistakes I made.”
Turner put on display the skills that have made him such a dynamic leadoff hitter for the Nationals. He tripled in the first — his fifth of the season, all of which have come since the All-Star break, which leads the Majors. Turner also added a solo homer, and a single to finish a double shy of a cycle, for what he said would have been the first cycle of his life.
“It’s hard to just tell yourself to just do the same thing, but that’s what you’ve gotta do,” Turner said. “I think the reason why you get three hits is that you have three good at-bats. I was just trying to tell myself to do that. Obviously, I was just hoping to hit something somewhere where I could run to second. It didn’t happen, but it was fun.”
Peterson sparked a four-run ninth with a leadoff triple and Ender Inciarte fueled the rally by greeting Melancon with an RBI single. Aybar followed with a two-run double, but he was thrown out attempting to reach third. The Braves unsuccessfully challenged the ruling at third base and then saw their comeback bid end when Melancon retired Freeman and Kemp.
“We didn’t wanna blow that one, [Lopez’s] first win,” Baker said. “But [the Braves], they don’t quit.”
Tyrell Jenkins will be on the mound when Atlanta concludes a 10-game road trip with Sunday’s series finale against Washington at 12:35 p.m. CT. Jenkins has allowed just two earned runs over his past three starts, despite issuing 11 walks and recording nine strikeouts within this span.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on Braves Radio Network beginning at Noon.

Freddie Freeman showed why he is a nemesis to the Nationals on Friday night. He homered and drove in four runs to lead the Braves to an 8-5 win at Nationals Park.

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg started for Washington and had his worst outing of the year, allowing a season-high six runs in 5 1/3 innings, and he was denied his 16th victory of the season.
“We’ve faced some pretty good pitching over the course of the summer,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said after his team won for the 11th time in the past 16 games. “But the guys are never down and they’re never out. They’ve been beat over the head for the majority of the season, but they come, they prepare, they grind out at-bats and leave it all out on the field. The record is no indication of how I feel this team is or how those guys play.”
Despite the loss, Jayson Werth reached base for the 41st consecutive game with a seventh-inning RBI double. Werth is two short of the Nationals record set by Ryan Zimmerman in 2009.
Freeman got the Braves on the board in the first inning with an RBI double. An inning later, Jace Peterson gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead with his sixth home run.
“It was too much Freddie Freeman. He has had a tremendous amount of success in this ballpark and it continued tonight,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.
By the fourth inning, however, the Nationals took a 3-2 lead against right-hander Mike Foltynewicz. Anthony Rendon highlighted the scoring with a two-run homer. But Atlanta retook the lead in the fifth, when Foltynewicz delivered a leadoff double and Freeman hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead.
Strasburg left in the sixth inning with a runner on first with one out. Matt Belisle took over and allowed a two-run homer to Anthony Recker. Atlanta added one more run in the seventh inning when Freeman scored on Peterson’s sacrifice fly.
“He didn’t have anything in the tank in the middle innings,” Baker said. “He ran out of gas. The heat kind of got to him and the opposing pitcher [Foltynewicz].”
Strasburg didn’t have any excuses for his disappointing outing. He said he gave it everything he had, but needed to have better preparation before the game.
“It’s still a learning process. I have to keep working on the preparation part and see what I can do to keep my hand dry, keep my legs feeling good,” Strasburg said. “I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. I didn’t execute tonight. The Braves put some good swings on the ball.”
This marked the fifth time this season, and the second time within the past seven games, the Braves hit at least three home runs in a game. Freeman’s three-run shot gave him more home runs (four in 34 at-bats) than anybody against Strasburg, and Recker’s two-run blast was his first of the season. Peterson sparked the power barrage when he led off the second with his sixth homer of the season, matching the total he produced in 302 more at-bats last year.
“We started it in inning one and kept it going all the way through,” said Freeman, who is hitting .412 in his career against Strasburg and .327 against the Nationals. “Obviously Strasburg has been great all year. To come out and get on him early was a good thing for us.”
Rendon has hit safely in 17 out of his last 21 games, going 26-for-77 (.337) with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
Foltynewicz kept the Nationals hitless until Trea Turner recorded a two-out RBI single in the third and then paid for the curveball that Rendon sent over the left-center field wall in the fourth. The competitive right-hander might have allowed his emotions to get the best of him on a few occasions, but he was one out from recording a quality start before his outing ended with Brian Goodwin’s RBI single in the sixth.
“The main goal every time you go out there is to give your team the best chance to win,” Foltynewicz said. “I think I did an OK job of that tonight. The offense came out and attacked one of the best pitchers in baseball and got me an early lead. I kind of gave it up there for a minute, but the way this team has been hitting, I knew they were going to get me some runs. So, I just kept attacking.”
After making outs in his first three at-bats, Werth extended his on-base streak to 41 games in the seventh with a double off reliever Jose Ramirez. Werth has a chance to tie Zimmerman’s club-record streak of 43 this weekend against the Braves.
Rob Whalen will be on the mound when Atlanta and Washington resume this three-game series on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Whalen has impressed the Braves as he has created good movement on his sinker and shown poise during his only two previous career starts.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as a member of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.  We will begin our coverage at 6 PM.

Bryan Anderson clubbed a grand slam and Daniel Mengden tossed five scoreless innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a convincing 10-0 win over the Reno Aces in front of a sellout crowd of 10,073 Friday night at First Tennessee Park.

The seventh inning slam for Anderson was his second home run of the season and the first grand slam by a Sounds (69-51) player at First Tennessee Park. It came after singles by Matt Olson, Renato Nunez and Matt McBride.

In his 10th start with Nashville, Mengden continued to dazzle. After a first inning jam he worked out of with back-to-back strikeouts, the right-hander faced two over the minimum. He dropped his ERA to 1.34 and improved to 6-1.

His teammates gave him some early run support to work with. With two on and two out in the bottom of the first, Renato Nunez sent a single up the middle to score a pair and make it 2-0.

They added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jaycob Brugman. After Olson singled to start the third, Joey Wendle blasted his 11th home run of the season – a deep drive to right-center to extend the lead to 5-0.

Arismendy Alcantara tripled in the sixth and scored on base hit by Brugman to add on to the lead.

Angel Castro came on for Mengden after five and pitched well in relief. The veteran tossed four scoreless innings and limited the Aces to just two hits. He picked up his second save of the season in the process.

After the first, Reno did not put a base runner past second base. Ildamaro Vargas reached second in the fifth after an error but Mengden worked around it. Zach Borenstein reached second in the ninth but Castro worked around him to close it out.

The shutout by the two hurlers is the eighth of the season for the Sounds, and fifth over the last 16 games.

Nashville out-hit Reno, 12-4, and got multi-hit games from Olson, Nunez, McBride and Anderson.

The division lead remains at 10.5 games for the Sounds after Memphis won over Tacoma. The magic number to clinch a spot in the Pacific Coast League Playoffs is 14.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-0, 0.70) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Anthony Banda (4-3, 4.27) for the Aces. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Reynaldo Ramirez of Westwood football

After battling Forrest to a halftime tie, the Westwood Rockets saw 2 crucial 4th quarter fumbles and the size and strength of the visitors take over in the second half as Westwood fell 35 to 12 on Thursday night in Duck River Valley Conference football action. Westwood ran 19 plays in the 1st half to Forrest’s 7 plays and outgained the Chapel Hill Rockets in yardage 100 to 49 at the intermission.  In the second half, Forrest scored on all 3 of their offensive possessions and returned a fumble 50 yards for a score to dominate after halftime.
Coach Chad Dyer saw his team execute his offensive strategy to perfection in the first half as they controlled the time of possession and kept the ball away from Forrest.  After recovering a Forrest fumble, Westwood got an early 6 to 0 lead when Reynaldo Ramirez rumbled over from 2 yards out with 3:47 remaining in the half to give Westwood their only lead of the game. Forrest tied the game on the ensuing possession when Cason Warner rumbled 36 yards for a touchdown a mere 34 seconds later. The score remained tied headed to the half. In the second half, Forrest took the kickoff down the field to score a touchdown and 2 point conversion. Westwood got a 4 yard TD run from Ramirez to close the gap to 2 points, but a pair of 4th quarter fumbles sealed the Rockets fate.
Ramirez had 15 carries for 65 yards for Westwood on the night while Trenton Thompson added 11 carries for 52 yards. Skylar Bratcher completed the lone pass of the game to Thompson for 60 yards. That pass converted a crucial 1st down in the opening touchdown drive for the Rockets.
Westwood has a busy week next week with a pair of games. On Tuesday, the Rockets host Middle Tennessee Christian at Dyer-Bouldin Field. On Thursday, Westwood travels to Wartrace to take on Cascade. Both games will kick off at 6:30 PM.

Faith Willoughby of Westwood soccer (Photo by Tiffany Clutter)

The Westwood Lady Rockets wrapped up their preseason preparations as they traveled to Sewanee to take on St Andrew’s-Sewanee on Thursday.  The Lady Rockets managed an early goal and a late goal to capture a 3 to 2 win.  The game was the final scrimmage game of the fall for Westwood.

Faith Willoughby scored a pair of goals and Britney Hernandez had a goal and an assist in the win.  Abygail Hernandez and Alanna Coker combined in goal to get the win.  Westwood opens the regular season on Thursday, August 18^th when they travel to Wartrace to take on Cascade.  The first home match for Westwood will be on Tuesday, August 23^rd when the Lady Rockets play host to Fayetteville.  That match kicks off at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

Perfect games are an incredibly rare feat in baseball, but a team scoring in every inning is an even more infrequent occasion. On Thursday afternoon, the Brewers didn’t come close to a perfect game, but, instead, became the 19th team since 1900 to score in every inning that they came to bat of an 11-3 rout of the Braves at Miller Park.

Chris Carter got things rolling for Milwaukee with a two-run homer in the first, and Scooter Gennett and Hernan Perez followed suit with solo shots of their own. The Crew capped off the day with an RBI triple by Orlando Arcia with two outs in the eighth.
“I feel bad, because I think I was the only guy that didn’t touch base,” said Brewers right-hander Matt Garza.
He was right. Every starting position player for the Brewers had at least one hit. Four different players scored multiple runs.
Garza did his part with six quality innings to win his third straight start. After missing the first two months of the season with a right lat strain, Garza seems to have found his stride, allowing eight earned runs over his last four starts.
Braves starter Roberto Hernandez surrendered the initial damage, allowing five runs over four innings in his second big league outing of the season. Atlanta dropped consecutive games to split the four-game set with the Brewers. The Braves’ ‘pen worked 13 consecutive scoreless innings during the first three games of this series and then surrendered six runs (five earned) in this finale.
“It wasn’t our best day out there,” Braves catcher Anthony Recker said. “We just weren’t able to get guys out when we needed to. They did a good job of putting some good pitches in play. We had a few too many walks. It was just not a good day, but on to the next one.”
When the Brewers traded away All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy at the Trade Deadline, it opened up a roster spot for Manny Pina, 29, who had been at Triple-A Colorado Springs. On Thursday, Piña delivered his best big league performance to date with two hits, including a bases-clearing double to give the Brewers a 9-2 lead in the sixth. The three RBIs were the first of Piña’s career, which includes brief stops with the Royals in 2011-12.
“Pina’s double, I thought, that’s what kind of made you exhale a little bit,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “In the sixth, they scored two runs back to make it 6-2, and then they had first and second and they had kind of a shot there. But the Pina double in the bottom of the inning was the hit. He had more good at-bats today.”
It didn’t take long for Hernandez to provide the reminder he was just a short-term fix for an injury-depleted rotation that should welcome Julio Teheran back from the disabled list next week. Making his second start of the season, the 35-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits, including the three solo homers, over four innings. Two of the outs he was credited with came courtesy of catcher Recker, who notched three caught stealings, including two within the first three innings.
“It’s going to get better,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who could also welcome reliever Arodys Vizcaino and starting catcher Tyler Flowers back to his roster next week. “We’ve got guys coming. I think we’re doing a good job of hanging in there right now with all of the injuries and stretching the organization as thin as we’ve had.”
Carter came into the game with the most homers at home in baseball and promptly extended that lead with his 20th homer at Miller Park this season. Despite being out front on a 3-2 slider from Hernandez, Carter muscled it into the Milwaukee bullpen in left-center to put the Brewers up, 2-0. It was Carter’s 27th homer of the season, matching the most by a Brewer over the last four seasons.
“I was just trying to hit that ball, I wasn’t trying to hit a homer,” Carter said. “I just ended up clicking it just right and hitting a home run on it.”
Aybar stays hot: One day after bidding adieu to a 14-game hitting streak, Erick Aybar produced a three-hit game, which was highlighted when he opened a two-run sixth with his second homer of the season. The much-maligned shortstop stood as one of baseball’s least productive players throughout this season’s first four months. But with free agency looming, he has hit .377 (23-for-61) over his past 15 games.
“He’s been swinging the bat really well,” Snitker said. “He’s just playing really solid baseball. Since we put him in the two-hole, he’s kind of gone off a little bit.”
Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound when Atlanta travels to Washington, D.C., to begin a three-game series against the Nationals on Friday at 6:05 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz bounced back from two rough starts by tossing six solid innings against the Cardinals on Sunday.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as a member of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.  We will begin our coverage at 6 PM.