Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado Rockies 5-3 – MLB Update
Freddie Freeman hit his 12th homer of the season to assist in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-3 win over the straining Colorado Rockies at Turner Field on Tuesday, July 5.
"I think this whole year, these guys never lacked confidence," Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The pitching has been the consistent part and now the bats are coming around a little bit."
The Braves’ starter Derek Lowe kicked off a strong game on Tuesday by pitching a hitless first followed by Jhoulys Chacin’s 1-hit inning. Lowe remained steadfast in the game without losing his nerves.
Remaining at-bat, Freeman had his first hit in the second that earned him his 12th home-run for the 2011 Regular Season and giving a felicitous 1-0 lead to the Braves. Having played 83 games in this season, Freeman has scored 38 runs with a .273
average.
While Lowe was unplayable with his rapidly increasing pace of fastballs, he did something magical with the bat as well. The struggling defence of the Rockies in the face of Chacin had a big surprise waiting.
Lowe hit a three-run RBI to take the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning with his magnificent style, keeping the eager audience in awe. Lowe’s hit was met with applause, as the crowd got excited in the ground.
Chacin tried to compensate for his pitching disaster with a hit and a run that he scored in the fifth inning followed by Charlie Blackmon single to right, to bring the Braves’ lead down to 4-2.
Dan Uggla had his 13th homer in the sixth inning when Eric Stults came to pitch. Uggla homered to left to take the Braves lead to 5-3 which was then effectively defended by Eric O'Flaherty with his 1-hit fifth inning.
The Rockies seemed to have opportunities to avail, but failed to capitalise on them. Jonny Venters gave up a hit in the 8th, but it did not bear any fruit for the team as a whole.
"As you look back on these games, those three runs are huge," Rockies’ manager Jim Tracy said. "Those are huge runs. We had opportunities, but they turned us away."
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning to win the second consecutive game for the Atlanta Braves by 5-3, after winning the first by 4-1. Judging from the Braves performance, it looks like they will dominate on Wednesday.
The Braves have started to show some positive form, as they managed to contain the Rockies’ offence. Colorado will be looking to improve their performance and get their offence to support the pitching with some much needed runs. It will be interesting to
see how long the Braves will carry their winning momentum.
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