Atlanta Braves edge past the Chicago Cubs 5-4 – MLB Update
Craig Kimbrel had 40th save of his career on Tuesday, August 23 to assist in Atlanta Braves’ 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Atlanta Braves put in a good performance to win their sixth consecutive victory.
Much of it came from the major league rookie Craig Kimbrel who won the 40th game of his career in the 45 chance that he has had. "I'll look back on it at the end of the year," Kimbrel said. "Right now, I'm just worried about helping us win and
helping us get to the playoffs. It's pretty awesome. When you're winning games, it's fun."
When such a performance was exhibited by one of the extremely talented players, the team – as a whole – will surely be overly delighted. "He played a good game," manager Mike Quade said. "One day at a time."
Add to it the grand slam coming off Jason Heyward’s bat which turned out to be the most fascinating hit of the night, putting the Atlanta Braves in the driving seat. His hit turned the tide and made things difficult for the Chicago Cubs to stage a comeback.
The starters of the respective teams made an aggressive start where the offence was pounded a great deal. Both Mike Minor and Casey Coleman pitched strong enough innings to keep the game scoreless for a while.
The Braves’ offence sparked in the fourth when Alex Gonzalez scored the first run for Atlanta. Soon after that, Jason Heyward came up with the grand slam that took the lead to 5-0 for the Braves in the 3-hit five-run fourth inning.
That was an awesome opportunity for Mike Minor to pitch more aggressively to keep the lead intact for the Atlanta Braves. While he remained partially successful in the fourth, and Casey Coleman pitched the fifth inning as a shut-out, the bottom of fifth
remained eventful.
Alfonso Soriano was the first to homer in the fifth to score the first run for the Atlanta Braves while Aramis Ramirez doubled to deep left to drive in a two-run RBI. Jeff Baker was able to score a single on a throwing error by Alex Gonzalez that brought
the Cubs close to the Braves with a 5-4 score.
John Grabow relieved Coleman to throw the sixth and made it a scoreless one while Cristhian Martinez tossed for the Braves. Both the relievers pitched well and did not let the balance tilt.
It was Craig Kimbrel who, coming as a closer – apart from giving up a hit to Ramirez, threw some of the best pitches of the night to wrap up the game with 5-4 victory for the Atlanta Braves.
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