Atlanta Braves pile on defeats as they lose 5-9 to Toronto Blue Jays in Spring Training - MLB
Todd Redmond let the Atlanta Braves down as they succumb to Toronto Blue Jays in a 5-9 defeat during their Spring Training Grapefruit contest at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, Florida on March 11, 2012.
Game was even until the third when no run was scored by either side and it was the end of the fourth that had begun the Blue Jays dominance as they went on to add three runs to their score in one inning alone. Barring a little resistance shown by Braves
in the eighth inning, Blue Jays were in total control of the game.
Following his car-accident, Braves' Tommy Hanson was barred to make early entry into Spring Training.
As he played the game and gave up three runs, he will be searching to find his best time on the mound. Far from what he wanted to show to his manager, he was hit with a two-run homer by Toronto’s Jeff Mathis apart from giving two hits and one walk.
Braves had started off great with Sean Gilmartin bringing three strike-outs in first two innings he pitched while conceding only one walk. Probably a couple of more innings from him may have inhibited the Blue Jays from having a breeze they enjoyed in later
part of the game.
What betrayed Braves during the game was their weak back up in pitching department- something they have suffered from the most in almost all games they have lost thus far.
Comparison between Braves and Blue Jays indicates an important distinction. While handful of Braves got hits and completed runs, most of the Blue Jays players made contributions to the score.
Only Christian Bethancourt, Braves' catcher, connected all of at-bats he confronted and grabbed two runs while most of fellow batters missed many pitches but from Toronto’s side Ben Francisco, Edwin Encarnacion, John Tolisano, Adam Lind and couple of others
added to the score one way or the other. Something that reveals a team effort coming off Toronto Blue Jays and that eventually gave them a win.
As desperate as they are to find a win, Braves will be looking for some stunning performance from some of their pitchers so that they can add up to their sole victory in Spring Training earned so far.
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