Atlanta Braves power to 10-7 win against St. Louis Cardinals - MLB Update
Relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel throws a perfect ninth inning as the Atlanta Braves keep their nerves in a 10-7 victory in the third game of the three match series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia on May 30, 2012.
In a breathtaking finish, the Braves kept their heads high until the last inning. Fate of the game was changing every inning.
As soon as the Braves reached a seemingly unassailable lead, the Cardinals would come from behind and dismantle it, keeping the game open.
Atlanta added three runs in the first and followed with two more runs in the third. Just when the Braves were certain of a victory, the sixth came and the Cardinals tied the score in blistering fashion.
Thereafter, the Braves replied back strongly in the same inning, restoring their lead.
Largely helped by the hitters, the Braves shredded the jinx of losses and recorded a victory against a side as formidable as the Cardinals. Catcher, Brian McCann and first baseman, Freddie Freeman were the redeemer.
Both these players had issues couple of weeks ago and missed out number of games.
McCann suffered illness, while Freeman had his eyes growing uncontrollably hazy. Extent of the impact of their absence can be gauged from the way they helped the Braves win on Wednesday.
McCann slammed a home-run in the first and set the stage for the victory. Inspired by him, Freeman struck another homer in the same inning. Freeman ended up 3-for-5, along with three RBIs. McCann was even better, with four RBIs in four at-bats.
Happy with the way the Braves got rid of the losing streak, he called it an inevitable happening with every side. Crux of the matter is teams that learn from such experiences reach heights and therefore he calls upon the need for the Braves to take positives
from this.
''We went through a stretch,'' Freeman said. ''Everybody goes through a stretch in the season. Hopefully that was our longest one. ... It's how you minimize those and we bounced back like a winning team does.''
Even as the Braves won, issues with their starting pitchers remain. Tim Hudson was just ordinary in the game as he gave away five runs in little more than five innings.
In light of this, the Braves cannot afford to leave their pitching department unattended. They will hope that starters in the rotation soon work out week-areas and start becoming a major link in their victories.
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