Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman, right, celebrates with Dan Uggla after hitting a home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Atlanta Tuesday, July 5, 2011. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Braves win – again
Atlanta is 12-3 in its last 15 games, and we all know the Braves’ success has been in its arms.
Let’s look deeper at the strength and depth that this staff allows manager Fredi Gonzalez. Shall we? Of course we shall.
After he doubled in three runs to help his own cause in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over Colorado, Braves starter Derek Lowe started to labor. Be it the summer heat or running the bases, Lowe was running on fumes midway through the sixth. If most managers are forced to go get their starter that early, there’s some concern about the rest of the game – innings 7, 8 and 9 must be factored into managing the sixth inning.
That’s not the case for Gonzalez, who has the eternal blessing of having full confidence in a seventh-inning guy (Eric O’Flaherty), more confidence in his eighth-inning guy (Everyday Jonny Venters) and a lights-out closer (Craig Kimbrel). With that knowledge of a loaded back-end of the bullpen, Gonzalez was able to play match-ups as early as the sixth inning Tuesday to get the Braves out of what turned out to be the last serious Colorado threat.