For the Braves, Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers did more than finish off a three-game sweep of their former NL West rival. It did more than just bring the Braves back to .500. It did more than pull the Braves back to within striking distance of the first place New York Mets. What it did was prove to the league, the fans, and most importantly, themselves, that they are, in fact, a contender in the National League. That was something that may have been debatable just four days ago.
What’s even more impressive is that the Braves swept the Dodgers, who some say may be the class of the NL West (not me, but some people), without John Smoltz, Tim Hudson or Tom Glavine taking the mound. No no, this was no ordinary sweep. The Dodgers bats, which included a portly Andruw Jones, were stymied by Jeff Bennett, Chuck James and Jair Jurrjens. Sure, Jurrjens is solid, but that’s not exactly a Cy Young caliber threesome.
The Braves got quality work on the mound all around timely hits from Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, Gregor Blanco and Kelly Johnson to get back to .500, and are now within striking distance of the Mets. The Braves finish up the homestand with two games each against the Nationals and the Marlins, before heading north to the end of runway two-niner at LaGuardia, to take on the Mets for three…a series that could vault the hometown team back where the belong…at the top of the NL East standings.
Barrett Sallee has worked professionally in the Atlanta sports market in various aspects for over 7 years. He can be reached at barrettsallee@hotmail.com
Entries (RSS)