Sports Page Atlanta

Now in a full rebuilding mode, the Atlanta Braves continued to build on Wednesday, trading CF Mark Kotsay to the Boston Red Sox for power-hitting OF prospect Luis Sumoza.  The 20-year old Sumoza was having a stellar year for Class A Lowell, Mass., hitting .301, with 11 HR and 38 RBI in 51 games.

CF Josh Anderson will be called up from AAA Richmond to take Kotsay’s roster spot on the Atlanta Braves, and will undoubtedly get an extended audition to be the starting Braves CF in 2008.  Anderson was acquired last off-season from the Houston Astros in exchange for RP Oscar Villarreal.

Kotsay hit .289 in his only season with the Braves, with six HR and 37 RBI in 88 games.  The 32-year old veteran was signed to a one-year deal in the off-season after suffering through a miserable, injury-riddled 2007 season with the Oakland A’s.  Kotsay cleared revocable waivers in August, and was eligible to be traded to any team.

Atlanta 11, Arizona 4 (box)
Richmond 3, Durham 2 (box)
Jacksonville 8, Mississippi 4 (box)
Lynchburg 5, Myrtle Beach 3 (box)
Rome 4, Charleston 2 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: The big club won their third straight against Arizona in big fashion. The team had 14 hits with four players (McCann, Escobar, Infante, and Kotsay) getting multiple hits in the game. Brian McCann drove in four and hit a home run in the first inning. He also stole his 4th base of the year. Jair Jurrjens won his 11th game as he pitched seven innings allowing three earned runs, seven hits, and striking out 6 while walking two.

AAA - Richmond: The R-Braves got ten hits yesterday with five players (Josh Anderson, Diory Hernandez, Jason Phillips, Corky Miller, Wes Timmons) each with two hits a piece. Phillips hit his 2nd home run of the season and Anderson stole his 35th base. Matt DeSalvo struck out 11 in 5.2 innings, but didn’t factor in the decision as Brad Nelson got the win in relief. Jorge Julio saved his 6th game.

AA - Mississippi: Mississippi scattered 11 hits with Reid Gorecki getting three of them but couldn’t score enough runs to overcome a late barrage by Jacksonville. Glavine took the loss in his rehab start where he threw five innings and gave up four hits and two earned runs. His start was solid and the Braves have announced that Glavine will come off the DL and start Thursday against the Cubs.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: Tyler Flowers hit two doubles and had three of the Pelicans seven hits in a losing effort against Lynchburg. Former Gainesville High School standout Jon Owings hit his 16th home run of the year. Jeff Lyman took his 6th loss of the year as he gave up two earned runs in three relief innings.

A - Rome: Rome had four runs on 11 hits last night, none bigger than the two runs in the top of the 10th driven in by Cody Johnson and Chad Lundahl to give Rome the go ahead runs they needed. Craig Kimbrel earned his 2nd win of the season as he pitched two scoreless innings to finish out the game and hold off Charleston. Kimbrel struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.

Atlanta 6, Arizona 4 (box)
Durham 11, Richmond 2 (box)
Mississippi 9, Jacksonville 2 (box)
Myrtle Beach 3, Lynchburg 2 (box)
Rome 12, Charleston 9 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: Charlie Morton was impressive last night throwing seven scoreless innings allowing only five hits. He struck out four and only walked one in his third win of the season. Mark Kotsay hit his fifth home run of the season and Blanco, Escobar, and McCann each had two hits in the win.

AAA - Richmond: James Parr gave up 10 hits and six runs in four innings of work against Durham to take the loss, his third of the season. Josh Anderson stayed hot with two hits and a stolen base in the losing effort.

AA - Mississippi: Jerome Gamble earned his third win of the season as he pitched five innings of six hit ball and didn’t give up an earned run. He struck out seven and only walked two. J.C. Holt went 3 for 3 with two doubles, Jordan Schafer went 3-4 with two doubles and a stolen base, and Kala Ka’aihue hit his 13th home run of the season.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: Designated Hitter Tyler Flowers drove in two runs and hit two doubles as he went 2-4 in last night’s win. Scott Diamond continued to impress on the mound winning his 11th game in Myrtle Beach (14th for the entire season, as he started in Rome) . He pitched seven innings and only gave up five hits and no earned runs. He also struck out five while walking zero. Tyler Wilson pitched two innings in relief to earn his second save of the season.

A - Rome: Edgar Osuna earned his 7th win of the season as he pitched six innings while only giving up two earned runs and striking out nine batters. Every Rome position player collected at least one hit with Mathew Kennelly and Cody Johnson each getting two hits. Johnson added his 20th home run last night as well.

San Francisco 3, Atlanta 2 (box)
Richmond 5, Durham 4 (box)
Jacksonville 10,  Mississippi 9 (box)
Myrtle Beach 9, Kinston 6 (box)
Rome 1, Charleston 0 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: This one-run game skid has got to stop soon. Today marked the 26th time in a row that the Braves lost a one-run ball game. Brian McCann collected three of the Braves five hits as Tim Lincecum is proving just hot tough of a pitcher he really is. Chuck James struggled again allowing three runs and five hits in four innings. James gave up another home run today (his 10th in seven starts) in the first inning to Aaron Rowand.

AAA - Richmond: Josh Anderson made it two games in a row with a home run as he led the R-Braves to a 5-4 victory going 3 for 4 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI. Brandon Jones kicked in another two RBI as he went 2 for 4. Damian Moss got the win in relief (his 4th) and Jorge Julio saved the game (his 5th). Starter Jo-Jo Reyes went only five innings giving up four runs and seven hits.

AA - Mississippi: Starter Calros Sencion only made it 3.2 innings as he gave up four earned runs, three hits, and struck out four while walking six. But, the M-Braves scored some runs, and Sencion wasn’t on the hook for the loss. Matt Young, Greg Creek, and Jose Camarena each had two RBI for the M-Braves and the team even took an 8-7 lead into the ninth inning. But Luis Valdez gave up three earned runs and three hits in the 9th to blow his 8th save of the year and take his third loss.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: Willie Cabrera was in left field instead of the DH spot tonight, but he continued to swing a hot bat going 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI in the Pelicans 9 to 6 victory. Most of the offense came from Randy Gress’s three RBI and Eric Campbell, who hit his 17th home run and went 1-4 with two RBI. Georgia Southern’s own Dustin Evans gave up a home run Carlos Rivero, but managed to lock it up and earn the win in relief (his 2nd). Nick Fellman earned his 6th save of the season as he struck out two and walked one in 0.2 innings.

A - Rome: 20-year-old Jeffrey Locke earned his fifth win of the season as he pitched six shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five while walking two. And continuing with the trend of 20-year-old pitchers, Craig Kimbrel earned his third save as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two batters. Rome only managed five hits tonight, but scored on a fielding error by Charleston pitcher Jairo Heredia.

Atlanta 11, San Francisco 4 (box)
Durham 9, Richmond 6 (box)
Huntsville 4, Mississippi 2 (box)
Myrtle Beach 4, Kinston 3 (box)
Rome 9, Hickory 1 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: Mike Hampton hasn’t had a lot to be happy about on the diamond in the past 2 and a half years. He’s been criticized for his injury prone ways and many fans have used him as the butt of their jokes. After last night Hampton can smile with Braves Nation as he earned his first win in almost three years. In seven innings of work, Hampton allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out two, walked only one, and even added to the Braves offense with a double and a RBI at the plate.  Seven Braves hitters notched RBI’s last night and all nine starters got, at least, one hit.

AAA - Richmond: The R-Braves were trampled early on by the Durham Bulls as pitcher Brian Lawrence gave up seven runs and 12 hits in only four innings. And even with a four run 7th inning from the R-Braves, led by Josh Anderson’s two-run home run, Durham maintained control and won handily. Anderson was 2-5 with two RBI, and that 7th inning blast was his second of the year. Brent Lillibridge went 0-4, but did steal his 16th base of the season.

AA - Mississippi: After third baseman Van Pope tied the game in the 6th inning for the M-Braves with a two-run home run, relief pitcher Paul Bush came on and promptly gave up the eventual game winning home run to Huntsville first baseman Chris Errecar. Pope’s home run was his fourth of the year as he went 1-3 with two RBI and a stolen base. Bush fell to 0-1 on the year.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: The Pelicans were behind Kinston for most of the game, 25 outs to be exact. It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Designated Hitter Willie Cabrera singled in Jon Owings and Randy Gress with one out, that the home team pushed ahead and won the game. Cabrera was 3-5 on the night with a double and those final two RBI that won the game for the Pelicans. Jaye Chapman won the game in relief, bringing his record up to 1-1.

A - Rome: Scoreless through five innings, the Rome Braves started the scoring in the 6th and never let up, scoring nine runs in the final four innings. First baseman Frederick Freeman started the scoring by tripling in Jason Heyward in the 6th inning and added a home run (his 18th of the season) in the 7th. Heyward was 3 for 3 (two doubles) on the night with two RBI, and Aussie catcher Matthew Kennelly was 3 for 4 with three RBI and is hitting .464 in his eight games since being called up from Danville. Cole Rohrbough improved his record on the mound to 3-4 while giving up only one hit in eight innings of work. He struck out seven and walked three.