Sports Page Atlanta

The Braves made it kind of interesting last night, but fell short to the Phillies by the score of 7 to 3.  The game could have been tied, but Mark Teixeira struck out with 2 outs in the 9th with the bases loaded.  A few pitches earlier, Teixeira blasted a shot that was just foul.

It would have been the 2nd grand slam hit by a Brave this year.  Kelly Johnson hit a pinch hit grand slam against the Mets back during the first week of the season.

Here are the number of grand slams hit by the current Atlanta Braves…

Chipper Jones - 6 (although last one was back in 2001)

Brian McCann - 4

Mark Teixeira - 3

Mark Kotsay - 3

Kelly Johnson - 2

Greg Norton - 2

Jeff Francoeur - 1

Kelly Johnson left Monday night’s Atlanta Braves home opener after the third inning, not because of two fielding mishaps that notched Johnson one error and one huge favor owed to a homer statistician that should have tagged him with a second error, but because he aggravated his right knee.

Johnson is listed as day-to-day after he injured his knee as he scored from first base on a Yunel Escobar triple. Martin Prado replaced Johnson at second base and finished out the 12 inning loss to the Pirates.
photo credit: wallyg

I used to think we would sorely miss Marcus Giles as the Braves second sacker. But, a dismal year in San Diego where he hit .229 and saw his home run total drop by almost 300% combined with the beautiful things Kelly Johnson does for the Braves at second now keep me smiling.

Braves fans should always remember Giles’ tenure in Atlanta from 2001 to 2006. Especially his 2003 season where he hit .316 with 21 home runs and 14 stolen bases.
photo credit: Justin Shearer