Braves Take Series Behind Kawakami’s Outing

Written by: David Lee on 8th July 2009

Braves Take Series Behind Kawakami's Outing | read this item

Kenshin Kawakami pitched six solid innings and the offense backed him enough to take the game, 4-1, and the series from the Cubs.

The Braves started the scoring in the third on a Martin Prado RBI single. They added their second run in the sixth when Casey Kotchman hit a solo homer, which proved to be crucial when Kosuke Fukudome took his former teammate deep on a solo shot in the home half of the sixth.

The Braves remained on top by one until the ninth, when they added two insurance runs on Cubs blunders. Prado singled and the ball got away from Fukudome, allowing Nate McLouth to score from first and Prado advance to third. Prado then scored on a wild pitch for a three-run lead.

Kenshin Kawakami: W (5-6), 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Peter Moylan: H (13), 1 IP, H
Mike Gonzalez: H (9), 1 IP, H
Rafael Soriano: S (10), 1 IP, 2 K

Kawakami earned his fifth win with six solid innings. He pitched five shutout innings before giving up the Fukudome homer in the sixth, pretty much knocking him out. I would have at least sent him out for the seventh to try and save an arm, though. Gonzalez seems to have found himself the everyday setup man for Soriano now. Both he and Moylan worked around allowing a hit in their innings, with Gonzalez getting a little help from a great play by Yunel Escobar that saved the tying run from scoring. The staff was backed by three double plays turned and several big defensive plays.

Martin Prado: 2-3, 2 BB, RBI
Casey Kotchman: HR
Nate McLouth: 2-5

How many times has Prado’s name been mentioned on the stat list in my recaps already? Both he and McLouth crossed home plate for three of the Braves’ four runs. McLouth extended his hitting streak to nine games with another multi-hit effort. Jeff Francoeur extended his worthless streak to infinity with an 0-fer. If I was Matt Diaz I’d have probably worked my way off the team by now. He’s a better guy than me.

Notable Cubs:
Kevin Hart: L (0-1), 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 5 BB, 3 K

Notable Stat:
Nate McLouth in his past five games: 10-22, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Why Jeff Francoeur… It doesn’t even matter anymore. Seriously.

Next Game:
7/9: @ Rockies, 8:40 (Tommy Hanson vs. Aaron Cook)

Share on Tumblr

Topics: Atlanta Braves, casey kotchman, Chicago Cubs, kenshin kawakami, martin prado, mike gonzalez, rafael soriano