DixieDestroyer
Hall of Famer
Braves 2B Dan Uggla continues his hitting streak. :icon_grin:
Uggla pushes streak to 31 games as Braves sweep Marlins
By David O'Brien
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MIAMI — After Dan Uggla waited until the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak Monday and again Tuesday, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told him he should get a hit in his first at-bat for the benefit of his nervous teammates.
Uggla obliged Wednesday night with a two-run single in the first inning of a 6-2 win against Florida, pushing his hitting streak to 31 games to tie the Atlanta Braves record and providing Tim Hudson with all the run support he would need.
Hudson (12-7) allowed six hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings to win his third consecutive start, and the Braves won their fourth in a row. With the three-game sweep of the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, they are 12-3 in their past 15 against the Marlins.
Eric Hinske had a two-run double in the second inning, and Jose Constanza added three infield hits for the Braves, who finished a 6-3 trip with six wins in the past seven games.
Rookie pitcher Arodys Vizcaino, who was brought from Triple-A on Wednesday and arrived two hours before the game, had a rocky major league debut with two walks and a hit batter in the ninth inning.
Jonny Venters bailed him out by coming in with the bases loaded and striking out Brett Hayes to end the game.
Uggla went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .224, up 51 points since the streak began July 5, and equaled the Atlanta-era Braves record 31-game streak by Rico Carty in 1970.
They’re second on the all-time franchise list behind Tommy Holmes’ 37-game streak for the 1945 Boston Braves. Uggla’s streak is the longest in the majors this season, surpassing a 30-gamer by the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier.
Hinske’s double in a three-run second inning pushed the lead to 5-0, and there aren’t many safer bets than Hudson to win with a lead that large. He is 142-2 with 25 no-decisions in games when provided with a lead of three runs or more.
Until Logan Morrison’s leadoff homer in the eighth inning, the only Marlin to advance beyond first base was Morrison on a stolen base in the second inning after Hudson inexplicably went to his windup instead of pitching from the stretch.
Hudson got some good-natured razzing from teammates after that incident. But it certainly didn’t appear to distract him.
After the Morrison single and stolen base, Hudson recorded 16 outs in the next 17 batters. He allowed two singles in that stretch through the seventh inning, and induced a double-play grounder after one of those hits in the sixth.
Hudson struck out two of three batters in the seventh, then hit a wall in the eighth. After the Morrison homer, he gave up two singles and a walk to the next four batters.
Reliever George Sherrill entered with the bases loaded to face Alfredo Amezega, who hit a sharp grounder to the left side. If it had gotten through, at least two runs would’ve scored. But third baseman Martin Prado made a terrific diving stop to his left and threw to second base for the second out of the inning.
One run scored on that play, and Sherrill struck out Greg Dobbs with two on to end the inning.
For Uggla, his hitting streak is the 13th of 30 games or more in the majors since 1990, and seven of those ended at 30 games. Only three lasted beyond 32 games.
Uggla added singles in the second and ninth innings, his first multi-hit game since a three-hit outing Saturday at New York. He was 3-for-14 in the next three games, extending his streak with infield hits in each of the first two games in the series against his former Florida team.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/uggla-pushes-streak-to-1096175.html
Uggla pushes streak to 31 games as Braves sweep Marlins
By David O'Brien
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MIAMI — After Dan Uggla waited until the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak Monday and again Tuesday, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told him he should get a hit in his first at-bat for the benefit of his nervous teammates.
Uggla obliged Wednesday night with a two-run single in the first inning of a 6-2 win against Florida, pushing his hitting streak to 31 games to tie the Atlanta Braves record and providing Tim Hudson with all the run support he would need.
Hudson (12-7) allowed six hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings to win his third consecutive start, and the Braves won their fourth in a row. With the three-game sweep of the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, they are 12-3 in their past 15 against the Marlins.
Eric Hinske had a two-run double in the second inning, and Jose Constanza added three infield hits for the Braves, who finished a 6-3 trip with six wins in the past seven games.
Rookie pitcher Arodys Vizcaino, who was brought from Triple-A on Wednesday and arrived two hours before the game, had a rocky major league debut with two walks and a hit batter in the ninth inning.
Jonny Venters bailed him out by coming in with the bases loaded and striking out Brett Hayes to end the game.
Uggla went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .224, up 51 points since the streak began July 5, and equaled the Atlanta-era Braves record 31-game streak by Rico Carty in 1970.
They’re second on the all-time franchise list behind Tommy Holmes’ 37-game streak for the 1945 Boston Braves. Uggla’s streak is the longest in the majors this season, surpassing a 30-gamer by the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier.
Hinske’s double in a three-run second inning pushed the lead to 5-0, and there aren’t many safer bets than Hudson to win with a lead that large. He is 142-2 with 25 no-decisions in games when provided with a lead of three runs or more.
Until Logan Morrison’s leadoff homer in the eighth inning, the only Marlin to advance beyond first base was Morrison on a stolen base in the second inning after Hudson inexplicably went to his windup instead of pitching from the stretch.
Hudson got some good-natured razzing from teammates after that incident. But it certainly didn’t appear to distract him.
After the Morrison single and stolen base, Hudson recorded 16 outs in the next 17 batters. He allowed two singles in that stretch through the seventh inning, and induced a double-play grounder after one of those hits in the sixth.
Hudson struck out two of three batters in the seventh, then hit a wall in the eighth. After the Morrison homer, he gave up two singles and a walk to the next four batters.
Reliever George Sherrill entered with the bases loaded to face Alfredo Amezega, who hit a sharp grounder to the left side. If it had gotten through, at least two runs would’ve scored. But third baseman Martin Prado made a terrific diving stop to his left and threw to second base for the second out of the inning.
One run scored on that play, and Sherrill struck out Greg Dobbs with two on to end the inning.
For Uggla, his hitting streak is the 13th of 30 games or more in the majors since 1990, and seven of those ended at 30 games. Only three lasted beyond 32 games.
Uggla added singles in the second and ninth innings, his first multi-hit game since a three-hit outing Saturday at New York. He was 3-for-14 in the next three games, extending his streak with infield hits in each of the first two games in the series against his former Florida team.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/uggla-pushes-streak-to-1096175.html
