Atlanta Braves starter Mike Minor has been a changed man since being skipped in the rotation in early August. Minor’s last three starts have been very good, including Friday night in Cincinnati where he carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning.
The left-hander pitched 7 2/3 no-hit innings until Reds speedy centerfielder blooped a single to center that scored Zack Cozart from second after he walked earlier in the inning. No worries, one of the hottest hitters in the game Justin Upton launched a 2-run homer in the 12th inning lifting the Braves over the Reds 3-1.
The offensive hero for the Braves Justin Upton extended his hit streak to 13 games going 3-6 with a triple and the go-ahead 2-run homer in the 12th. Upton is now batting .413 with 8 XBH’s, 5 HR’s, and 20 RBI’s. This is by far Justin Upton’s best stretch of his career, putting his name in the NL MVP race.
Minor was removed after the base hit by Hamilton, his final line in the box score came out to 7 2/3 innings, one hit, one run, four walks, and five strikeouts. This is the Mike Minor the Braves came to know and love last year; he is stepping up his game at the right time as the Braves look to make a postseason run.
Before Upton put the Braves ahead in the 12th inning, the only run the Braves could scratch across was an RBI fielder’s choice by Tommy La Stella in the third inning. Atlanta had plenty of base runners reach base, eleven hits and six walks. They just could not break through with a big 2-out hit, as they finished the game going 1-8 with RISP. If Reds shortstop Zack Cozart did not make a diving stop on La Stella’s hard hit ball in the third, Mike Minor and the Braves could have beaten the Reds in 9 innings instead of the twelve innings it actually took.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez managed the bullpen spectacularly saving Craig Kimbrel to close it out in the 12th inning. Walden, Carpenter, Varvaro, and Hale did a great job manning down the fort bridging the gap for Kimbrel. The All-Star closer notched his 38th save of the season tying Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez for the NL lead in saves.
With the Braves win Friday night they are now six games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL Eastern division as Washington lost to the San Francisco Giants 10-3. With the Giants victory the Braves are still 1 game back for the second Wild Card spot.