Braves Get Back in Win Column: W, 5-2

The Braves wasted little time getting back in the win column as they took care of the BayBears 5-2 in front of a Sunday afternoon crowd of 2,902 at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Braves (17-6) avoided their first ever two-game losing streak by riding the bat of Matt Esquivel and the arm of new MS Brave Brad Nelson (1-0, 2.70 ERA). With the win the Braves pushed their lead back to to 3 1/2 games in the South Division over the Birmingham Barons.

Braves starter Francisely Bueno (0-1, 4.15 ERA) was chased out of the ballgame in the first inning as Mark Reynolds belted a ball off the lower back of Bueno. He wanted to stay in the game but the coaching staff took him out for precautionary purposes. Brad Nelson made his first AA appearance in fine fashion limiting the BayBears (11-12) to just one run on 3 hits while picking up his first win as well.

Matt Esquivel was the story offensively as he scored his first three times to the plate on a walk, single and his
5th Homerun of the season, which came with two outs in the 5th inning. He is now tied with Brandon Jones with 17 RBIs. The Braves got another long ball in the 7th inning as Brent Lillibridge belted his first homer of the season to lead off the frame and complete the scoring for the Braves.

Ryan Basner and Zach Schreiber kept the BayBears off the scoreboard and kept their ERA's unblemisehd. Joey Devine tossed a perfect 9th inning for his League Leading 5th save of the season. The Braves ERA fell back to 2.38 and they moved back into first in the Southern League ahead of Birmingham - 2.58 ERA.

Matt Esquivel was the Braves Player of the Game as he finished the game 2-for-3 with a solo HR and 3 runs scored. Diory Hernandez had his fourth straight 2-hit game and raised his batting average to a team-best .383. Lillibridge and Jurich also collected 2-hit performances.

The Braves will continue a ten-day road trip with a five game set in Mobile, Alabama at Hank Aaron Stadium as they take on the Mobile BayBears, the AA Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in the Fourth Game of their Southern League Series. The Braves On Deck Circle presented by Wendy's will not air due to the Rebel Yell Hotline at 6pm (CT), while the First Pitch will follow at 7:05pm (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send LHP Dan Smith (3-1, 1.64 ERA) to the hill in search of his fourth win, while the BayBears will counter with RHP Matt Green (3-0, 0.86 ERA) who is seeking his fourth victory as well. Make sure you take your radio to the game and tune to the exclusive Hank Aaron Stadium frequency - 104.3-FM.

Check out the Braves Minute here. To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.

GAME TIME: 2:43 --- ATTENDANCE: 2,902

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 8-5 on the road.
* The Braves fell to 10-1 when hitting a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 5-1 when their opponenet scores first.
* The Braves improve to 14-0 when leading after eight innings.
* The Braves had their 8th multi-homer game of the season. They are now 2nd in the League with 21 HRs.
* The Braves registered 5 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $182 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (3 games or more):
* Van Pope - 3 games - (3-12, .250)
* Carl Loadenthal - 5 games - (8-19, .421)
* Diory Hernandez - 5 games - (9-18, .500)

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* Brent Lillibirdge (0-7) - (2-5, HR, Run, RBI)

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED
* Matt Esquivel (0-11) - (2-3, Run, Walk)

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS (More than 0-4)
* Brandon Jones (0-11) - Did Not Play
* Fernando Lunar (0-11) - Did Not Play
* Josh Burrus (0-11) - Pinch Hit in the 8th
* Jonathan Schuerholz (0-8) - Did Not Play

TRANSACTIONS:
* NONE

by
Bryan Eubank