Atlanta Braves: A Rough Start To The 2008 Season

Becca Woolard — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:43:07 -0400

After losing Sunday night’s Major League Baseball opener at Washington in the bottom of the ninth, the Braves lost again Monday in a heart-breaking home opener.

With the exception of the first inning, Tim Hudson had a dominating performance that included seven innings of solid work, retiring the final 19 batters he faced.

After five innings of a 2-1 ballgame, the Braves finally evened up the score as Martin Prado scored on a passed ball by Paul Lo Duca in the top of the ninth.

Looking like it would go into extra innings with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Zimmerman did just what Braves relief pitcher Peter Moylan feared—he launched a shot to straightaway center field that ended the ballgame with a final score of 3-2.

In losing their first game, the Braves were determined to win Monday night’s home game opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With Tom Glavine making his first start back with the Braves following a five-year stint with the New York Mets, the Braves really wanted to win this one. After giving up only one earned run, Glavine was taken out of the game in the fifth inning.

From that point on, it was all downhill. The Braves' relievers were horrible, and gave up 10 runs (nine of which were earned) in seven innings of work. In addition to this, the Braves defense made three errors.

In the bottom of the ninth, down by five, the Braves decided they weren’t going down without a fight. After four walks, a two-run single by Chipper Jones, and a little miscommunication by Jason Bay and Nate McLouth, the game was tied and going into extra innings.

No runs were scored until the top of the 12th, but it was a three-run homer by Xavier Nady that ultimately broke the tie. The Braves battled it out in the bottom of the 12th with a homer by Jeff Francoeur and an RBI-single by Matt Diaz that scored Mark Kotsay.

Unfortunately the Braves fell just short for the second night in a row making their record 0-2 to start this season. The Braves take on the Pirates again Wednesday night at 7:10.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Becca Woolard

Atlanta Braves: A Rough Start To The 2008 Season