NL Wild Card Race

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The NL Wild Card race is a close one! With the Cardinals only one game behind the Braves (and the Giants four games behind), the teams will have to play their hardest to make it to the playoffs. The Braves are currently playing the Phillies (at Atlanta) and the Cardinals are taking on the Astros (at Houston). Click on the map below to take a closer look at how these teams have been playing on the respective field.

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Keys to the Game: Braves Vs. Nationals September 23, 2011

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The slumping Atlanta Braves hope they can spoil the Nationals’ current five game winning streak and knock around young phenom Stephen Strasburg. While Strasburg has yet to post a decision in his first three starts after returning to the Majors from Tommy John surgery, he has been dominant, allowing only two Earned Runs in 14 innings, for a miniscule 1.29 ERA. Fortunately, for Braves fans, Atlanta will send Nats slayer, Tim Hudson (15-10, 3.19 ERA) to the hill tonight. Hudson is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts against the Washington his season. Check out Hudson’s success against the Nationals in 2011.

ERs Allowed (Blue), HRs Allowed (Orange) & Strikeouts (Green)

Dan Uggla has Strasbourg’s number, going 3-for-4 with a Home Run against the National’s “Franchise” last season. Check out how tonight’s Brave’s lineup has performed against Washington this season.

RBIs (Blue), Hits (Orange) & Total Bases (Green)

In control of their post-season fate, the Braves must finish off the season strongly if they hope to hold off surging St. Louis.

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Giant Spoiler?

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Five and a half games behind the Diamondbacks for the NL West and three and half games behind the Braves for the Wild Card is it improbably but not impossible for the San Francisco Giants to make the playoffs. The Giants have been on a tear, winning nine out of their last ten games due in part to the production of September call ups, Brett Pill, Justin Christian and Brandon Crawford. Check out how these recent additions have preformed over the past week.

Hits (Blue), At-Bats (Orange) & Total Bases (Green)

The Giant’s one loss in their past ten games was at the hands of their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hardly anything could give the struggling Dodgers more pleasure then virtual eliminating the Giants with a victory in tonight’s series and season finale between these two. Compare the offenses of the Giants and Dodgers.

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NL Wild Card Race

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It wasn’t too long ago that the Atlanta Braves seemed to have the NL Wild Card race wrapped up; however, the St. Louis Cardinals are making them rethink that. The Cardinals, who have won 12 of their last 14 games, are only one and a half games behind the Braves in the Wild Card Race. As the Braves have been falling apart lately with a struggling offense and pitching rotation, the Cardinals seem to be clicking. The Cardinals will face the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros in their upcoming games. Take a look at how the Cardinals have been playing against their upcoming competitors. Do you think they will surpass the Braves?

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Stumblin’ Bumblin’ Braves

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Atlanta’s fantastic Rookie Closer, Craig Kimbrel, has begun to falter, blowing two saves in his last four changes. His second Home Run allowed in as many days was especial devastating, as the Marlins’ Omar Infante’s two Run blast on Florida’s last strike last evening propelled the Fish to a walk off 6-5 victory and robbed the Braves of a much-needed win. Since August 23rd the Braves have gone 9-15. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have won 17 of 24 games and cut Atlanta’s 10.5 game Wild Card lead to two and a half. Over this stretch, Atlanta has been outscored 105 to 81.
Check out how Atlanta’s top batters have performed since August 23rd.

Hits (Blue), At-Bats (Orange) & RBIs (Green)

With the red-hot Cardinals and defending World Series Champions, San Francisco Giants chomping at their tail and eight tough games left against the Marlins, Nationals and Phillies, can the Braves maintain their lead and avoid a collapse of epic proportions?

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How Many Bases Will Michael Bourn Steal From September 12 to September 18?

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Atlanta center fielder Michael Bourn is leading the Majors with 49 Stolen Bases. Bourn has only been caught 12 times for a fantastic success rate of over 80%. Even more amazing is that Bourn attempts to steal second every third time he reaches first base. Use SAP’s Baseball Analytics to guess how many Bases Michael Bourn will Steal from September 12 to September 18.

Summary: Click here for some guesses for how many Bases Michael Bourn will Steal from September 12 to September 18.

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Keys to the Game: Braves Vs. Phillies, September 5, 2011

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Cliff Lee (15-7, 2.59 ERA) seeks his seventh straight victory tonight, when the Philadelphia Phillies host the NL Wild Card leading Atlanta Braves. Lee has pitched 20 and 2/3 straight shutout innings and has a 1.14 ERA and a 5.0 Strikeout to Walk ratio in his last six starts. Atlanta will counter with Derek Lowe (9-12, 4.52 ERA), who has been quite mercurial over his last six starts going 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA and 2.38 Strikeout to Walk ratio. Check out each hurler’s numbers in their last six starts.

ERs Allowed (Blue), Strikeouts (Orange) & Walks (Green)

Even though the teams have split the season series 6-6, the Phillies have outscored the Braves 49 to 37.  Philadelphia’s staring lineup tonight has hit 104 total bases against Atlanta compared to 88 total bases the tonight’s Braves’ starting lineup has hit against Philadelphia.  Compare the numbers of tonight’s Braves’ and Phillies‘ starting lineups against each other.

ATL: RBIs (Blue), Runs Scored (Orange) & Total Bases (Green)

PHI: RBIs (Blue), Runs Scored (Orange) & Total Bases (Green)

Philadelphia is 0-3 against the Braves when Lee is starting this season.  Will Atlanta snap Lee’s winning streak, or can the Phillies’ bats finally give Lee enough run support to collect his first win against their divisional rival?

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Rookie Record

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With his 41st save of the season last evening, Atlanta Braves’ closer Craig Kimbrel set the record for most saves by a Rookie. Kimbrel’s 41 saves leads the Majors and his 1.64 ERA is the lowest amongst regular closers. Check out Kimbrel’s awesome numbers.

Also, Kimbrel’s 3.2 WAR is the highest amongst all Major League relievers and Rookies.  With such fantastic numbers, Kimbrel will most likely be the NL Rookie of the Year.  Even though Kimbrel has proven to be the best reliever in baseball this season, can his success continue into October and help lead Atlanta to their first NLDS appearance since 2005?

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Will Michael Bourn Steal his 50th Base of the Season this Week?

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Summary: Click here for some guesses to see if Michael Bourn will Steal his 50th Base this week.

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Uggla’s Bright Streak in an Ugly Season

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Atlanta Brave’s Second Baseman, Dan Uggla, is in the midst of a League best 28 game hitting streak.  However, the 2011 season has been Uggla’s worst as he is currently batting only .220.  Before the streak started the former Sliver Slugger was batting only .173.  During the past 28 games Uggla has batted .355, sent 12 balls out of the park and has a higher slugging percentage, .727, than his 2011 OPS of .716. Check out how Uggla stacks up with Atlanta’s other bats.

Uggla returns to Miami tonight as the Braves open a three game series against his former team, the Florida Marlins.  Lets see how the team’s offenses compare.

Can Uggla keep his hitting streak alive against the Marlins and continue to begin to justify his five-year, $62 million contract extension?

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