Atlanta Braves: Regular season results – MLB April 2011
After giving impressive results during Spring Training, Atlanta Braves were looking to produce similar performances in the 2011 regular season as well. Crushing Washington Nationals 2-0 in game one, they got off to a flying start in a three match series.
Although they lost their way a bit in game two, they were back to their very best in the third and final games to clinch their first series win of the season.
Tim Hudson gave a dominating pitching performance for the Braves as the National League west side secured a huge 11-2 win over the Nationals.
"It gave me some padding for landing," said Hudson, who came out of the slide with a minor abrasion on his knee. "This is the first time I've had a strawberry in a long time. A little battle wound."
"[Saturday] he went 0 for 5 with five bullets, and today probably the softest ball he hit went for a base hit," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Prado.
The Braves had a solid start to their four match series against Milwaukee Brewers as they managed to get over the finish line in a competitive 2-1 clash in game one. However, following that win, Fredi Gonzalez and his men failed to maintain the same level
of game play. Losing three straight games, the Braves let the opposition secure a comfortable 3-1 series victory.
Looking to change the course of their campaign, the Braves displayed some high quality baseball in their next three match series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Outplaying their opponents in almost all areas of the game, they won the first game 6-3 to
take a 1-0 lead in the series. Chipper Jones hit a go ahead three run double in the fourth inning and the Braves eased past the Phillies.
However, once again, they failed to maintain their good form in the later parts of the series and Philadelphia Phillies battled back to win the series. Similar trend of play was observed in a three match series against the Florida Marlins. The Braves won
the first game comprehensively, courtesy of Tommy Hanson who pitched over seven innings to earn his first win of the regular season.
Brian McCann homered and Chipper Jones drove in two runs to help the Braves secure a destructive 5-0 win. However, they made crucial unforced errors in the following two games to suffer another series loss. With series wins over the New York Mets, San Francisco
Giants and San Diego Cardinals, the Braves ended the month of April with a decent 13-15 win-loss record. The Braves were looking to build some confidence in the team and become more competitive against some of the top tier teams in the league.
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