Bad Calls Crush Braves

The Atlanta Braves just fell victim to some of the WORST officiating in the history of baseball. With 2 outs and men on 1st and 3rd in the 9th inning, Pittsburgh Pirate Andy LaRoche took strike three. This pitch should have ended the inning, but the bum behind home plate erroneously called it ball 3. LaRoche was granted new life vs Braves reliever Rafael Soriano. Andy drilled a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a 2 run single, that turned out to be the difference in today's game.

The Braves had a potential 9th inning rally cut short, as the umpires blew another call. A single by Kelly Johnson would have brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the Atlanta 9th. But, Johnson was called out at first base. The throw from Adam LaRoche to Matt Capps clearly did not beat Kelly to the bag. Replays showed Johnson touching first base in a perfectly synchronized stride with the Pittsburgh pitcher. A tie is supposed to go to the runner. Unfortunately, the 1B umpire made a horrible call, and ruled the runner out. With 2 gone and all momentum lost, catcher Brian McCann struck out to end the game.

Tough loss for the Braves, who just fell to 29-30 and are now 6 games behind the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies. After a disappointing home stand (4-5), the Braves travel to Baltimore. Friday night's game is scheduled for 7:05 ET, as highly touted rookie, Tommy Hanson (9.00 ERA) will square off against the Orioles' Jason Berken (7.04 ERA). The Braves must put together some wins, or their season could be over before the 4th of July.

Moylan's meltdown

The Atlanta Braves, sparked offensively by former Pirate Nate McLouth (3-5 with a HR), took a 6-3 lead into the 7th inning against Pittsburgh. Then came Peter Moylan and his 5.40 ERA. The Braves reliever gave up 4 hits and allowed 3 earned runs in a very poor performance out of the bullpen. Atlanta had a firm grasp on this game, until Moylan was allowed to put his Australian fingerprints on the baseball. The Braves led 5-1 after 5 innings. Kenshin Kawakami gave up 2 runs in the 6th, but Moylan's 7th inning meltdown cost him a chance to win his 4th game of the season. This one is headed for extra innings, as Chipper Jones just missed a walk off homerun. Rafael Soriano is on the mound for Atlanta.