7/6/2081 to 7/9/2081
The Denver Broncos (44-39)
AT
The Atlanta Braves (32-51)
Pitching Matchups:
LH Robert McNett (8-6, 5.26 ERA) VS. RH Tony Testa (2-7, 6.23 ERA)
RH Tony Rivera (4-4, 5.98 ERA) VS. RH Thomas Sanchez (7-6, 5.49 ERA)
RH Larry Waltz (0-1, 4.11 ERA) VS. RH Jack Patrick (2-10, 6.24 ERA)
RH Kenny Pillsbury (8-7, 4.68 ERA) VS. RH Orestes Fernandez (1-2, 5.89 ERA)
Ellis Bolling and
Robert McNett combined to
give the Broncos a 6-2 victory over Atlanta, in the first game of a four game series with the Braves.
Bolling gave the team an early lead, with a two run homer in the first inning, and then secured the victory by hitting a grand slam in the third. McNett, meanwhile, was dominating. He pitched a complete game, 3 hitter, and struck out 8 batters.
Russell Thomas extended his hitting streak to 24 games, with a 2 hit performance.
******
Russell Thomas extended his hitting streak to 25 games by hitting a first inning, solo home run, in the second game of the Atlanta series. Unfortunately, the Broncos couldn't muster much else. The Braves tied the game up in the bottom of the 1st, and took the lead in the 4th inning. Neither team couldn't muster any more offense, and
the Braves snuck past the Broncos by a score of 2-1.
Tony Rivera, despite walking 5 batters, had an effective start, He pitched 7 2/3 innings and allowed just the two runs.
******
The third game of the Atlanta series will sting for awhile for the Broncos.
Lee Chappel gave the team an early lead with a first inning home run, and the game stayed that way until the 8th inning. The Broncos added a second run, and seemed like they might prevail. But then pitcher,
Larry Waltz, who was making just his second start of the season and had completely shut down the Braves for seven innings, imploded in disastrous fashion.
First, it was a 3 run homer to
Lawrence Sica that lost the lead. Two batters later,
Wayne Koeller put one into the seats as well. Waltz, his composure lost, hit the next batter,
Roger Attaway, with a pitch. Attaway, naturally, charged the mound, sparking a brawl that got both he and Waltz ejected. Things unraveled further, as Waltz's replacement,
Steven Andrade promptly gave up 4 hits and 3 runs to give the Braves a 7-2 lead.
Denver refused to go down without a fight, however. They plated two runs in 9th, and had the bases loaded for
Ellis Bolling with two outs. Bolling struck out, and
the Broncos lost, 7-4.
Russell Thomas extended his hitting streak to 26 games with a 3 hits, 2 RBI performance.
Waltz finished with 7 1/3 innings pitched, and 4 runs allowed.
******
Ellis Bolling couldn't come through in the previous game, but made up for that as the Broncos salvaged a split with Atlanta,
winning the 4th game of the series, 4-3 in 11 innings.
Bolling's 2nd inning homer gave the Broncos an early lead. In the fifth, the Braves took a 2-1 lead, and the game stayed that way until the 9th inning. With things looking bleak for Denver,
Tomas Sato tied the game up with a run scoring single to force extra innings.
In the 11th inning, Bolling hit his second home run of the game, a two run shot. The second run became all the more important when the Braves managed to get a run across in the bottom of the 11th.
Kenny Pillsbury pitched 9 strong innings, striking out 5. Bolling finished with 3 hits and 3 RBI.
Russell Thomas had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 27 games.