Tuesday, October 14, 2008

'69 Braves lose 8th in a row after being swept by '76 Phillies


The problems for the woeful 1969 Braves just keep on coming. After getting swept in their opening series by the '85 Dodgers the Braves managed to drop 4 more, this time to the 1976 Phillies.

In the opener we were treated to HOF matchup as Steve Carlton 2 hit the Braves for a 7-0 victory. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that his HOF adversary, Phil Niekro, had 1 of the Braves' 2 hits. Niekro managed to last 6 innings, but gave up 4 earner runs...6 all together. The first 6 hitters in Philly's lineup had at least 1 hit.

The Braves did manage to score in the second game, but still lost 8-2 as Jim Lonborg went the distance for Philadelphia. Bobby Tolan had 3 RBI's. Curiously the Braves did manage to get 11 hits, but somehow could only plate 2.

Hoping a change of scenery might do them some good the Braves were more than happy to leave home and head toward the city of Brotherly Love. Unfortunately the change in scenery would not jump start their anemic offense, nor would it provide them any victories. 8 straight losses to begin a KOD season is an official record, now held by this squad. In game 3 they were 4 hit by Jim Kaat. In game 4 they were 4 hit by Larry Christenson. 1 run in 2 games is not going to get it done. The Brave pitching was fine, giving up just 3 runs in each game. The sweep moved the Phils to .500 (4-4). Atlanta will head out to face the 1997 SF Giants and hope to break into the win column.

No comments: