Braves 4, Padres 1: Friars take a series loss

While Johnny Wholestaff turned in impressive performances in his last two appearances, the amalgam of relief pitchers gave up four runs today while getting just a lone run in support from the offense. The end result disappointed, but there were some standout performances. Matt Strahm excelled in his 2.2 innings, giving up just one hit while fanning five. Craig Stammen looked pretty good, too, striking out three Braves over two frames.

The only runs Atlanta needed came in the fourth off José Castillo. Tyler Flowers hit a one-out single, then Castillo walked Ender Inciarte to put Flowers in scoring position. Castillo served Johan Camargo a sloppy slider, and he doubled it to left to put the Braves up 2-0.

Franmil Reyes and Eric Hosmer hit a couple of singles in the eighth to put runners on the corners with one out. Jose Pirela hit a fly to right field, bringing Reyes home and avoiding the shutout. The Friars weren’t going to climb out of the hole before the end of the game, but Brad Hand didn’t make it any easier. In the eighth inning he served a double to Nick Markakis before Flowers hammered a two run shot to center.

The Padres get a day off to regroup and head home, where they’ll see some interleague action. Eric Lauer will take on the A’s at 7:10 PM Tuesday.