Georgia sports for Friday, August 3rd

A wild and tough loss for the Braves last night, falling 12-11 in 14 innings to the Astros from Turner Field in Atlanta.

Houston pitcher Jason Jennings was used as a pinch-hitter in the 14th, and came up with an RBI-single off Oscar Villareal for the eventual winning margin. Before that point, the Braves turned-around an earlier 5-1 deficit into a 9-5 lead by the 6th inning. The offensive comeback included a Mark Teixeira 2-run homer, Willie Harris' 2-RBI triple, and a 2-run double from Jeff Francouer. However, an 8th inning Houston grand slam set the table for extra innings. For the night, the Braves pounded-out 22 hits. They've scored in double-digits in 4 straight games (49 runs with 68 hits).

The Braves have now fallen to 4-and-a-half games behind the Mets for 1st in the NL-East division. One injury note from last night: Shortstop Edgar Renteria suffered a right ankle sprain in the 8th inning. It's expected he might miss a few games at the least.


From the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons are into their 2nd week of training camp workouts at team headquarters in Flowery Branch. The team is looking ahead to their preseason opener, next Friday in New York to clash with the Jets.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, August 1st

The Braves opened their 6-game homestand in grand style last night, blasting the Astros 12-4 in the 1st of 3 games from Turner Field.

There were 4 Atlanta home runs--2 from Kelly Johnson along with 5 RBI's. Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer also went deep. Chuck James earned the pitching win, his 9th of the season.

Earlier Tuesday, the Braves finalized three trades, which bolstered the lineup and bullpen. Slugging 1st baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay come over from Texas. The Braves acquired closer Octavio Dotel from Kansas City, along with pitcher Royce Ring from San Diego. Of the players traded away yesterday, that included young catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia going to the Rangers. For the Braves tonight, Teixeira is expected to make his Atlanta debut at 1st base.

Go to GPB Sports Insider for more on the Braves' trades.