NewsFrancoeur hopes work keeps paying off
Atlanta (26-25) vs. Chicago (25-25), 7 p.m. ET
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
06/03/09 3:10 AM ET
ATLANTA -- When Braves manager Bobby Cox gave him a day to rest during Sunday's series finale against the D-backs, Jeff Francoeur took advantage of the opportunity to take what he approximated as 400 swings in the batting cage. Then provided another chance to rest during the off-day that followed the Braves' seven-day road trip, Francoeur instead spent a portion of Monday attempting to regain the timing of his swing that had deserted him during a forgettable month of May. Francoeur's extra work seemingly paid dividends at Turner Field on Tuesday night, when he delivered a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth off Cubs closer Kevin Gregg. His first homer in a span of 108 at-bats served as the highlight of an impressive 6-5, 12-inning victory. "I want to get back to playing like myself, and it felt good to do it," Francoeur said. Francoeur will attempt to ride the momentum of this clutch blast on Wednesday night, when the Braves send ace Derek Lowe to the mound to oppose Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly. As the Braves continue to search for ways to fix their outfield woes, they've held out hope that Francoeur might once again start making the kind of contributions that were displayed on Tuesday night, when he also contributed his first career sacrifice bunt and showed great range in right field. Still feeling the energy created by game-tying homer, Francoeur took the field in the top half of the 10th inning and raced into the right-field corner to secure Ryan Theriot's long drive. The catch would prove to be huge when Kosuke Fukudome followed with a double into the left-field corner. "That's doing the little things when you're not swinging the bat all that great that you have to do to help a team win," Chipper Jones said. "Unfortunately, that bunt didn't help us win tonight. But it gives him peace of mind that he was out there delivering on a big level tonight." While hitting .219 with a .234 on-base percentage during the previous 27 games entering Tuesday, Francoeur found his confidence shaken. He'd started to disregard the altered plate approach he'd developed in the offseason and consequently found himself making some of the same mistakes that were present during his disappointing 2008 season. After delivering his shot on Tuesday night, Francoeur accurately remembered that his previous homer had occurred on May 1. With this latest long ball coming during the first game the Braves played in June, he also provided clear indication that he has no desire to wait until July before having another opportunity to practice his home run trot. "Hopefully, I won't have to wait a month in between home runs," Francoeur said. "I want to have a big June and help this team out." Pitching matchupATL: RHP Derek Lowe (6-3, 3.49 ERA)
Lowe proved to be his biggest critic after his last start, saying he "pitched poorly" against the D-backs on Thursday at Chase Field. The big right-hander gave up a season-high 10 hits in seven innings in the loss. He was charged with five runs (three earned) in the hard-luck loss. He has pitched at least seven innings in four of his past seven starts. He still ranks among the league leaders in wins, innings pitched and games started. CHC: LHP Ted Lilly (6-4, 3.50 ERA)
Lilly leads the Cubs in wins and quality starts (seven) after beating the Dodgers, 2-1, in his last start on Friday. He gave up four runs, including a homer by Matt Kemp that landed in the basket rimming the left-field bleachers. When he pitches seven or more innings, Lilly is 2-2 with a 1.55 ERA in four starts. He will miss Wrigley Field, as four of his six wins have come at home. Tidbits
If the Braves want to give Kenshin Kawakami some time to rest, they could choose to skip his next scheduled start and allow Tom Glavine to pitch in his place. Glavine tossed six scoreless innings for Class A Rome on Tuesday night. The Braves said they'll speak to Glavine on Wednesday and determine when it's best for him to make his season debut. ... The Cubs won each of the six games they played against the Braves last year. ... Garret Anderson went 134 at-bats without a homer before going deep on Sunday. He then needed just five more at-bats before recording his second homer of the season on Tuesday. Tickets
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• 640 WGST, Project 9-6-1 Up next
• Thursday: Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 5-2, 2.59) vs. Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 3-2, 4.22), 7:00 p.m. ET
• Friday: Braves (Javier Vazquez, 4-4, 3.58) vs. Brewers (Yovani Gallardo, 5-2, 3.18), 7:30 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Braves (Kris Medlen, 1-2, 6.28) vs. Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 3-4, 5.09), 7:00 p.m. ET
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
