Monday, June 23, 2008

Teixeira lights it up against M's with 3 homers

The old Mark Teixeira has resurfaced. With the Braves trying to keep pace in the NL East they need all the extra power in the lineup possible. Luckily for them though they were facing the worst team in baseball at the moment in the Seattle Mariners. Behind 7 strong innings from Tim Hudson and Teixeira's pop (3 HR, 4 RBIs) at the plate the Braves went to triumph 8-3. With Chipper Jones absence due to injury Atlanta have a reliable hitter to fill the void. Catcher Brian McCain has the best average as regular starter without Jones in the lineup at .310. He also smacked a homerun in the 4th inning, his 14th of the season.

The main veteran leader now is Mark Teixeira who will be expected to be up the slack until the Braves other star slugger returns. Improving to 38-39 the Braves are 4 games back in the division. If they can hang up until the All-Star with Chipper vying for a Triple Crown this season ( 16 HR, 46 RBIs, .393 AVG ) they probably need extra pitching in their rotation to compete with the Mets and Phillies. Although Teixeira may not be voted into the All-Star game he's going to have an impact on the Braves run down the stretch. He's well on his way to a banner year!

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