Mike Minor News

Martin Prado was at third base Sunday night, his second game at the position this season and a move from his left field position.

You know that nosy neighbor or "friend" who can pop in at the most unwanted times? Tonight's Braves-Nationals series finale seems to have that feel to me.

Albert Pujols hit a home run in his third straight game and pinch hitter Alberto Callaspo came through with a grand slam in the sixth inning to give the Los Angeles Angels a 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

The Braves put up a valiant effort against Stephen Strasburg today, but the bullpen was unable to hold against a suddenly white-hot Nationals offense.

Bryce Harper homered and Danny Espinosa added a three-run shot to help Washington strengthen its hold on first place in the NL East by beating the reeling Atlanta Braves 8-4 on Saturday.

ATLANTA - The Washington Nationals embarked Monday on a nine-game, 10-day road trip they would use to measure themselves against the National League East .

Much has been made here and elsewhere about the Braves' record with and without Chipper Jones in the lineup, and more will be now that he's on the 15-day disabled list due to the slow healing process of his nasty lower-leg contusion.

The Braves hope to break out of a slump today but will face Washington's young fireballer, Stephen Strasburg .

Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front at 1:03 into overtime and the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 to advance to their first Stanley Cup finals since 2003.

There are not many good things to say about this series, as the Reds utilized the long ball to sweep the Braves .

Starting tonight in Atlanta, the Nationals will receive the kind of test that has remained absent since their first season in Washington.

As lonely as it might feel to be Mike Minor these days, in the midst of such a trying stretch in his young career with the Braves, there is somebody who knows exactly what he feels like.

Since we've bombarded you with almost exclusively bad news here from the Queen City these past few days, let's start with a bit of good news: Martin Prado 's bat is blazing.

When Reds pitcher Mike Leake hit his first career home run Monday night off Braves starter Mike Minor at Great American Ballpark, it landed directly in the lap of 20-year-old casual-turned-hardcore fan Caleb Lloyd , who was sitting at the edge of the left field bleachers.

Day 3 in the Queen City, and the Braves are still looking for their first win in this four-game series against the Reds, who've played ball the last two nights as if someone left the ballpark in a dryer too long and shrunk it.

Everybody's been so busy congratulating Derek Jeter for not being finished that we seem not to have noticed that he's got a .683 OPS in May.

It was only a couple months ago that the Atlanta Braves were nearing the end of spring training and questioning a struggling offense that had seemingly carried over from the previous season.

Welcome to the abbreviated blog, wherein we'll discuss the worst-to-first nature of the Braves' first two pitchers in this series - Mike Minor last night, Brandon Beachy tonight - and the ridiculous odds defied by a fan catching home runs hit by consecutive batters three pitches apart.

Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman was placed on the DL on Sunday and he received his MRI results yesterday.

Braves right-hander Brandon Beachy enters Tuesday's game against the Reds leading the Major Leagues with a 1.33 ERA following his first career shutout last Thursday.