ATLANTA — Evan Gattis kept up an amazing rookie season with his first grand slam, B.J. Upton and Ramiro Pena also homered, and the Atlanta Braves finished off a sweep of the woeful Minnesota Twins with an 8-3 rout on Wednesday.

The Braves stretched their winning streak to six games with a second straight series sweep, making things easy for starter Paul Maholm (6-4). The left-hander held the Twins to an unearned run in 7 1-3 innings.

With the Braves already leading 4-0, Gattis struck again less than 24 hours after his two-out, pinch-homer in the ninth allowed the Braves to pull out a 5-4 win over the Twins in extra innings.

He was swinging away on a 3-0 pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth and launched an opposite-field drive just inside the right-field pole for the 10th homer of his improbable debut season.

As Gattis rounded the bases, the theme from “The Natural” played over the speakers at Turner Field. In the Atlanta dugout, Upton looked on in disbelief, both arms in the air as if to say, “Is this really happening?”

Believe it. The 26-year-old Gattis made the team as a non-roster player in spring training after quitting baseball during college, working a variety of odd jobs, and dealing with bouts of depression that had him contemplating suicide. He still has a picture of his ID card from working as a janitor on his Twitter page.

He eventually returned to baseball after completing a spiritual journey. He got extensive playing time in April while the Braves battled injuries, earning the NL rookie of the month honors, and he’s making the most of his more limited chances in May.

Gattis’ dramatic homer Tuesday was his third as a pinch-hitter, and it was the fourth time he’s hit a tying or go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later. He got the start at catcher for the series finale, giving Brian McCann the day off.

Vance Worley (1-5) had another dismal outing for Minnesota, failing to make it through the fourth as the Twins lost their eighth in a row. He surrendered eight runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings, also hitting two batters and walking two more. His ERA climbed to 7.21, and it would have been worse if Pena had not been thrown out at the plate in the first attempting to score on a flyout to left fielder Josh Willingham.

Immediately after the game, Worley was demoted to Triple-A Rochester.

Before leaving, Worley’s horrendous problems in the first continued when he surrendered two hits and a walk, including Jason Heyward’s run-scoring single. In 10 starts, the right-hander had allowed 17 runs and 24 hits in the opening inning.

Atlanta made it 3-0 in the third. Pena hit his second homer of the season and, after Worley plunked a pair of hitters, Chris Johnson came through with a two-out single to bring in another run.

The Braves blew it open in the fourth. Upton, hitting just .153 coming in, led off with a homer into the seats in left-center. After Maholm’s flyout, Jordan Schafer singled, Heyward singled, Freddie Freeman walked and Gattis went deep to finish off the Twins.

Minnesota’s only run off Maholm came after Johnson’s error at third base set up Justin Morneau’s RBI single in the sixth.

Aaron Hicks and pinch-hitter Oswaldo Arcia homered in the ninth off Cory Rasmus, making his major league debut.

NOTES: The Twins placed 3B Trevor Plouffe on the seven-day DL with a concussion. He took a blow to the head in the 10th inning of Tuesday night’s game while breaking up an attempted double play. … Minnesota called up former independent league star Chris Colabello, who was batting .358 at Triple-A Rochester and leading the International League with 12 homers and a .659 slugging percentage. Colabello got the news after midnight on a bus ride from Allentown back to Rochester, just made an early morning flight to Atlanta and was in the lineup for the 12:10 p.m. start, playing right field and batting sixth. He went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. … The Braves already have swept five series this season. … Rasmus is the younger brother of Toronto OF Colby Rasmus.

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Tags: sports, baseball, twins, updates

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West Fargo – Jumping events are a big part to any track and field meet, and few take to the air better than the West Fargo senior trio of Jordan Bishoff, Jaime Heinen-Lugert and Christina Bruenjes.

Bishoff, Heinen-Lugert and Bruenjes will be taking their jumping exploits to the North Dakota Class A state meet at the Community Bowl in Bismarck one last time before wrapping up their prep careers.

Each is competing in four events – the maximum number allowed – and each enters the state meet as the top performer in at least one jumping event.

“All three have taken all their experiences they have had and now that they are seniors, they are going to put it all together,” said West Fargo boys and girls coach Darin McKinnon said. “All three are going to take every opportunity at the state meet this weekend. This is what they have been building for, and I think they are going to make the best of it and perform well.”

Heinen-Lugert holds the state’s top jumps in both the long and triple jumps this spring at 24 feet, 3 inches and 47-2 respectively. He won state titles in both events last season. Heinen-Lugert is also entered in the 100 meters and the high jump.

“I got to make sure I’m going into the meet healthy,” Heinen-Lugert said. “I have to keep the right mindset and just do the best I can in each event.”

Heinen-Lugert is coming off a record-setting East Region meet. He scored a total of 38 points for the Packers, who took home team titles in both the boys and girls competition.

His jumps in the long and triple jumps broke East Region meet and stadium records. His triple jump mark ranks second all-time on the state’s unofficial record performance list.

Besides his individual events, Heinen-Lugert hopes to break Bismarck and Bismarck Century’s reign at the top of the team race.

“Bismarck might be tough to catch, but it would be nice to finish between Bismarck and Bismarck Century,” Heinen-Lugert said. “Those two schools have gone 1-2 the last 10 years. Breaking that up and getting an East team in there would be awesome.”

Bruenjes is also defending a state title this year. Bruenjes, who is committed to North Dakota State for track and field, has won three consecutive triple jump titles and hopes to match her big sister, Brittany Bruenjes, who won four triple jump titles and one long jump title for Valley City High School.

“The big motivating factor is that it’s a family rivalry,” Bruenjes said. “She has four triple jump titles, but then she also coaches (Natalee Todd) the state’s second-ranked triple jumper from Bismarck. That adds a little fire to it too.”

Bruenjes, who also competes in the long jump, the 100 meters and the 100-meter hurdles, jumped a personal best 37-8¾ at the East Region meet.

“I’m looking for a 38-foot jump at state,” Bruenjes said. “That’s my big goal, but to be able to defend my title would be nice too.”

Bishoff, who is committed to North Dakota State for track and field, competes in the high jump, long jump, javelin and 110-meter hurdles.

Bishoff’s top finish at the state meet was a runner-up showing in the high jump last year.

This year, Bishoff has the top mark in the high jump at 6-8, two inches better than the next qualifier, who happens to be Heinen-Lugert at 6-6.

“It’s been a lot of mental preparation,” Bishoff said. “If you do what you can and do your best, you will get it. If you go into state overly nervous because you are ranked No. 1, then you won’t get it.

“I just got to take it one event at a time,” Bishoff added. “Priority No. 1 is the high jump the first day … Then on Saturday hopefully, I can score some points in the other events.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Tom Mix at (701) 241-5562

Tags: high school sports, sports, packers, boys, girls, track

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