The Good: Jorge Sosa shut out the Cardinals for 7 innings on only 4 hits, striking out 5, and walking 2. How can the Braves take this guy out of the rotation when John Thomson and Mike Hampton return this weekend? It appears Horacio Ramirez will be the 5th starter when they come back, despite his inability to get batters out on the road. Sosa has been the Braves’ 2nd best starter for a good month now. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! … Marcus Giles was 4-for-12 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs during the 3 games. … Jeff Francoeur is still scorching, going 5-for-13 in the series with 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs and another home run, his 8th. He has a 9-game hitting streak going. Amazingly, he has still yet to draw a walk (in 79 at-bats). When he finally does draw his first walk his teammates should request the ball be taken out of play so he can have it as a keepsake. … Andruw Jones was 3-for-9 with 5 RBIs and his 34th and 35th home runs, solidifying his major league lead in that category. … Upon rediscovering his split-fingered fastball, Tim Hudson notched his 8th win this season and 100th in his career, going 7 innings and allowing only 1 run. He allowed 6 hits, struck out 4, and walked just 1. … Wilson Betemit was 5-for-11 in the set.

The Bad: We now know John Smoltz is human. His 8-game winning streak is over as he 5 earned runs, 6 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. He struck out 6. … Macay McBride was battered Friday night for 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning. … Rafael Furcal is cooling off a bit, going 2-for-12 in the series. … Brian McCann was 1-for-8 in the series. … Adam LaRoche was 1-for-10 in the series. .. Chipper Jones has missed 5 straight games due to a right rotator cuff strain.

The Ugly: Another exceptional start by Sosa was wasted when Chris Reitsma gave up a walk-off grand slam to David Eckstein (of all people!) on Sunday. It’s looking more and more like the Braves will face the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. It also seems the Cardinals, as usual, have the Braves’ number this year. Hopefully once the Braves’ starting rotation is whole again, a solid pitching staff all-around will enable the Braves to compete with the likes of the Redbirds in October.