hot ’lanta

Witnessed first-hand the hottest game ever at Atlanta’s Turner Field (or Fulton County Stadium, for that matter) on Saturday. It was actually a pretty cool experience. Saw eight former Mississippi Braves contribute in the 7-5 win over first-place Washington and ace Stephen Strasburg. Scuffling Mike Minor got a much-needed win. Martin Prado and Jason Heyward had big hits, and the amazing Andrelton Simmons had three of the Braves’ nine total. Craig Kimbrel was sensational as usual in notching his 23rd save. Brandon’s Tyler Moore played well for Washington, getting an RBI infield hit and drawing a walk. P.S. Lance Lynn, the former Ole Miss standout, once looked like a lock for the All-Star Game. Now, after three straight rocky outings, not so much. The St. Louis right-hander gave up four first-inning runs (and six all told) on Saturday in a loss against Pittsburgh and has yielded 17 runs in his last 15 1/3 innings. He has lost two straight decisions to slip to 10-4 with a 3.62 ERA. … Zack Cozart, another UM product, ended San Francisco’s shutout streak at four games with a leadoff home run against Matt Cain on Friday night, sparking a 5-1 Cincinnati win. Then he doubled and scored a run in a 2-1 victory on Saturday. Cozart, who’s had some cold snaps, is at .249 for the year but has eight homers and 44 runs for the first-place Reds.