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Upton, Heyward spark Braves past Marlins

By WTOP Staff

GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Justin Upton is having quite a month.

Upton homered and had three RBIs, Jason Heyward drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 on Friday night for their third straight win.

With 28 RBIs in 25 games since Aug. 1, Upton considers this to be the best month of his eight-year career. It’s helped give him a career-high 91 RBIs this season, three more than he had in 2011 with Arizona.

“Yeah, the guys on front of me have been getting on base, and I’ve been fortunate to get some hits,” Upton said. “As far as run producing, it’s probably been the best.”

The Braves, winners in 10 of 14, began the night 1 1/2 games back in the NL wild-card standings, but are just 19-21 since the All-Star break.

Andrelton Simmons led off the seventh against Chris Hatcher (0-2) with a bunt single and advanced to third on pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena’s single.

Simmons scored on Heyward’s RBI single off Mike Dunn to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. Upton’s RBI single off Sam Dyson drove in Heyward from second and Emilio Bonifacio also scored to make it 5-2 when center fielder Marcell Ozuna misplayed the ball.

It was a good example of the Braves trying to manufacture a run instead of taking their usual free-swinging, strikeout-prone approach.

“We’re going to have to do that if we’re going to win,” Upton said. “Every night’s not going to be a three-run homer. We’re going to have to find ways to scratch runs across. We did that tonight.”

Jordany Valdespin tied it at 2-all in the Miami seventh with a pinch-hit homer, the seventh of his career, off reliever David Carpenter (5-3).

Braves starter Ervin Santana allowed one run, five hits, four walks and struck out seven in six innings.

Marlins starter Tom Koehler walked Freddie Freeman to begin the sixth and gave up Upton’s 26th homer, a long shot deep into the seats in left-center, for a 2-1 Atlanta lead.

“I just got a good pitch to hit,” Upton said. “In that situation I was just trying to get on base behind Freddie and squared it up.”

Koehler gave up two runs and four hits with three walks and six strikeouts in six innings.

The Marlins have dropped three straight and five of six.

Santana needed 32 pitches to finish the first inning, walking three straight batters to load the bases, but escaped the jam by striking out Garrett Jones on three pitches and retiring Marcell Ozuna on a flyout.

In the sixth, Ozuna doubled into the right-field corner off Santana, scoring Casey McGehee from second to make it 1-0, but Garrett Jones was thrown out at the plate on second baseman Tommy La Stella’s relay throw to catcher Evan Gattis.

“When you talk about winning games this time of year, you’ve got to make plays,” Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. “The team that makes plays and gets big hits wins ball games.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Redmond said that RHP Dan Jennings, out since Aug. 8 with a concussion, was making a rehab start Friday and could rejoin the team soon.

Braves: LHP Jonny Venters, who last pitched in 2012, said that he will undergo elbow ligament replacement surgery for the third time and added that “it never crossed my mind” to retire.

UP NEXT

Marlins RHP Jarred Cosart (11-8) beat the Braves 6-1 on June 26 while pitching for Houston.

Braves RHP Aaron Harang (10-8) is winless with a 5.18 ERA in four starts this year and 5-5 with a 5.99 in 17 career starts against the Marlins.

STAYING HOT

Closer Craig Kimbrel, the fourth Atlanta pitcher, earned his 40th save in 44 chances after facing the minimum in the ninth. … Upton went 2 for 4 and is hitting.307 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in his 52 games since the start of July. … The Braves improved to 69-44 dating back to last season with Heyward batting leadoff.

STILL COLD

Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman went 0 for 3 and his hitting .056 in 54 at-bats against the Marlins this season. … Jones dropped to 1 for 12 with the bases loaded this year. … Braves CF B.J. Upton was out of the lineup for the fourth time in seven games. After hitting a modest .255 in 98 at-bats in July, he’s hitting .115 in August.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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