As expected, Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki was paired with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on Saturday. It was Suzuki’s third start in the past four games, but manager Brian Snitker said he generally plans for Suzuki and Tyler Flowers to split catching duties.
“They are going to do a two-man job here,” Snitker said. “There is plenty (of work) for both of those guys right now. Neither of them guys are 23 years old. They are guys who have been around for a while. I think we will get some good production by keeping them both fresh.”
Flowers, Suzuki and No. 3 catcher Anthony Recker all worked with Dickey during spring training. Suzuki spent the most time with Dickey, and the players, both in their first season with the Braves, quickly developed a rapport.
Snitker said Suzuki is “a little more agile” than Flowers and thus better suited to receive Dickey’s unpredictable pitch. But Snitker said Flowers also did a good job catching Dickey. He said he’s comfortable matching Flowers with Dickey if Flowers has a good history against the opposing starting pitcher on that day.
“Eventually you are going to need them both to catch him, anyway,” Snitker said.
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