Jurrjens, veterans combine to carry load for Braves

Philadelphia — He was barely 22, a rookie competing for the Braves’ fifth starter job in 2008 spring training. But as one veteran after another got hurt, Jair Jurrjens got bumped rung-by-rung up the rotation ladder.

Until finally, when Tim Hudson blew out his elbow after the All-Star break, Jurrjens was the de facto ace of the rotation. If there were ever training wheels for the right-hander, they were long gone by July.

“He was carrying the load for half the year, and handled it great,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Jurrjens, scheduled to start against Philadelphia Tuesday in the second game of the season (the teams were off Monday).

Jurrjens will face 46-year-old Phillies left-hander Jamie Moyer, who was a Chicago Cubs rookie in 1986, the year that Jurrjens was born in Curacao.

Jurrjens ended up as the Braves’ 2008 team leader in wins (13), starts (31), innings (188-1/3) and strikeouts (131), and finished third in voting for National League Rookie of the Year. He went 13-10 with a 3.68 ERA.

Team officials thanked him for the stalwart performance, then set about making sure the youngster wouldn’t have to shoulder as much of the burden in 2009.

General manager Frank Wren bolstered the rotation by signing veteran Derek Lowe and Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami, and trading for workhorse Javier Vazquez.

Suddenly, Jurrjens was surrounded by a healthy duo (Lowe and Vazquez) capable of producing at least 400 innings and 30 wins; a 33-year-old former Japanese League star; and Tom Glavine, baseball’s only active 300-game winner.

Cox said he thought it might take some pressure off Jurrjens, who said he was excited to have veterans setting the tone for the rotation.

“It’s always a great feeling when you have experience,” Jurrjens said. “To have veterans like Vazquez and Lowe makes my job a little easier. I can just go out and do my thing, not try to do too much.”

Lowe was superb in his Braves debut Sunday, pitching eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a season-opening 4-1 win at Philadelphia.

Vazquez is set to pitch against the Phillies on Wednesday, with Lowe to start Friday’s home opener against Washington after another off day.

Jurrjens pitched 45 more innings last season than his previoius high in four full seasons of pro ball. After going 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 16 starts through June, he was 5-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts the rest of the way.

He never complained about the workload or said he felt any added pressure.

“He’s a great kid,” said Cox, who cites composure and extreme competitiveness as traits that separate Jurrjens from others in his age bracket.

Jurrjens seems so calm and in control on the mound, it’s easy to forget how little experience he has at the big-league level. He is 16-11 with a 3.82 ERA in 38 starts, including seven for Detroit in 2007.

Here’s what a few Braves icons did in their first 38 major-league starts: Greg Maddux was 12-19 with a 4.93 ERA, John Smoltz was 14-18 with a 3.53 ERA, and Glavine was 7-19 with a 4.99 ERA.

“I think with certain people, you can throw the handbook out the window, because the age thing doesn’t matter,” said Braves broadcaster and Hall-of-Fame pitcher Don Sutton, a Washington Nationals broadcaster last season.

“When I saw him pitch [in 2008] he had three good pitches and didn’t seem afraid to throw any one of them on any given count. He showed poise. He’s competitive, but not the kind of guy who’ll torch the clubhouse when something goes wrong. He pitches like he’s been around a while.

“There’s some guys in this organization who are going to be special. And they’re the kind of guys you don’t have to sit by and hold their hands.”