Hanson makes start, stops Braves’ skid

Tommy Hanson pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a 2-1 win against Boston on Sunday, and this was the stuff of which young legends are made.

Understand, when Braves manager Bobby Cox left the ballpark Saturday, a team trainer told him it would “take a miracle” for the rookie Hanson to shake off flu symptoms and be ready to make his scheduled start Sunday afternoon.

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Kent D. Johnson/kdjohnson@ajc.com

Braves catcher Brian McCann and Tommy Hanson talk things over as the Red Sox had loaded the bases in the top of the 4th inning.

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When Hanson drove to Turner Field Sunday morning with roommate Kris Medlen, the designated emergency starter, Hanson told Medlen to be ready because Hanson didn’t think he was going to make it to the mound.

Six hours later, after Hanson (4-0) blanked the power-laden Sox to run his scoreless innings streak to 20, closer Mike Gonzalez struck out Jacoby Ellsbury with a runner on base in the ninth for a sweep-averting Braves win.

“If he was sick, I don’t want to see him when he’s not sick,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Hanson, 22, the first National League rookie to win consecutive starts against the New York Yankees and the Red Sox.

Chipper Jones (first inning) and Garret Anderson (fourth inning) hit home runs off Brad Penny (6-2) to supply the offense for the Braves, who won just two of six games in back-to-back home series against the Yankees and Red Sox.

Hanson was the winning pitcher both times.

The 6-foot-6 redhead allowed two hits and two walks with two strikeouts on a steamy afternoon, and worked out of a jam in the fourth by inducing an Ellsbury groundout after consecutive two-out singles and a walk loaded the bases.

“He showed me something, going six innings against a really good team,” Cox said. “He gutted it out …. He threw a lot of strikes and stayed ahead of hitters, and that was the key.”

Hanson has made five major league starts and gone 4-0 with an 0.78 ERA in the past four, after giving up six earned runs in his debut against Milwaukee.

He hasn’t allowed a run since the third inning of his second start at Baltimore on June 12, and has given up 9 hits in 17-1/3 scoreless innings in his past three starts — one at Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly park, and two against the American League East superpowers.

“I’ve still got a lot of stuff to do before I’m the pitcher I want to be,” said Hanson, who said that hype and publicity isn’t something he worries about or concerns himself with, though he admits he doesn’t mind hearing his name.

He said Sunday was probably his best outing so far, and credited recent discussions with pitching coach Roger McDowell for helping him understand the importance of staying aggressive and “trusting his stuff.”

Hanson also gave big props to the Braves training staff for keeping him hydrated and cool before and during Sunday’s start.

“I don’t know if it was my adrenaline or what, but I felt fine” during the game, said Hanson, who wasn’t confident he’d be able to pitch until about 10:30 a.m., three hours before the game.

Between innings, he went to Cox’s auxiliary office adjacent to the dugout, where trainers waited with wet towels and fluids.

The rest was up to Hanson, who was sharp all day with mid-90 mph fastballs and big-bending breaking pitches. He again demonstrated maturity and mound presence that makes teammates and Braves officials gush with praise.

“I can see this guy being another [Roy] Halladay,” said Jones, comparing Hanson to Toronto’s two-time 20-game winner and 2003 Cy Young Award winner.

“I know that’s lofty expectations, but I’m just trying to give you my impressions, who he reminds me of. He’s not intimidated. He doesn’t care who’s up at the plate. He knows that with his stuff, if he executes his pitches he will get anybody out.”

The Red Sox didn’t score until the ninth, when Kevin Youkilis hit a leadoff single and came home on Jason Varitek’s two-out single. With two strikes on Ellsbury, there was a delay when a drunken fan ran on the field.

After the man was wrestled down by a half-dozen security officers and taken away, Gonzalez struck out Ellsbury swinging on the next pitch.