AJ Smith-Shawver turns in a positive outing in return to the Braves

NEW YORK — AJ Smith-Shawver made a solid season debut for the Braves on Wednesday.

The right-hander threw 69 pitches over 4 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs, both in his final inning of work, while striking out four in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets at Citi Field. The Braves went on to lose 3-2, a second straight loss to the NL East’s last-place team.

The teams were scheduled to play a second game at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Smith-Shawver last pitched for the Braves on May 29, 2025, before undergoing Tommy John surgery the following month. The 23-year-old gave up four hits and two walks and threw 43 of his pitches for strikes. Smith-Shawver, who had to deal with a baserunner in each inning, allowed the leadoff man to reach in four of five frames. His fastball averaged 97.2 mph.

Smith-Shawver’s day did not get off to a great start. After throwing a 97-mph fastball for a ball, A.J. Ewing slapped a ground ball to third that Austin Riley misplayed. Eli White, starting in left, picked up Riley by making a diving catch for the inning’s second out before Smith-Shawver got Carson Benge to hit a broken-bat groundout to second base.

Jared Young coaxed a five-pitch walk to start the second. He stayed at first the rest of the inning as Smith-Shawver struck out Jorge Polanco looking at an inside splitter and Tyrone Taylor swinging through a fastball on the outside edge and got Brett Baty to fly out harmlessly to center.

Ewing drove a one-out single to center and stole second in the third, but Smith-Shawver got Francisco Lindor to fly out to center and Bo Bichette to ground out to shortstop.

Smith-Shawver’s fourth inning began with Benge rolling the first pitch back through the middle for a single. Benge ended the inning by getting thrown out trying to steal second after Smith-Shawver had gotten a fly out and struck out Polanco.

Putting the leadoff man aboard finally came back to haunt Smith-Shawver in the fifth. A four-pitch walk to Taylor preceded a Baty single — a rising liner that went off Matt Olson’s glove at first. Nine-hole hitter and Mets catcher Francisco Álvarez banged a double to deep left to put the Mets up 1-0. A sacrifice fly to center by Ewing made it 2-0.