FORT MYERS, Fla. — Spring training is a time for evaluation, but it can be tricky. The difficult part is this: How do we know what matters and what does not, what is a precursor for the regular season and what is irrelevant? This time of year can be wacky.
Your latest example came when Boston hammered Braves right-hander Ian Anderson, who is expected to be one of the rotation’s best pitchers this season. The Red Sox hit Anderson so well and so hard that manager Brian Snitker utilized a weird spring training rule to pull Anderson in the middle of an inning before reinserting him into the game in the next frame.
Anderson surrendered six runs on seven hits over two innings in Wednesday’s start against the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. He struck out four batters but walked three. It’s spring training, and this one won’t count, but Anderson isn’t treating it any differently than if it happened during the regular season.
“No, I’m not happy with it at all,” Anderson said.
Added manager Brian Snitker after his team’s 10-7 loss to Boston: “It was just a rough day, kind of. I look at that as one of those spring training games, about where we are in camp. If he feels OK and he’s healthy and all that, then that’s all right. We’ll do it again. But I think it’s just one of those that you go through in spring training about this time.”
Did this start foreshadow Anderson’s 2022 season? Probably not. It’s a condensed spring training. He faced a potent lineup of Red Sox regulars. And he even said, “My bullpen (session) before the game was probably one of the best bullpens I’ve ever thrown.”
“I don't know why. Maybe I'm getting them out of my system, hopefully."
Plus, Anderson has struggled in spring training for some reason. He posted a 6.38 ERA over five starts last spring. He allowed four runs in two of his starts and three in another.
“I don’t know why,” he said when asked if he could explain his spring troubles. “Maybe I’m getting them out of my system, hopefully.”
He followed his rough spring last year by pitching to a 3.58 ERA over 24 starts. He helped the Braves win a World Series.
You can take a deep breath. Anderson probably is fine.
It’s worth noting, though, that the calm-and-collected Anderson didn’t laugh off his tough afternoon.
“You want the results,” he said. “I think that’s what gives you confidence, that’s what you look for. It’s a results-driven business in (this) game. Yeah, just going to try to find the good that I can find.”
The positives he found: His stuff was good, his arm felt healthy and he was able to pitch in the second inning after being taken out in the first because of the funky rules of spring training that allow a manager to pull a pitcher and reinsert him later. He has one spring start remaining and said he’ll probably reach 75 pitches in that one. He’s lined up to pitch April 9 against the Reds at Truist Park.
Five days before this, Anderson faced Boston at CoolToday Park in North Port and tossed three scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits. In this start, he allowed two home runs – one to Rafael Devers, the other to Christian Vazquez.
“They had a lot more regulars in there today and were playing in their home park,” Anderson said. “They were a little jacked up, definitely, and they brought it, and I didn’t.”
Anderson said he’ll flush it and move onto the next one. The rest of us probably shouldn’t read too much into it.
Guillermo Heredia leaves game
In the top of the fourth inning, Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck drilled Guillermo Heredia in the hand. Heredia bent over, clearly in pain. He soon left the game.
After the game, Snitker said Heredia looked fine in the dugout after the pitch hit him. At the time Snitker spoke with reporters, the game had just finished and he hadn’t received a formal update on Heredia.
“No news is good news like that,” he said. “But just looking at him, he seems like he’s all right.”
Houck also hit Travis d’Arnaud and Matt Olson over a four-inning start.
A three-homer inning
The Braves trailed by eight runs as the teams headed into the fifth inning. Soon, the Braves trimmed the deficit to three.
The Braves put together a three-homer inning. It served as a nice sign for a lineup that’s expected to feature a lot of power this season.
D’Arnaud and Adam Duvall both hit home runs off Boston righty Kaleb Ort. The Red Sox inserted right-hander Ryan Fernandez into the game, and Alex Dickerson immediately took him deep.
As a left-handed bat, Dickerson is getting a lot of opportunities to make the roster. He would be a bench piece for a club that doesn’t have a ton of position-player depth.
Collin McHugh’s debut
Right-hander Collin McHugh made his Braves spring debut in Fort Myers and pitched a clean inning. He made quick work of the Red Sox.
McHugh, signed after the lockout ended, gives the Braves more bullpen depth. He can perform various roles, from pitching as a late-inning reliever to being an opener.
