Kyle Wright has rough debut but Braves still defeat Reds

The Braves held on to defeat the Reds 7-6 Tuesday at Truist Park. They’ll go for a three-game sweep Wednesday.

Here are five takeaways from Tuesday:

1. Kyle Wright’s return was much messier than he’d hoped. His command was all over the place, resulting in four walks and two hit batters in only three innings. Wright surrendered four runs on four hits, exiting after 75 pitches. The Braves were down 4-1 when he left the contest.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Wright said.

Wright received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder in January, which put him behind at the start the season. He said his shoulder “felt great” following Tuesday’s outing.

“It’s just good to get him back in there,” manager Brian Snitker said. “From the spring he had – he feels good. He feels healthy. Just be good to get him back out there again the next time. He got kind of out of whack. The ball was coming out really good. I just think it was good to get him through a game first and he should have something to build on there.”

2. Wright threw 44 strikes and 31 balls. He went heavy on the curveballs, throwing 40 of them with inconsistent results. He threw his curveball 53% of the time Tuesday. For comparison, he used the pitch 34% of the time last season. His sinker and four-seamer velocity were also lower than his 2022 average.

“I had the most feel for it,” Wright said when asked about his curveball-heavy approach during his final inning. “I feel like it’s one of those things where I worked so hard to get the shoulder right, get it back healthy, that I feel like I probably hadn’t prepared enough on the mental side of things that I should. I feel like in that inning sometimes things just sped up a little bit, things got a little too quick.

“So that was the pitch I could lean on the most. My sinker I was leaving a little too arm side. That’s what I relied on. I was able to just get enough and get out of that inning. That was really the only good thing that I did, finding a way to get that last guy.”

Wright’s primary takeaway: He wants to slow the game down and get back to his routine that helped him become so successful a year ago (he won 21 games and posted a 3.19 ERA). He also plans to work with mental coach Zach Sorenson frequently this week.

“We have a lot of things to talk over and get back on top of,” Wright said. “A lot of times it’s just a simple refresher and talking through some of the things I’ve used that have helped me have a lot of success.”

3. The Braves’ offense helped cover for Wright’s rough night. First baseman Matt Olson hit a mammoth homer in the first inning, a ball that left the bat at 118.6 mph and traveled 448 feet. It was the Braves’ hardest-hit ball tracked by Statcast (since 2015).

“It feels like a marshmallow coming off your bat,” Olson said. “That was a good one.”

Olson is on a 54-homer pace. His career high is 39.

4. There were numerous unheralded contributors Tuesday. The primary one was reliever Michael Tonkin, who pitched three scoreless innings - allowing one hit, striking out three and not walking anyone - following Wright to earn his first win since September 2016. Tonkin, 33, has helped a bullpen missing closer Raisel Iglesias and key reliever Collin McHugh. He has a 2.16 ERA in 8-1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one.

It’s been a long road back to the majors for Tonkin, who last appeared in an MLB bullpen for the Twins in 2017. His stops in the meantime included Japan, the Pacific Coast League, the Atlantic League, the Mexican League, the Dominican Winter League and the International League. He persisted to earn an opportunity like Tuesday’s - his first career scoreless outing of at least three innings.

“To be in this clubhouse surrounded by superstars, then go out there and help out is huge,” Tonkin said. “It’s why I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for the past five, six years – to get back and be here.”

Snitker praised Tonkin, adding: “He’s pitched some really big spots for us where we needed a bridge or cover some innings. He’s done a really, really nice job so far. He’s really efficient. That was huge.”

5. Other key performers included reliever Nick Anderson, who pitched a perfect ninth for his first save (fill-in closer A.J. Minter had pitched consecutive nights). “God, what a good get that is,” Snitker said, referring to Anderson. “It’s good to have a guy who’s been through the wars, pitched late in games, the high-leverage innings, playoffs, the whole thing.”

Outfielder Sam Hilliard had two hits, including an RBI double. He has a hit in five of seven games (and each of his four starts). Third baseman Austin Riley and outfielder Eddie Rosario also had two hits each.

With a runner at second and one out, lefty reliever Dylan Lee induced a flyout from Stuart Fairchild and struck out Kevin Newman to preserve the Braves’ advantage in the eighth. Earlier in the night, Jesse Chavez pitched another scoreless inning. He hasn’t allowed a run in seven appearances, MLB’s only reliever to accomplish such to this point.

Stat to know

100 -- Second baseman Ozzie Albies hit the 100th home run of his career in the fourth inning. It came at a good time: Albies had been scuffling, hitting .143 (3-for-21) with seven strikeouts during the homestand.

Quotable

“Every step along the way (I wondered if this would happen again). There were definitely times where I thought, ‘This is it.’ But I got opportunities from Long Island, from Aguilas in the Dominican, Toros in Mexico. I appreciate every opportunity I’ve gotten because without those, I’m not here.” – Tonkin

Up next

The Braves and Reds finish their series Wednesday with a fun pitching matchup. Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.45) will face Hunter Greene (0-0, 5.63) in a duel of flamethrowers.