Banuelos’ debut: Scherzer? No problem

Mariano Rivera played with Manny Banuelos long before Braves fans and teammates saw his debut Thursday night.

The two were teammates in Yankees spring training from 2011-13, and in 2011 Rivera was asked if Banuelos, whom Baseball America had ranked the No. 4 Yankees prospect, was the greatest pitching prospect he’d ever seen.

“I would say so,” Rivera answered. “I like everything about him, the makeup and how he keeps his composure. I notice situations and how you react in situations, where you make your pitches in tough situations, where you spot your pitches. He has the ability to do that.”

Debuting against Washington’s Max Scherzer was a definitely a tough situation, but Banuelos outperformed the National League Pitcher of the Month over 5 2/3 innings in Atlanta’s 2-1 win. He allowed two hits and struck out seven on 75 pitches, and he left the game with a 1-0 lead.

“I hear a lot from my friends when they found out I get to the big leagues, they look at who I’m going to face,” Banuelos said after the game. “(Scherzer is) a pretty good pitcher, but I just want to do my job.”

His fastball clocked in at 90-91 mph all night. But his 78-80-mph changeup stole the show, consistently fooling a strong Nationals lineup on swinging third strikes. Bryce Harper struck out twice against Banuelos – on a changeup and a curveball.

“He was pitching really good. He locked up with one of the best pitchers in the game, and he matched him pitch for pitch,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said after the game. “He really, really commanded his fastball. Did a nice job with his changeup. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Banuelos didn’t get the opportunity to beat Scherzer, though. He left the game in the sixth with cramps in his push-off calf and his fingers, and Washington tied the game in the next inning.

“I don’t want that. I tried to finish the inning,” Banuelos said. “I started feeling bad when I faced that first hitter (in the sixth) and it was getting worse and worse.”

Atlanta gave Banuelos the lead in the fifth, when Juan Uribe doubled and Andrelton Simmons poked an RBI single over Danny Espinosa two batters later.

But Scherzer sat down the next 10 batters he faced entering the ninth inning and Wilson Ramos tied the game with an RBI single off David Aardsma in the seventh.

And all Banuelos could do was watch.

“Just a shame that he had to come out there with a cramp,” Gonzalez said. “We knew he was a sweater, with the reports we got from (Triple-A manager Brian) Snitker. … They said that this guy sweats a lot, so we’ve got to make some adjustments.

The Braves’ bullpen held up, though, and Cameron Maybin chopped a single over Yunel Escobar at third for the walk-off single.

Banuelos was asked after the game if he still felt the adrenaline from his debut.

“Yeah,” he said with a big smile. “I’ve gotten a lot of calls and texts from family. … I’m really happy.”

The Braves are undefeated in rookie pitcher debuts this year, with the last two wins coming against the Mets’ Jacob deGrom and Scherzer — two of the hottest pitchers in baseball.