MIAMI – When Luis Avilan induced a double-played grounder with bases loaded and none out to protect a one-run lead in the Braves' opening day win against the Marlins, it was a big boost for the left-hander whose confidence was in tatters after last season.
Avilan had no wiggle room when he entered Monday’s game in the seventh inning with a 2-1 lead and the bases full to face right-handed hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who swung at a changeup and grounded into a 5-2-3 double play.
It was the only batter Avilan faced, and Jim Johnson retired the next four before Jason Grilli, the successor to traded closer Craig Kimbrel, pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts for the save.
Avilan surely had fans the edge of their seats when he entered the game, scratching their heads and/or cursing manager Fredi Gonzalez. This is a lefty who was demoted to Triple-A during a 2014 season in which he compiled a 4.57 ERA and .287 opponents’ average, including .312 by right-handed batters.
It’s easy to forget that he was among the majors’ best situational relievers in his first two seasons, compiling a 1.69 ERA and .188 opponents’ average in 106 appearances from his midseason callup in 2012 through the end of the 2013. Avilan spent the offseason at home in Venezuela working to get back to that form.
“The location of my fastball is better now, I can go in (on hitters) without a problem, and throw my changeup,” he said. “I feel comfortable. Right now I feel like I did in 2012 more than I did in 2013, because in 2013 I didn’t use my changeup too much. Now I’m using it more like I did in 2012.”
Avilan, 25, made his debut in July 2012 and proceeded to post a 2.00 ERA and .211 opponents average in 31 appearances, including 26 appearances in the last two months of the season.
He was even more effective in 2013, with a 1.52 ERA in 75 appearances, and a .175 opponents’ average that was fifth-lowest among National League relievers, one spot behind Kimbrel’s .180. Lefties hit a puny .144 (15-for-104) against him.
But last season, Avilan never looked or felt quite right. He had some shoulder soreness at times, lost his confidence after giving up a lot of hits early on, and ended up spending much of the second half of the season pitching at Gwinnett.
He spent this offseason working out and pitching only briefly for his hometown team in the Venezuelan Winter League.
“Worked on location with my fastball, and especially my breaking balls,” he said. “I had a lot of problems with that last year, with my curveball and changeup. It’s tough to pitch at any level in baseball with just one pitch (fastball). And I think you remember last year, I didn’t have the perfect location on my fastball.”
When his Venezuelan team didn’t make the playoffs, he threw plenty of batting-practice sessions at the ballpark against veteran major leaguers who were winter-league teammates including Luis Valbuena, Maicer Izturis and Caesar Izturis.
He also spoke with the pitcher who became a mentor, former Braves left-hander Eric O’Flaherty, now with Oakland.
“He told me the same thing — to work on my breaking balls, that’s going to help me a lot, and just be confident,” Avilan said. “He said, ‘I know you can do it. You can do it again. Everybody can have a tough season, this is a new year.’”
