All the innings the Braves bullpen has logged of late caught up to right-hander David Carpenter, who was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a strained right biceps.
Carpenter said the biceps started bothering him during the 11th inning Monday night, and when he came back out in the 12th and only hit 91 mph on the radar gun before giving up a leadoff single to Domonic Brown, he knew something wasn’t right.
Carpenter had already mentioned feeling discomfort in his biceps to Braves assistant trainer Jim Lovell between innings, so when manager Fredi Gonzalez and pitching coach Roger McDowell saw the radar gun reading 91 to 93 mph, when he’s normally in the mid-to-upper 90s, Gonzalez went out to get him.
Carpenter was pitching for the fifth time in six days and for the third consecutive day, and he was going out for his second inning in the Braves’ second extra-inning game in three days.
“I think it was just kind of from dead legs, just trying to overcompensate with the arm and the upper body,” Carpenter said. “It’s not really something to get overexcited about, but at the same time they want to be precautionary about it. It’s just the way it is right now.”
The Braves called up right-hander Pedro Beato from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his spot on the roster. Both Carpenter and Gonzalez seemed encouraged that Carpenter would be OK after 15 days’ rest.
“When it’s the biceps, it’s better than the triceps or the elbow or shoulder,” Gonzalez said. “So we feel comfortable that in two weeks he’ll be ready.”
Carpenter has struggled on the mound for nearly three weeks now, with an 11.81 ERA and .563 opponents’ average in his past 10 appearances. He has allowed 18 hits and seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings over that span. But Carpenter said the biceps issue didn’t surface until Monday night.
“(Ineffectiveness) was nothing related to this,” said Carpenter, referring to the biceps injury. “That’s kind of a cop out to say it was. That’s not what it was. (The strain) just popped up last night and it’s just one of the things we’ve got to deal with.”
Gonzalez said Carpenter will likely need a couple of minor league rehabilitation outings before he’s ready to be activated when his 15 days on the disabled list are up.
Beato, whom the Braves claimed off waivers from the Reds on April 2, is up for his second stint in the big leagues with the Braves this season. He made one appearance April 8 against the Mets, allowing one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Beato was 1-0 with a 3.49 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Gwinnett. He said he’s been working on his split-finger fastball, a third pitch in his arsenal, which gives him something to use as a change-up against right-handed hitters. Most importantly to the Braves, he’s well-rested.
“I’m ready to go,” Beato said. “I have three days’ rest.”
