MILWAUKEE – The Braves were careful not to overuse Jason Grilli during the first three months of the season, but the 38-year-old closer said all along that he didn't need to be treated with kid gloves and that he'd be ready whenever called upon.
He proved it Tuesday when manager Fredi Gonzalez used him in a third consecutive game for the first time. Grilli not only converted the save in a 4-3 win against the Brewers, he did it in dominant fashion, striking out all three batters faced to continue a perfect start to the month for the bearded right-hander.
Grilli has pitched five innings in five appearances in July and retired all 15 batters he’s faced, including nine strikeouts. He’s struck out the side in two of his past three appearances.
“Going in (Tuesday) we knew that if we had an opportunity to close with Grilli for the third day in a row, this would be the perfect time because his pitch counts the last couple of outings were really low,” Gonzalez said, referring to Grilli’s pitch totals of 15 and 11 in appearances Sunday and Monday. “So we talked to him (Tuesday) and he said he felt great. And he delivered.”
Grilli had a 2.67 ERA in 35 appearances before Wednesday, with 24 saves in 26 opportunities, and 45 strikeouts with 10 walks in 33 2/3 innings. He was tied with Cardinals All-Star Trevor Rosenthal for fourth in the majors in saves, three more than former Braves closer Craig Kimbrel had with the Padres before Wednesday.
Grilli was also fifth in the National League in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.03, two spots behind Kimbrel (12.77).
In each month this season, Grilli has increased his workload and lowered his ERA: 4.50 in eight April appearances, 3.86 in 10 May appearances, 1.59 in 12 June appearances, and 0.00 so far in five July appearances.
