Braves left-hander Jaime Garcia carried over the strong finish from his last outing to his next start on Sunday at the Yankees.
Garcia limited the Yankees to no hits and no runs while facing one more than the minimum nine batters through three innings. Garcia retired the side in order in the first inning, got Austin Romine to ground into a double play in the second and left one runner stranded in the third.
“It’s getting to a point where you are actually starting to make pitches,” Garcia said. “You’ve got to get people out. It was good.”
Garcia gave up a two-run, one-out homer in first inning of his last start before settling down. He said his goal this time was throwing his sinker for strikes.
“You have to start getting into that (game) mentality,” he said. “It happens fast. The season is coming up soon. It’s more of working on your pitches and making sure your timing is where it needs to be.”
Garcia is one of three veteran starting pitchers acquired by the Braves after the 2016 season, along with Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey. All three players are eligible for free agency after this season.
