PHILADELPHIA – Right-hander Ryan Weber will become yet another to make his major league debut for the Braves this season when he starts Tuesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez announced late Monday the Braves would call Weber to make the fill-in start for Matt Wisler, who wouldn’t have had enough time for adequate rest after being used in a two-inning relief stint Sunday.
Weber, who turned 25 last month, will make his big-league debut after nearly seven minor league seasons. The Florida native was 6-5 with a 2.35 ERA in a combined 38 games (nine starts) this season at Double-A and Triple-A, including 6-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 27 games (six starts) at Triple-A Gwinnett. He had 59 strikeouts with 10 walks in 99 2/3 total innings.
Weber will be the 59th different player used by the Braves this season, nine more than their franchise record prior to 2015 and 20 more players than they used in 2014.
Coincidentally, Weber will debut against a Phillies team that selected him out Clearwater Central Catholic High in the 12th round of the 2008 free-agent draft. He didn’t sign and was drafted by the Braves a year later in the 22nd round out of St. Petersburg College.
Tuesday would’ve been Wisler’s regular rotation turn, but the Braves used the struggling rookie in a two-inning relief appearance Sunday at Washington in an an to help restore some confidence after his struggles the past five weeks. In Wisler’s Thursday start against the Nationals, he gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Nationals….
The Braves led the National League in batting average with runners in scoring position for much of the first half of the season, when they overachieved in the view of many during a 42-42 start. But they were dead last in that category since the All-Star break with a .221 average, including .183 (17-for-93) during their 12-game losing streak before Monday. The Braves had batted just .213 overall with 28 runs during the losing streak….
Braves right fielder Nick Markakis played his 1,500th career game Monday and led off the first inning with a double. He came in batting .352 (50-for-142) with a .410 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, the fourth-highest average and fifth-highest OBP in the NL in those situations. Markakis had his 44th multi-hit game Sunday, fourth-most in the NL.
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