Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz is such an intriguing prospect because he’s tall, powerfully built and throws a sizzling fastball.
When he’s in control of that pitch, like he was on Sunday against the Brewers, there is no need for Foltynewicz to mess around. He went right at the Brewers and carried the Braves to a 2-1 victory at Turner Field.
Foltynewicz held the Brewers to three hits and a run over 7 2/3 innings while striking out seven and throwing strikes on 71 of his 98 pitches.
“Boy he was dominant, really, the whole game,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
The Braves (22-21) won three out of four games in the series against the Brewers (16-29). They’ve won seven of nine games and have a winning percentage better than .500 for the first time since they were 10-9 on April 27.
Foltynewicz (3-1) had his best pitching line in his five starts for the Braves. The Brewers didn’t have any extra-base hits against him and scored their only run on Elian Herrara’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.
“I’ve felt better in previous starts but overall this was a good game for me,” Foltnyewicz said. “I attacked the zone and got guys out early. I had a low pitch count there for a while and that’s a good sign for me. I kept the walks down and tried to get guys out in the first couple pitches of the at-bat.”
The Braves acquired Foltynewicz, 23, as part of a January trade with the Astros in exchange for Evan Gattis. After a rough outing against the Rays in his last start, Foltynewicz was back to showing why he’s considered one of the Braves’ best prospects.
The Brewers got just one hit and three base runners on against Foltynewicz through the first six innings. Foltynewicz’s pitch count was just 75 after seven innings as he efficiently worked through Milwaukee’s lineup.
“He’s impressive,” Braves centerfielder Cameron Maybin said. “I’ve got a really view and it seems like every outing gets better and better. He did a great job of controlling the strike zone today, going right after guys. Whenever a guy is putting up zeros we’ve got to find a way to manufacture some runs, and we did.”
Maybin started the rally in the sixth inning against Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson (2-5) after the Braves had squandered scoring chances in the second and third.
Maybin led off with a single and Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis walked to bring up Todd Cunningham. He lined out softly to shortstop Luis Sardinas and A.J Pierzynski followed with another line drive that second baseman Hector Gomez knocked down with a diving stop.
Gomez tossed to Sardinas to put out Markakis at second base but Pierzynski beat Sardinas’ throw to first as Maybin scored. Andrelton Simmons followed with a two-out RBI single for a 2-0 Braves lead.
The Brewers trimmed the lead in the top of the seventh. Foltynewicz hit Carlos Gomez with a pitch and Maybin couldn’t chase down Khris Davis’ looping one-out hit to left-center.
“It was a tough ball,” Maybin said. “I think he kind of top-spinned it. A long way to go, I was trying to play him (opposite field) and he pulled it. But ‘Folty’ came right back, made his pitches, got guys out.”
Herrera scored Gomez with the sacrifice fly to left field before Hector Gomez lined out to center to end the inning. Gonzalez let Foltynewicz hit to lead off the seventh inning and planned to see how long he could go in the eighth.
Foltynewiz retired pinch hitters Jason Rogers and Ryan Braun before Sardinas singled. That chased Foltynewicz, who received an ovation from fans as he walked to the dugout.
“I think we took him as far as we could take him,” Gonzalez said. “I think he did a terrific job and everybody else did their job, too.”
Gonzalez replaced Foltynewicz with lefty Luis Avilan, who struck out Gerardo Parra to preserve the 2-1 lead. Closer Jason Grilli secured the victory by retiring three of four batters faced.
The Braves won four of six games during the home stand and begin a 10-game trip at the Dodgers on Monday.
“that’s a good home stand,” Maybin said. “We really needed to play as well as we did here. We had been struggling a little bit back and forth here. A great home stand to take some momentum and confidence on the road and try to keep it going.”
