On the cusp of making his return from Tommy John surgery, Brandon Beachy was scratched by the Braves from his highly anticipated start scheduled for Tuesday against the Mets because of elbow tenderness.
Braves general manager Frank Wren said the Braves consider this to be a minor setback, the first Beachy has experienced of any kind in his 12-month recovery from elbow surgery. They’ll rest him and have given no immediate timetable for his return.
“We had hoped he could make this start on the doubleheader, but it wasn’t a make-or-break start obviously,” Wren said. “The most important thing is to get him healthy long term, and we feel like pushing him back a little bit, giving him a little more time, is the prudent thing to do.”
Beachy struggled with his command in three innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday night in Rochester, N.Y., walking four and allowing three runs (two earned) while throwing only 38 strikes in 69 pitches. He was examined by Braves team doctors Friday evening at Turner Field.
Wren said doctors characterized the problem as inflammation and said there were no immediate plans for Beachy to undergo an MRI.
“We’re going to continue to watch it,” Wren said. “He was a little tender after the last start (before Thursday), and this time he was a little more tender. It’s just the smart thing to do just to slow it down and give him time because he’s had a really unremarkable rehab until this point. So we feel like everything is going to be fine. We’ve just got to slow down.”
For all the talk of who would exit the Braves rotation when Beachy returns, the immediate question now is who will start in Beachy’s place Tuesday against the Mets. Paul Maholm will start one game of the doubleheader. Wren said the Braves won’t divulge who starts the other until after Sunday’s finale against the Giants.
Beachy is a week shy of the year anniversary of his June 21 surgery.
“He’s disappointed,” Wren said, who made the announcement in the sixth inning of Friday’s game against the Giants. “I think he was excited to get back out there and perform. So I think he’s disappointed in that regard but he’s also a smart young guy, he knows that’s the best thing.”
In five official rehabilitation starts combined in Rome, Mississippi and Gwinnett, Beachy gave up eight earned runs in 22 innings. He struck out 22 and walked 12, while giving up four home runs.
Minor support: Mike Minor leads the Braves rotation in wins (eight) and ERA (2.44), and he takes the mound Saturday against the Giants as the de facto ace of the staff. But if the young pitcher showed signs since last year that he's learned to cope with failure, he's also doing a good job of handling success.
Because if you ask Minor about his 8-2 record, and the fact that he’s tied for third in wins in the National League, he credits the Braves offense.
“It’s one of those things where I’m getting a lot of run support this year,” Minor said. “That’s one thing you can’t do anything about. Talk to (Kris) Medlen. His numbers are really good (2.87 ERA entering Friday) yet he’s only got three wins on the season.”
Minor leads the NL in run support, with an average of 6.80 runs per nine innings when he starts.
While Minor has benefited from pitching with leads, he also has learned how not to psych himself out when he has to pitch from behind.
“Last year if I gave up three runs or something, I was like ‘Well, this game is over; we lost,’” Minor said. “When really it’s like ‘no, three runs? We can do that in one inning.’ They can come down to the last out and still get three runs. That’s just part of growing up.”
Graham update: Four weeks into his prescribed rest and rehabilitation for a sore shoulder, Braves pitching prospect J.R. Graham is playing some catch, but he's not yet throwing off the mound. Braves assistant general manager Bruce Manno said the Braves are playing it cautiously with Graham, and he will proceed slowly. Graham remains at the Braves' complex in Orlando, Fla.
Graham, rated the Braves’ No. 2 prospect by Baseball America, left a May 13 start for Double-A Mississippi after two innings. An MRI revealed normal wear and tear, and he was diagnosed with a strain.
