Braves starter Ervin Santana ‘s demeanor doesn’t seem to change no matter how he’s pitching, but he gives a telling answer when asked which pitches are working for him lately.
“Everything,” Santana said. “I just throw any pitch in any count. I have a lot of confidence in all of my pitches.”
Santana’s recent starts back up his self-assurance. He goes to the mound against the Padres for Braves getaway day on Monday afternoon at Turner Field with victories in four of his last five starts after some shaky outings in May and June.
Santana’s ERA ballooned to a season-high 4.15 after a loss at the Nationals on June 22, his third consecutive loss in as many decisions. In five starts since then Santana has posted a 3.15 ERA with 26 strikeouts, 10 walks, and a .250 batting average against over 34.1 innings. His season ERA is now at 3.87.
In his last start Santana (9-6) held the Marlins to six hits and one run while recording 10 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. His strike rate of 69 percent (76 strikes on 110 pitches) was his best since he threw strikes on 74 percent of 88 pitches against the Mets during his Braves debut on April 9.
The Braves signed Santana to a one-year, $14.1 million free-agent contract after planned opening-day starter Kris Medlen suffered an elbow ligament injury in March that would require season-ending surgery. There was a market for Santana after he was 9-10 with a career-best 3.24 ERA with Kansas City in 2013 while tying for fourth in the American League with 23 quality starts (at least six innings with three earned runs or fewer).
Santana, 31, was with the Angels for his first eight seasons before joining the Angels. He said his first year in the National League hasn’t been an adjustment.
“Not at all because it’s the same baseball, just different league,” Santana said.
