PITTSBURGH – Their record (9-27) was still the worst in the majors entering Monday, but if you’ve watched the Braves all season you know they’ve at least been more competitive lately.
The primary reason for that has been the starting rotation, which has been working deeper into games. That’s eased some of the pressure from a bullpen that got overexposed early, and kept the Braves in games long enough to give their hitters a chance to score meaningful runs.
In the past nine games before Monday, Braves starters had a 2.44 ERA, a stretch that began the day after Jhoulys Chacin gave up eight runs and four homers in 4 2/3 innings of a May 4 game at New York.
Chacin was traded before his next start, and that 2.44 ERA over nine games had been cobbled together by the current rotation of five pitchers all 25 or younger: Julio Teheran, Matt Wisler, Mike Folynewicz, Williams Perez and Aaron Blair.
The starters worked at least seven innings in six of the past seven starts including all three games in the weekend series at Kansas City, where Teheran, Foltynewicz and Wisler all had strong performances.
“I have been really proud of the way our young starters have been going deep in ballgames,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “It’s fun to come to the ballpark knowing you have a chance to have one of these starters go seven or eight innings. It keeps you in the ballgame.”
Gonzalez was in agreement with the front office that it was time to go with all young starters and trade Chacin to open a spot. They filled that with Perez, who pitched brilliantly last week in his first start back from Triple-A, allowing two hits and one run in eight innings against the Mets.
Wisler had pitched eight innings the day before Perez was called up. Teheran pitched seven innings of four hit, one-earned-run ball on Friday against the Royals. Foltynewicz pitched eight shutout innings with no walks Saturday. That’s been the trend lately, one the Braves want to see continue.
“Especially this past weekend in Kansas City, each guy went out and — not that he did better, but he was equally as good as the guy the night before,” said Blair, who’ll start Tuesday’s second game of a four-game series against the Pirates. “We’re just kind of building off each other right now, trying to go deep in games and give the team a chance to win.”
Gonzalez likes the idea of the young starters – the Braves’ rotation has an average age of 24 1/2, more than a full year younger than the next-youngest in the majors currently – feeding off each other and trying to match or surpass the pitcher who started the night before.
“You always heard (Greg) Maddux and (John) Smoltz and (Tom) Glavine, when they got together it was like, OK, you rattle off eight and I’m going to try to top you,” Gonzalez said. “If you’re a competitor – and these guys are competitors, or they wouldn’t be playing this game at this level – it’s got to be something that you look for. It’s good.”
Pitching well and getting the opportunity to work deep in games have gone hand-in-hand recently with the starters.
Blair has a 4.05 ERA in his first four major league starts and has pitched well in three, though he’s lasted six innings only once. Watching starters get the opportunity to go deep in games has made it clear to him that the coaching staff believes in the young arms.
“Like (Sunday), Wisler worked his third straight game into the eighth inning,” Blair said. “It’s just showing the confidence they have in everybody. It’s a good feeling to have that coming from the coaching staff.”
The reshaping of the rotation has also given fans a glimpse of several arms who could figure in the long-range plans of the Braves, who centered the first phase of their rebuilding project around young starting pitchers, acquiring more of them than ever before.
“We’ve got to identify with our fans somewhere,” Gonzalez said. “Because we talk about we’ve got a young team. But you know, we’re not really that young, other than our starting rotation. At every other position we’ve got some veteran guys. I think our fans will identify with these starting five guys, or maybe six or seven, (some) guys that are coming in Triple-A and Double-A that are pitching well.
“We talked about this in April and the beginning of May with our leadership team. We said, we need to do something with our team, for our fans to identify and for our fans to fall in love with. We traded Chacin away, let’s give us Williams Perez and give those guys an opportunity to pitch.”
