Randall Delgado returns to the mound for his third major league start Sunday against the Dodgers and will have a lot to live up to — his past outing.
Delgado went six no-hit innings against the World Series-champion Giants in his last start with the Braves on Aug. 14, before giving up a solo home run to Cody Ross.
The 21-year-old impressed the Braves with his mound presence and his confidence against the Giants, building on his major league debut June 17 against the Rangers, when he gave up four runs (three earned) in four innings.
Delgado is starting Sunday in place of Jair Jurrjens, who is having his right knee examined by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo., that day.
Delgado lost two starts when he returned to Triple-A Gwinnett, including an eight-run outing in 3 2/3 innings in Charlotte. The Braves chalk that up to a natural letdown after his dominant outing in Atlanta.
“It’s human nature,” Braves manager Frank Wren said. “It’s got to be a letdown, going back down after you’ve experienced something special, pitching in front of 40,000 at Turner Field.”
Delgado, a native of Panama, has shown poise both on the mound and in the clubhouse, conducting his interviews in English. He said Saturday that first game back in Gwinnett was “just a bad game.” And of his outing against the Giants? “Just had good command and tried to throw one pitch at a time and keep the game under control.”
Both Delgado and Julio Teheran were called up Saturday. Teheran is slated to start in Thursday’s doubleheader in New York.
This weekend’s series against LA marks the first time the Braves have pitched three rookie starters in a series of three or more games since September 2008, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Braves swept that series against the Rockies behind Jorge Campillo, James Parr and Jair Jurrjens.
Bourn’s next steal is 50th
Two stolen bases Friday against the Dodgers gave Michael Bourn 49, one shy of reaching the 50-steal plateau for the third consecutive season.
Granted, he stole the first 39 with the Astros before being traded to Atlanta, but when he hits 50 he’ll become only the third Brave since 1900 to steal 50 or more bases in a season, along with Otis Nixon (72) in 1991 and Hap Myers (57) in 1913 for the Boston Braves.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he’s as impressed with the quality of Bourn’s steals as much as the quantity.
“You see guys run when the team is down 6-0 and they steal third with two outs, OK big deal,” Gonzalez said. “When he steals bases they are a significant part of the game. When you’re up 2-1 or down 1-0, it’s a legit stolen base.”
Bourn has been caught five times in 15 attempts with the Braves after only seven times in 46 attempts with the Astros, but he had been caught once in his previous five attempts entering Saturday.
Locker curse in effect
When the Braves released Julio Lugo in preparation for activating newly acquired Jack Wilson on Friday, he became the latest victim of the “cursed locker.”
For years, any player who sat in the locker next to Greg Maddux’s old locker in the Braves clubhouse was gone by the next year, starting with Jeff Blauser the first year Turner Field opened in 1997. Bret Boone, Robert Fick, Wally Joyner, Ken Caminiti, and Albie Lopez followed suit. Kenshin Kawakami is the only player known to last longer than one season in it, and he was the disappearing man on last year’s roster.
This year, four Braves have sat in that locker and departed soon after. Joe Mather was released, Cristhian Martinez was demoted to the minors and Jordan Schafer was traded to the Astros. Now Lugo.
Wren only half-kiddingly instructed clubhouse attendant Chris Van Zant on Friday to have engineering board it up with plywood.
“Like storm shutters in a hurricane,” Wren said.
