That’s one way to make an introduction.
The Braves only thought they traded for reliever Scott Downs for his veteran presence and his know-how in getting left-handers out. On Monday night, about 12 hours acquiring the 37-year-old left-hander from the Angels, he also showed he could master the awkward.
As first days on the job go, they don’t get any wilder than Scott Downs’.
After landing in Atlanta from Dallas about an hour before Monday’s game against the Rockies, walking in the Braves clubhouse 10 minutes after first pitch, showering, and heading out to the bullpen about the fifth inning, Downs was called out to the mound.
There, with two outs in the ninth inning of an 8-8 game, the bases loaded and veteran Rockies first baseman Todd Helton at the plate, Downs met five of his new teammates.
At least Helton looked familiar. The two went back to their SEC days when Helton was playing for the University of Tennessee and Downs was pitching at the University of Kentucky.
As for everybody else?
“I just kind of walked in, I was like ‘Hey guys, nice to meet you,’” Downs said. “Just to kind of break the ice a little bit.”
That got a laugh from second baseman Dan Uggla, who quickly backed the other infielders off the mound to give Downs a chance to talk to catcher Evan Gattis.
“Nice to meet you,” Gattis told Downs. “We’ve got two outs.”
It was down to business, and “The Cliff Notes version of ‘What do you throw, what do you like to do to guys’ and what signs we’re going to use,” Gattis said.
Downs then used the Cliff Notes version of getting Helton out. He threw one pitch – an 88 mph sinker – and Helton roped a line drive back to the mound. Downs snared it.
He looked back down in his glove just to make sure as he walked off the infield to a cheering Turner Field crowd, then tossed the ball up into his left hand. He broke into a smile as he approached the top step of the Braves dugout.
There he got congratulations to go along with the nice-to-meet-you’s.
“That’s the fun part about this game,” Downs said. “One day you’re somewhere else with a good group of guys. The next day you’re in another place with a good group of guys.”
These guys needed more from him. The Braves failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, so manager Fredi Gonzalez sent Downs back out for the 10th. He gave up a leadoff single to Wilin Rosario and watched him advance to third base on a sacrifice and groundout. But with two outs, Downs buckled down and struck out Dexter Fowler on a slider, in the seventh pitch of the at-bat.
In the bottom of the 10th, Andrelton Simmons drove in Uggla with a walk-off triple, giving Downs his first win in his first appearance for a team he grew up watching in Louisville, KY.
“Being in Kentucky you saw two games,” Downs said. “You saw the Cubs; you saw the Braves. I’m a huge (Tom) Glavine fan. Watching Glavine, (Greg) Maddux and (Steve) Avery throw, with me coming up, that’s who I idolized. To end up here, 15, 20 years later, maybe it’s the way it was supposed to be. Who knows? I’m excited to be here. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
Downs is 37 years old. He’s been traded four times now. He acted Monday night like he’s been through this kind of thing before. But he hadn’t.
The last time Downs was traded was 13 years ago his rookie season with the Cubs. He was traded at the July 31 deadline in 2000 to the Montreal Expos. He didn’t pitch for eight days.
“Then I blew out my elbow my first start,” said Downs, who missed the entire 2001 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. “So it wasn’t a very good first impression there. Little better on this one.”
