Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz feels like he’s spent much of spring training getting in jams and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Not if you get out of most of them unscathed, as he has.
Foltynewicz induced a double-play grounder from Jayson Werth with bases loaded and one out Tuesday to end his fifth and final inning of work in a 3-1 loss to the Nationals at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Foltynewicz allowed six hits, one run and one walk with two strikeouts and trimmed his spring ERA to 2.00 in five starts.
“They’re showcasing me with runners on base all spring,” Foltynewicz said, smiling. “The right side of the field got their week’s worth of practice today.”
The Nationals got a run off him on a sacrifice fly in the second inning, after an infield single and Stephen Drew double to start the inning. Drew’s double was a catchable ball that bounced off the glove of right fielder Chase d’Arnaud.
With two on and one out, Foltynewicz avoided further damage that inning when Braves catcher Tyler Flowers threw out Emmanuel Burriss trying to steal second base. Foltynewicz then struck out Matt Wieters for the third out.
“I thought it was maybe his best (spring start) yet,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who on Saturday named Foltynewicz to the starting rotation. “He’s had some really good ones. Just kind of put to the test there a couple of times and didn’t break. One situation, give up one run was really good. I thought he was really, really good.”
The Nationals loaded the bases in the fifth on a pair of infield singles (sandwiched around another Wieters strikeout) and Adam Eaton’s bloop single. With a crowd of 4,433 anticipating something big from Werth, Foltynewicz got him on a grounder to third baseman Adonis Garcia to start a 5-4-3 double play.
“It’s good to get them out of the way now,” Foltynewicz said of the tight spots he’s been working out of all spring, the kind of situations that were often his undoing last season. “I’m just really learning how to pitch through them now. In spring every single start has been runners on base and I’ve had to get out of jams with less than two outs. It’s been pretty fun, though, being able to get out of jams and my defense playing their butts off behind me, making plays.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a spring. Getting out of all these jams has been fun, but let’s get back to getting three quick outs.”
In five Grapefruit League starts, Foltynewicz has been charged with 17 hits, four runs, two home runs and five walks with 14 strikeouts in 18 innings.
