When facing off against a pitcher of Clayton Kershaw’s caliber, the margin for error is slim.
On Friday, Kershaw lived up to the billing, twirling 7-2/3 innings and allowed one hit. And Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz exceeded that narrow margin, continuing his turbulent month of July in the Braves’ 4-1 loss to Kershaw and the Dodgers.
“Against (Kershaw), when you get behind it’s tough,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the game. “You’ve got to try and limit damage.”
Two solo home runs for the Dodgers — one in the third inning by outfielder Alex Verdugo and another in the fourth by catcher Yasmani Grandal — got Los Angeles started. Had the scoring ceased there, Foltynewicz said, he would’ve been satisfied.
But with two outs in the fourth inning, it was Kershaw himself who inflicted further damage, slapping a two-run single down the right-field line, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-1.
“He might have been sitting off-speed because that’s how we kinda guess up there. He saw a fastball, adjusted to it, and got it down the line,” Foltynewicz said. “That’s the one that really upsets me — like I said, I’ll take the two home runs. Two pitches, whatever. But that one kinda stings a little bit.”
For Foltynewicz, Friday’s outing was more of the same in the past month. In three of his starts in July, the right-hander allowed two home runs; he had done so once all season in the months before. He also has allowed four earned runs or more in each of his past four outings — often, similar to Friday, on the precipice of getting through a solid outing.
“It just seems like it’s one pitch. You’re close to finishing the innings, two strikes, two outs, and they just get that one dagger,” Foltynewicz said. “I kinda get myself in trouble there with some two-strike hits, and a few walks, and they just kinda put the dagger in there. It seems like almost like my last pitch or on the last few outings, I can’t finish it. … It just hasn’t been my July.”
In that regard, Foltynewicz is not alone. The loss dropped the Braves to 54-46, and continued a skid of only five wins in their past 17 games. Clinging to contention, they will need Foltynewicz at his best — as he was in the opening months of the year — to return to winning ways.
Ever confident, Foltynewicz claims he’s ready.
“Just pick it up here in August, and playing for October. It’s going to be an exciting few months here,” he said. ... “I think I’ve proven over the last few years I can pitch against good teams. Just a good stretch of really good teams I’ve had to face. But that’s no excuse, it’s major league baseball. Just have to be a little better, maybe a little cautious with some pitches, a little more focus.”
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