Catcher Evan Gattis was a late scratch from the Braves lineup Tuesday night after he got sick to his stomach while warming up start Julio Teheran just 10-15 minutes before the start of the game.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he got a call from bullpen coach Eddie Perez in the dugout, saying Gattis was feeling bad and couldn’t go. He sent coach Terry Pendleton up to the Braves dugout to tell Gerald Laird he needed to catch.
Laird thought Pendleton was kidding at first, sitting there chatting in the Braves clubhouse three minutes before the anthem. But he was able to get down to the bullpen to catch a few Teheran warm-up pitches and get in the game.
“I was like ‘Oh man, talk about a panic mode,’” Laird said. “That’s part of my role, as a bench player you’ve got to be ready to go at any time in the game. You can’t complain, you’ve just got to go in there and try to get it done.”
Gonzalez said the Braves medical staff believes it’s just a 24-hour bug.
“Our doctors looked at him and we’re calling it a viral thing, but I think he’s going to be OK,” Gonzalez said. “In the next day or two we’ll keep an eye on him, see how we can use him.”
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