He paid for a mistake to Miguel Cabrera — what veteran pitcher hasn’t? — but Aaron Harang was otherwise pleased with his Braves debut Thursday in the team’s Grapefruit League finale.
Three days after signing a one-year deal to plug a hole in the injury-plagued Braves pitching staff, Harang was charged with eight hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 9-3 loss to the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Five of the runs came in his last two innings, including Cabrera’s three-run homer.
“Slider over the plate a little bit,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who had Cabrera on his Marlins team years ago. “I don’t think you even have to make a mistake with Miggy; he’s one of those guys that hits good pitches. (Harang) did fine.”
The Braves’ charter was to take off from a nearby Lakeland airport afterward for the flight to Atlanta. The Braves will play a team of their top prospects Saturday in Rome before traveling to Milwaukee for opening day Monday and the start of a six-game trip that continues in Washington.
Harang is set to start the Game 3 series finale in Milwaukee and the Braves’ April 8 home opener against the Mets. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed only one run Thursday before Cabrera’s two-out homer in the fifth inning, which landed atop a grass berm beyond the left-field fence.
“He’s a fun player to watch, not the funnest to have to face,” Harang said. “The guy crushes.”
The reigning two-time American League MVP has two homers in 18 regular-season at-bats against Harang, including one last year in Seattle on a fastball Harang said was so far outside that replays showed it pass over the chalk in the opposite batter’s box.
This time the big Detroit slugger connected squarely with a hanging slider left over the plate. He grounded out against Harang in two previous at-bats.
“We were working on some things right there,” said Harang, 35, who was pleased with the progress he and catcher Evan Gattis made working together. “I got (Cabrera) the previous at-bat, up under a slider. And I made a mistake of trying to double up on that pitch. As good as he is, you try and double up on him, he doesn’t miss the second one.”
“But that’s the thing about spring training, you’ve got to try that stuff and see what he’s going to do. Otherwise I felt good. I felt like I got on a good page with Evan back there. Being the first time he’s caught me, that was the biggest thing was just getting used to one another and trying to find that groove.”
Harang’s fastball was clocked mostly at 90-92 mph, with a few 93s.
Kimbrel concern? Craig Kimbrel gave up two hits, two runs and a walk and recorded two outs — neither by strikeout — in the eighth inning against the Tigers. The All-Star closer's velocity was mostly in the low-90 mph range, several ticks below his regular-season norm. He's given up three runs, three hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings in his past two games.
“Fastball command,” Gonzalez said. “And he hasn’t broken out the slider, his out pitch, so I’m not overly concerned. Obviously anytime you want any of your pitchers to go out there and throw zeroes up. But I’m not overly concerned about (Kimbrel). (Radar) gun was what, 94-95? I saw a couple of 94s. He’s good to go.”
Roster decisions: The Braves will wait till Saturday to announce their fourth starter — expected to be David Hale or Gus Schlosser — and final bullpen spots, along with the entire 25-man opening-day roster.
Gonzalez and pitching coach Roger McDowell arrived just before the first pitch at Lakeland, after staying back at Wide World of Sports to watch No. 2 starter Alex Wood and Schlosser pitch in an intrasquad minor league game. He said both pitched well, and prospect Tommy La Stella homered off Wood.
Schlosser pitched for the Triple-A Gwinnett team and Wood for the Double-A Mississippi team. Schlosser allowed four runs (three earned) and seven hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. Wood gave up four hits and two runs, with two walks and five strikeouts.
Etc.: Jordan Schafer and B.J. Upton each hit a solo home run off Tigers ace Max Scherzer, the American League Cy Young Award winner. It was the first homer for each, and Scherzer allowed only two other hits and no other runs in 6 2/3 innings. … The Braves hit 22 homers in the past 19 Grapefruit League games, after hitting three in the first 14. … There was no update on the condition of reliever Cory Gearrin, who was expected to have his injured elbow examined Thursday in Atlanta.
