Braves right-handed Lucas Harrell looked as if he belongs back in the big leagues on Saturday against the Marlins.
Harrell held the Marlins to three hits and a run over six innings while striking out five in a 9-1 Braves victory at Turner Field. After Harrell was effective in that spot start Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said he will get another turn in the rotation.
Harrell, 31, last pitched in the majors for the Astros in April 2014. He had a 4.84 ERA in 88 games (62 starts) in the majors from 2010 to 2014.
“Everybody I talked to is like, ‘This guy is a big-league pitcher,’” Snitker said. “He’s had to fight his way back. It won’t be the most outlandish story of all time if a guy comes back and reinvents himself.”
The Braves signed Harrell on May 20, soon after the Tigers released him, and sent him to Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves promoted Harrell because their rotation is missing two injured starters and they just traded Bud Norris to the Dodgers.
Harrell was perfect through two innings against the Marlins with four strikeouts. Derek Dietrich led off the third with a single and scored on Ichiro Suzuki’s two-out triple but Harrell retired nine of 11 batters faced over the next three innings.
“It’s been a long road to get back here,” Harrell said. “I feel like I’ve worked real hard. I’ve been up here and had a little success before.”
The White Sox selected Harrell in the fourth round of the 2004 draft out of Ozark (Mo.) High School. He made his big-league debut in 2010 with the White Sox—coincidentally, Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski was behind the plate for that game and also Saturday’s game.
The White Sox waived Harrell during the 2011 season and the Astros claimed him. The Astros traded Harrell to the Diamondbacks in 2014 but he never pitched for Arizona’s big-league team before he was released in August that year.
Harrell pitched in the Korean League in 2015 before signing with the Tigers in May.
