Jose Fernandez made a point to apologize to the Braves last September when his antics and their reaction after he walked off a home run led to a benches-clearing confrontation in Miami. But the Braves aren’t expecting to see a much different pitcher or personality when he faces them again Tuesday night at Turner Field. And that’s OK.
Chris Johnson said the Braves are the ones who know better what to expect and won’t react in the same way.
“I think he knows why some guys were rubbed the wrong way,” Johnson said. “I think also there are some guys on the team who know how he is, so we know he’s not showing you up really. It’s just how he is. I think it works both ways. I think both teams know what we’re getting into, so there won’t be any issues. I just think that’s how he is, he has fun, and he’s really, really good. That’s the hard part that we’ll have to deal with because he’s probably going to deal.”
Fernandez features an upper 90s fastball and an electric breaking ball. He beat out fellow Cuba native Yasiel Puig for National League rookie of the year last year at age 21. He won 12 games for a 100-loss Marlins team and finished second in the NL to Clayton Kershaw with a 2.19 ERA. He allowed only 5.8 hits per nine innings, the lowest in the league since 1985.
Johnson was the first Braves player not named Brian McCann to react to Fernandez last Sept. 11, charging in from third base. Johnson and Fernandez had been jawing at each other earlier in the game during one of Johnson’s at-bats, and then when Fernandez trotted past Johnson on his home run off Mike Minor he spat on the ground in the general direction of third base. Fernandez apologized to Johnson after the game, whistling at him to get his attention and they talked on the field.
“You just have to realize that that’s just how he is and it’s nothing personal,” said Johnson, of Fernandez’s smiling and reacting on the mound. “I think last year some guys took it personal and thought that he was doing it to take it out on the Braves. We were in first place, things like that. But that’s not how he is. He’s like that for every team; he pitches the way he does for every team.”
Fernandez is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA in his first four starts for the Marlins this season. He had a rough outing in Philadelphia April 11, allowing six runs in four innings of a 6-3 loss but came back with a 10-strikeout game against the Nationals. He pitched seven innings in that game, allowing four hits but took a no-decision after allowing three unearned runs.
“It’s like facing a knuckleballer, you know?” Johnson said. “You go up there and battle. He’s that good. You just have to battle and try to get some runs across and see if we can win the game.”
