Derek Lowe was still cryptic Monday about what had ailed him during his three-inning outing against the Marlins on Sunday. But he acknowledged something wasn’t right indirectly, while wearing an ice pack wrapped around his pitching elbow.
“I’ll tell you in one day,” Lowe said to a few assembled reporters. “I’ll see how it feels tomorrow; tomorrow is my throwing day.”
Lowe is set to throw his regularly-scheduled side session Tuesday.
Lowe showed he might be battling some arm fatigue when he repeatedly shook his right hand on the mound Sunday. He said afterward he had a hard time gripping the ball.
“I didn’t pitch very good,” said Lowe, who gave up five runs in a season-low three innings. “I don’t even know what to tell you.”
Lowe, 37, has never been on the disabled list in his 14-year career. He wouldn’t need to go on it now, with rosters set to expand Wednesday. If this turns out to cost Lowe a start or more, the Braves would turn to Kenshin Kawakami, who was recalled Monday from Gwinnett.
When asked if there was concern about Lowe’s health on Monday, Braves general manager Frank Wren said: “No, not at this time. Obviously after guys make their starts you always look to their side day and see how they do…If a guy is going to have any difficulty, that’s usually when it shows up. But I don’t expect there to be any problem.”
Kawakami recalled
After three weeks in Triple-A Gwinnett to get stretched out, Kawakami returned to the Braves bullpen Monday where he will serve as the long reliever and emergency starter.
Kawakami went 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA in five starts for Gwinnett (10 earned runs in 21 innings) but struck out 22 and walked only five.
“He pitched well down there,” Wren said. “The results weren’t always great, but as far as his stuff, his curveball was real good. He’s been working on the slider, to use as another weapon, and he made progress in that area.”
Kawakami lost his starting job to Kris Medlen after going 1-9 with a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts. He lost a chance to reclaim Medlen’s spot after Medlen’s season-ending surgery with the emergence of Mike Minor.
To make room for Kawakami, the Braves optioned Cristhian Martinez to Gwinnett the day after he pitched four key relief innings in the Braves’ 7-6 comeback win. Martinez will be back after Gwinnett’s season ends Sept. 6.
“Having to send down the star of the game is hard,” manager Bobby Cox said. “But we’ll get him back on the 7th. I wish it was the 1st but we can’t (by rule).”
Moylan got cortisone shot
Reliever Peter Moylan has been battling shoulder fatigue but said he’s much improved after getting a cortisone shot Friday. Entering Monday, Moylan had last pitched Wednesday in Colorado, giving up one run in that nine-run meltdown.
Moylan needed a few days to let the pain-reliever take effect but threw a bullpen Monday. He said if it were up to him, he would have been available to pitch Monday, though he expected the Braves wouldn’t use him unless an emergency.
“We talked about it and thought it would be best to knock it out now, rather than try to pitch with it for the next couple days and eventually have to have (a shot) anyway,” Moylan said. “Hopefully it’ll last another six weeks through the playoffs.”
Moylan is in his second full season back from “Tommy John” elbow reconstruction surgery. He said this is the first time he’s dealt with shoulder fatigue. Moylan had a 9.95 ERA in his past nine appearances, with six walks and only two strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings since Aug. 6.
“It’s really been the last couple weeks where it got to the point where I (needed a shot),” Moylan said. “It feels great right now. Feels the best it’s felt in a while.”
Diaz regrets bat flip
Matt Diaz said he got caught up in the moment of his game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning Sunday when he flipped his bat before heading to run around the bases.
In the aftermath of the Braves’ celebration following Brian McCann’s ensuing walk-off homer to beat the Marlins, he felt a twinge of regret.
“Coming around third you see the bat boy picking up the bat over by the dugout, like ‘Wow, did I do that?’” Diaz said. “It was ugly. There was a Sammy Sosa hop involved, with a Bret Boone bat flip, with a Paul O’Neill head-down-not-look-at-it but then look at it later.”
The Braves play the Marlins again this weekend in Florida. But Diaz said he hopes there’s some understanding from closer Leo Nunez, a former teammate of Diaz’s with the Kansas City Royals.
“Leo is a highly emotional pitcher anyway and when he has a big strikeout, he’ll let you know it,” Diaz said. “Those guys usually understand guys who get caught up in emotion and do something like I did yesterday.”
About the Author
