NEW YORK – For those still skeptical of Braves pitcher Mike Minor after Friday at Cincinnati, where he took a no-hitter to the eighth inning, his seven-plus innings of four-hit ball Thursday against the Mets should help erase lingering doubts.
It was another impressive outing by the left-hander, who was perfect through four innings and didn’t give up a run until the eighth in a 6-1 win against the Mets, which gave the Braves a series win at Citi Field and completed a 6-4 trip.
“He’s been solid now four times out,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves trimmed a half-game off Washington’s lead in the National League East, but still trail by six games with 28 to play. “The young man earlier in the year had some tough luck, and I think he’s progressing in the right direction.”
Emilio Bonifacio had four hits and two RBIs for the Braves, and Minor (6-8) chipped in with two hits including an RBI single and a double.
“We need all the wins we can get right now, so it feels good,” said Minor, who had a two-hit shutout going until the eighth, when he was replaced after giving up a Travis d’Arnaud double and Eric Campbell single to start the inning, the latter hit accounting for the Mets’ only run.
Minor gave up one run, four hits and no walks with five strikeouts, and threw 65 strikes in 98 pitches. In his previous start, he gave up just one hit and one run in 7 2/3 innings against the Reds at their bandbox of a ballpark, with four walks and five strikeouts. He got no decision in that 3-1, 12-inning Braves win.
“Like I said the last time,” said veteran backup catcher Gerald Laird, who has caught each of Minor’s past two starts, “all the stuff he’s been working on in the bullpen with the two-seamer and creating that depth with the fastball kind of moving down, it’s just nice to see him come out and get some good results. Because now he’s just building more and more confidence.
Minor is 2-1 with a 2.22 ERA and two homers allowed in his past four starts, after going 2-3 with a 7.33 ERA, .357 opponents’ average and 12 homers allowed in his previous 10 starts. He’s given up just nine hits in 21 2/3 innings over his past three starts.
“It’s not saying I can’t go out there and have a bad game,” Minor said. “But I do feel like I’ve turned a corner, with pitches and hitting spots and attacking hitters. I do feel confident. I don’t feel like that little guy in the back of my head is saying, ‘Don’t give up the home run’ anymore. I feel like I’m attacking guys and going after them.”
The offense remains a concern for the Braves, who had one run until the eighth inning and needed three runs in the ninth, including Ryan Doumit’s two-run pinch homer, to avoid their sixth consecutive game scoring three runs or fewer.
Minor’s RBI single in the second inning accounted for the only run for either side until the eighth, when he started a two-run inning with his second hit of the night, a line-drive double.
Bonifacio drove in Minor with a triple and Freddie Freeman singled to push the lead to 3-0.
“He had a great day,” Gonzalez said of Bonifacio, who started in place of underperforming center fielder B.J. Upton for the third time in six games. “Boni got some stuff going and scored a couple of runs.”
While they keep trying to improve their inconsistent offense, the Braves’ starting rotation looks deeper and stronger after Minor came through with two overwhelming starts during the road trip to continue a stunning midseason turnaround.
“This is the guy we expected,” Laird said. “This is the big leagues and guys struggle. He knows he struggled, and he went back and he’s made an adjustment and he’s having success with that adjustment, and now just kind of created a new pitch for him. I mean, he didn’t really ever throw the two-seamer, now he has that and he still has the explosive four-seamer with the change-up and the curveball and the slider.
“For me, he’s gotten better, and once he gets more command of the sinker he’s just going to get better and better.”
The Braves skipped Minor’s rotation turn at the beginning of the month. He used the down time to work on his delivery and pitches. He didn’t pitch in a game for 10 days. He spent time throwing in the bullpen and getting assistance from teammate Ervin Santana on his pitch grips, particularly his sinker, and has thrived since returning to the rotation.
He’s reeled off four consecutive quality starts, the past three of which have been far beyond the minimal requirements for the “quality” designation.
“Really, we just throw a lot of sinkers now, because it’s got downward action and I get a lot of ground balls,” Minor said. “I don’t strike out as many guys, but I don’t go as deep into counts, either. I was kind of upset when I kept on throwing ball 1 tonight, or it seemed like that. But I was trying to attack them but still get that good action on the sinker.”
The resurgence of Minor comes at a good time for the Braves, whose 28 remaining games include 21 against division opponents.
“That’s how we get back in this race,” Freeman said. “We’re not thinking about wild card. We’re still not out of it yet in the division. We’ve still got the Nationals six more times, so if we can keep within striking distance and play them well coming up when we do play them, I think we’re going to get right back in it.”
