Former Braves pitchers Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz often spoke of being able to handle the bat, to consistently get a bunt down and move a runner over.
On Thursday, Alex Wood provided an example of what those veterans were talking about — unfortunately for the Braves.
Wood threw the first complete game of his major league career, but the young left-hander failed in a sacrifice-bunt attempt with Gerald Laird at second base and none out in the eighth inning of a scoreless game.
The Phillies then manufactured a run in the bottom of the eighth for a sweep-averting 1-0 win against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves had a five-game winning streak snapped and boarded a bus bound for New York, where they’ll start a three-game series against the Mets on Friday night.
“I felt like I threw the ball well,” said Wood (2-2), who limited the Phillies to four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in eight innings, but came away disappointed over that potential Braves run left on the basepaths. “It definitely (expletive) that I kind of lost the game for us there in the top of the eighth.”
Laird doubled to lead off the eighth, and manager Fredi Gonzalez let Wood hit for himself rather than pinch-hit and go to the bullpen in the bottom of the inning.
“If you eliminate that eighth inning, both offensively and pitching-wise, he did a terrific job,” Gonzalez said.
Wood took the first pitch from reliever Antonio Bastardo for a called strike, then missed a bunt attempt on a second-pitch fastball. Bastardo struck him out swinging on the next pitch, and the Braves failed to advance the runner when Jason Heyward lined out to right field and B.J. Upton popped out to the shortstop to end the inning.
“Gerald leads off with a double, and I can’t get a sac bunt down,” Wood said. “You’ve got Jason coming up, he lines one out to right field, and the game should have been 1-nothing going into the bottom of the eighth. And at that point it should have been over. Especially the way I was feeling. And with … all those guys in the bullpen.
“It’s just inexcusable. I’ve just got to work (on that).”
Wood trimmed his ERA to 1.67 and turned in the 10th start of one or no runs allowed by a Brave in 15 games this season and the team’s second complete game in as many days. But that botched bunt probably will linger with Wood, who has established a reputation for intensity and for being his own harshest critic.
And on a day when he pitched so well, he had an opportunity to help his cause and wasn’t able to come through.
“Obviously I’ll sit and talk to him on the bus or something,” Laird said. “I know you go up there and are trying, but those are the little things in the game that can contribute to yourself getting a win. It’s one of those things where in the National League you see a lot of pitchers take pride in that, because I mean, all that’s good stuff today — no, it’s not a waste, but it’s one of those little things where if you can go up there and get it down, you give yourself a chance for a ‘W.’
“Because he definitely pitched well enough to win this ballgame.”
Dominic Brown led off the Phillies’ eighth with a single through the left side of the infield and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. After Wood struck out Jayson Nix for the second out, pinch-hitter Ryan Howard worked the count full before drawing a walk.
Ben Revere was up next, and when Wood left an 0-1 curveball over the middle of the plate, Revere deposited it in shallow center field, a flare of a hit that was enough to easily bring in the only run of the game.
“We’ll sit down on the bus and dissect the outing, but he did a terrific job,” Gonzalez said. “I know he didn’t want to hang a curveball to Revere; he probably wanted to spike it a little better. But he got it up in the air, up in the strike zone, and he got the best of it.”
Actually, it was the previous batter, Howard, whom Wood said he should have handled differently. Howard was 3-for-17 with eight strikeouts against lefties before Thursday.
“The one mistake I thought I made in the bottom of the eighth was letting myself get so deep in the count with Howard,” Wood said. “You can’t walk him. He’s the guy you want to face, lefty-lefty matchup right there. A scrappy guy like Revere, he’s seeing the ball for the fourth time on the day, and he’d stung it hard on two of his first (at-bats). One was a double play, but he still hit it hard.
“Howard’s been on the bench all day. You’ve got to go right at him. That’s just kind of inexcusable.”
