It was not at all the way Shelby Miller had hoped to end the figurative first half of the season, giving up a career-high 11 hits and a season-high five earned runs in a loss to the Rockies.
And the thought of having a few days to relax and hang out with the other All-Stars this weekend in Cincinnati didn’t do anything to temper his frustration late Friday after the 5-3 defeat at Coors Field, his career-high fourth consecutive loss and his 10th consecutive start without a win.
“Yeah, we’ll relax then (in Cincinnati), but it’s still today, so I’m frustrated with that,” Miller said after Friday night’s loss. “Obviously a break’s always good, but I kind of wish I would have went into the break on more of a positive note. But at the end of the day, (Coors Field) a tough place to pitch. I didn’t make pitches. Absolutely my fault.”
Miller is 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA in two starts at Coors Field, where he’s allowed eight runs and 17 hits in 7 2/3 innings, with six walks and nine strikeouts. Those are his worst stats anywhere he’s pitched more than once. But he’s had worst starts elsewhere, when he was with St. Louis before this season.
In a start at Oakland in June 2013, Miller gave up six hits and five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. And in a May 2014 start at Yankee Stadium, he allowed nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings.
He also gave up eight hits and five earned runs in five innings of a start at Miami last season on Aug. 11. In his next starter after that one, he gave up four runs and six walks in six innings at San Diego, the last outing before Miller reeled off a torrid stretch of pitching between then and May 28 this season: 17 starts, 7-2 with a 1.71 ERA, .181 opponents’ average, 81 strikeouts and 27 walks in 110 1/3 innings.
But in eight starts since then, Miller is 0-3 with a 3.66 ERA and .293 opponents’ average, with 46 strikeouts and 17 walks in 46 2/3 innings.
And in his past three starts, he’s 0-2 with a 4.96 ERA and .361 opponents’ average, allowing 26 hits, 10 runs (nine earned), two homers and six walks with 25 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. His only quality start in that stretch was against lowly Philadelphia on July 5, when he gave up seven hits and two walks in 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday morning that he didn’t think Miller would need any reassuring chat with the manager or pitching coach after ending the first half on such a down note.
“His start (against Philadelphia) before this one was pretty darn good,” Gonzalez said. “I think yesterday was just one of those bad days. He battled himself, he battled his delvery, he battled everything yesterday. And I think he’ll be better off for it….
“He set a pretty high standard, the bar was set pretty high when he came out of the chute with (his great start to the season).”
While Miller wasn’t up that standard in two of his past three starts, for most of his 10-start winless streak he pitched great, and the problem was awful run support. The Braves have provided an average of just 1.5 support runs per nine innings pitched by Miller since his past win, failing to score at all while he was in five of those games and scoring only one run while he was in two others.
There’s no reason to be concerned about Miller, said Braves veteran Kelly Johnson. And no reason to worry about his 5-5 record making people not appreciate the season that Miller’s having.
“He’s an All-Star,” Johnson said. “He’s been rewarded in that way, everybody acknowledges it. I don’t think there’s any alarms sounding. He’s throwing the ball, it’s coming out good. I mean, I know (Friday) he probably didn’t have good location, getting a feel for those pitches like he wanted. And of course they didn’t miss the ones that we over the plate.”
Johnson’s three-run homer Friday was the only offense for the Braves, and it came in the sixth inning, after they trailed 5-0. Since the Braves hadn’t announced a pitching change yet, the three runs went on his run-support total. Otherwise, it would’ve been the fifth consecutive start in which they Braves failed to score while he was in.
When Miller came off the mound after a three-run Rockies fourth inning, he rifled his glove into the dugout before he reached the steps. Then his cap. It was the first significant display of frustration by Miller this season.
“It’s OK. It’s good to see some emotion and see him have to fight through that,” Johnson said. “Things are easy when you’re rolling. When things aren’t going your way and you’re not feeling like you want, that’s when it’s really time to bear down. We’re not worried about him, he’s an awesome teammate and he’s having a heck of a year. We’ve got tons of confidence in him.”
