Out went Braves slugger Jason Heyward, a fan favorite. Back came Shelby Miller, a promising young right-hander with a short track record.
Before his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday at Turner Field, Miller said he understood if Braves supporters were a bit suspicious of the new guy the team got from the Cardinals in exchange for Heyward. But he said the reception from fans had been warm so far.
“No ragging on me yet,” Miller said with a smile.
Braves backers still have no reason to jeer Miller. The pitching staff was in need of a quality start and Miller delivered, but the Braves could do little against Reds starter Mike Leake while losing 5-1.
The Braves lost their third consecutive game and are 2-8 in their past 10. They also saw infielder Chris Johnson suffer a fracture in his left hand while sliding into second base in the fourth inning.
The Braves placed Johnson on the disabled list. They called up right-hander Mike Foltynewicz from Triple-A Gwinnett and scheduled him to start on Friday against the Reds.
Pitching had been the problem for the Braves in their series loss to the Nationals with sub par results from starters Julio Teheran and Alex Wood. Miller (3-1) stopped that trend but he couldn’t match Leake (1-1).
“Leake pitched better and he pitched better because he didn’t give up any runs,” Braves manger Fredi Gonzalez said. “But I thought Shelby Miller was outstanding today. If he goes out and gives you 28 to 30 more starts like that, he’s going to have a hell of a year.”
The Braves only managed two singles and four base runners over eight innings against Leake. He needed just 97 pitches to get through eight innings and threw 62 strikes.
Leake retired 12 batters in a row from the fifth through eight innings and worked through the few jams the Braves created.
Right fielder Nick Markakis led off the Braves’ first inning with a single but Andrelton Simmons hit into a double play. Freddie Freeman followed with a walk before Kelly Johnson grounded out to end the inning.
Braves second baseman Jace Peterson’s two-out single in the second was followed by Eric Young Jr’s groundout. Chris Johnson walked with two outs in the third but was caught trying to steal second base.
Those were the only base runners the Braves got against Leake. He sat down the next 12 batters, starting with Christian Bethancourt to lead off the fifth inning and continuing until left-hander Tony Cingrani came on to pitch the ninth with the Reds leading 5-0.
Gonzalez said Leake was good but the Braves weren’t as patient at the plate as they had been while scoring a total of 24 runs in three games against the Nationals.
“I was a little surprised at some of our approaches, but this guy had his slider going one way and his sinker and his four-seamer going and he threw strikes,” Gonzalez said. “We had nothing hit hard all night.”
Miller allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) over seven innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed an unearned run in the sixth inning when Joey Votto doubled and then Tucker Barnhart and Leake hit consecutive home runs in the seventh.
Miller was perfect through three innings and retired three batters in a row after Skip Schumaker doubled to lead off the third. Jay Bruc elined into a double play to end the fourth inning.
Miller’s troubles started through no fault of his own. He struck out Billy Hamilton to begin the sixth inning but the ball got past catcher Christian Bethancourt, allowing Hamilton to reach base.
Zack Cozart followed with a single and Joey Votto doubled to score Hamilton. Miller limited the damage by striking out Todd Frazier and Marlon Byrd, with an intentional walk to Jay Bruce in between. Schumaker lined into a double play to end the inning.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Miller said. “I know passed balls and wild pitches and stuff like that are going to happen but I think we did a good job of getting out of some trouble there.”
But then Barnhart and Leake hit the back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning. It was just the third career homer for Barnhart, a rookie playing in his 25th game. Leake has five career home runs in five-plus seasons.
Barnhart’s homer came on a full count while Leake drilled Miller’s 2-1 pitch on a line drive to left-center.
“Made two terrible pitches right down the middle,” Miller said. “It’s terrible. We were in the ballgame at that point and give it away. It’s on me.”
Miller took his first loss and the Braves also lost for the first time with him on the mound. He still was the Braves’ most effective starter during the first month of the season.
Miller made his third consecutive quality start, with at least six innings and no more than three earned runs.
“Personally, I feel like I’m pitching good,” Miller said. “But we needed a win tonight, it’s that simple, and we didn’t get the job done. I can talk about myself and how I’m doing but that’s beside the point. We didn’t win tonight and that’s the biggest thing on my mind right now.”
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