With the Braves in the midst of playing 20 consecutive games, manager Fredi Gonzlaez planned to give shortstop Andrelton Simmons a rest at some point. After watching him commit his third error in seven games Thursday night, Friday proved a good time.
Gonzalez jokingly blames an ESPN producer for jinxing Simmons, mentioning that the sure-handed shortstop hadn’t committed an error all season last Friday in New York, the day he went out and committed his first.
For his part, Simmons said he’s not dwelling on the mistakes.
“It’s the first time when I’ve made errors and it didn’t stay in my head,” said Simmons, whose fielding error Thursday opened the door for three Toronto runs off Mike Minor in an 11-3 win. “Used to be, when I was in the minors, whenever I made an error I was trying to figure out what was going on, and thinking about it, it would lead to another error. I made like 10 errors in 15 games in (Single-A) Lynchburg…. I’m not feeling like that right now. It’s just stuff that happens. It’s not in my head right now.”
Medlen update
Kris Medlen did some running and took batting practice Friday and said he’s on track to make his scheduled start Monday against the Pirates. Medlen had to leave after two innings in Wednesday’s start against the Blue Jays after he was hit in the left calf by a line drive.
“I really only felt it the day of, that night,” Medlen said.
