PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Luis Vasquez's spring-training debut didn't go anything like he and the Braves hoped, but the much-discussed side-armer will get what amounts to a mulligan in the view of manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Vasquez was charged with four runs (all unearned), one hit and two walks and recorded two outs in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 8-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Mets at Tradition Field. The 27-year-old right-hander had not pitched in a game since straining a lat muscle in his right side during a Dominican Winter League playoff game in late January.
The Mets’ seven-run inning started with Vasquez walking the first batter, Matt den Dekker. The pitcher fielded a bunt single by the next batter and made an errant throw on the play, allowing Dekker to score. And the Mets were off to the races.
“I’m not going to evaluate the young man on his first time when he’s coming back from an injury,” Gonzalez said. “You can’t evaluate him, it’s not fair for him and not fair for us to even go there. If we make a couple of plays here and there, including himself, he may get out of there with just giving up one run or may even get out of the inning (unscathed).
“So it’s one of those things where I’m not going to evaluate him on this outing. Hopefully he comes out tomorrow and he’s fine health-wise, and we’ll work from there and run him back out there as soon as we can.”
Vasquez is a former Dodgers minor leaguer whose stock has risen since he became a sidearmer in 2012. He signed with the Braves as a free agent while pitching this winter in the Dominican Republic, where he posted a 1.56 ERA and .086 opponents’ average in 22 relief appearances, with 19 strikeouts and three walks in 17-1/3 innings.
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B.J. Upton had a first-inning single and a two-out walk in the third inning after falling behind in the count 1-2. The Braves are hopeful of a comeback season from the center fielder after his career-worst performance in 2013….. Former Cardinals minor league first baseman/left fielder Mark Hamilton (3-for-4) and utility man Ramiro Pena (2-for-4) had two doubles apiece and accounted for five of eight Braves hits Sunday…. Left fielder Joey Terdoslavich also had an error in the Mets' seven-run eighth inning Sunday, when they opened an 8-1 lead…. The Braves (2-9-3) are on the road again Monday to face the Phillies in Clearwater, with Brandon Beachy making his second consecutive start against Philadelphia at Bright House Field.
