Jason Heyward was out of Triple-A Gwinnett’s lineup Friday, a day after getting six plate appearances as a designated hitter in his first injury-rehab game since an emergency appendectomy.
“Little sore this morning,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said in an email. “Normal when getting up to game speed.”
Heyward had an appendectomy April 22 in Denver and resumed workouts after about 1 1/2 weeks of rest. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and a walk for Gwinnett in a Thursday home game, then traveled with the G-Braves to Pennsylvania for a weekend series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Thursday that Heyward might be ready to join the Braves in Arizona next week during the final leg of a three-city trip, but that it would be up to Heyward to determine when he was ready. The Braves play a three-game series against the Diamondbacks beginning Monday.
Wren said Friday there was no timetable for Heyward’s return and that it would “be determined by his health and getting his timing back.”
Venters back on mound: A day after cutting short a planned 15-20 pitch mound session because of elbow discomfort, Braves reliever Jonny Venters was back on the mound for another go at it. He made it through the planned 15 pitches this time, but didn't try to paint any rosy picture of the session.
“Felt all right; ball’s coming out good,” the left-hander said. “I threw 15 (pitches) today, off the mound. Just wanted to see how it would respond. It’s still sore. Still some discomfort. But the ball’s coming out good, as good as it ever has. So just trying to feel it out, see if I can make pitches and see if it’ll hold together.”
Venters received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow from Dr. James Andrews on April 2 in hopes of avoiding surgery after injuring the elbow pitching in a game during the last week of spring training.
After following doctor’s orders to rest the arm four weeks and allow the medication to take effect, Venters resumed flat-ground throwing April 30 and was encouraged by how his elbow responded. But when he moved to the mound and put a different level of stress on the joint, he had some soreness Thursday.
“It felt about the same (as Thursday),” he said following his Friday session at AT&T Park. “I was trying to get on it a little more to test it. It feels strong. So we’ll see. See how it feels tomorrow. Take it day-by-day for now.”
Starters on roll: When Julio Teheran allowed three runs in seven innings of Thursday's 6-3 series-opening win against the Giants, it was the eighth time in the past nine games that a Braves starter lasted at least seven innings and 10th consecutive time that Atlanta's starter allowed three earned runs or fewer. The last to allow more was Mike Minor, who gave up six runs April 28 at Detroit in the last game of the previous 10-game trip.
