LAKELAND, Fla. – Bud Norris’ pitching line was flat-out ugly Tuesday in a game against the Detroit Tigers, but his manager didn’t think the performance was nearly as bad as the numbers indicated.
Norris allowed nine hits and six runs in three innings of the Braves’ 10-6 Grapefruit League loss at Joker Marchant Stadium.
“You look at the linescore and it (looks) a lot worse than what I thought he pitched,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves trailed 10-2 before scoring four runs in the final two innings.
In defense of Norris, Gonzalez pointed to a sharp grounder that got past Nick Swisher for a single in the two-run first inning, and a bloop that landed between second baseman Gordon Beckham and right fielder Jeff Francoeur for a hit in the four-run third.
“A fly ball where there was a miscommunication, and a ground ball to first base with Nicky that was tough, a pretty hard chopper, and it gets by and the inning continues,” Gonzalez said. “I thought (Norris) did a great job getting out of the first inning right out of the chute and he did a nice job managing that and minimizing the damage in the first inning and only gave up two runs.”
The veteran has one of the three Braves rotation spots that’s already determined – along with Julio Teheran and Matt Wisler – and Norris allowed only four hits and one run in five innings of his first two Grapefruit League starts before the Tigers wrecked his spring ERA (7.88).
“Got my work in,” Norris said of what he’d take from the game. “I really had a couple of things to work on. Fastball command is still the priority right now. I cut some fastballs, which I’m not normally used to doing. But it’s certainly a good sign that I’m staying over the (pitching) rubber.
“It’s nice to work with (catcher Tyler) Flowers for the first time this camp. Threw some good breaking balls, threw some not-so-good breaking balls, but a couple of miscues on defense — which is going to happen in spring training.”
Detroit starter Justin Verlander retired the first nine Braves, striking out the side in the second inning. The only Brave to reach base against him in four innings was Ender Inciarte on a leadoff double in the fourth.
The Tigers had a leadoff double from Ian Kinsler in the first inning and J.D. Martinez’s three-run homer to highlight a six-hit third inning against Norris, who was checked by Braves trainer Jim Lovell during the third inning when his shin splints acted up after he planted his feet going after a bunt single.
Norris stayed in the game and said he’s had shin splints since his youth.
“I’ve seen a lot of the Tigers the last couple of years; they’ve got one of the best lineups in the game,” said Norris, who pitched for Baltimore from 2013 until he was released in August and picked up by San Diego. “But I’ve got to execute my pitches. The mistake to Martinez was definitely a mistake, and he put a good swing on it. So you tip the cap. But once again this is spring training. I’ve seen them before and I’m going to get them out when I need to.”
