PHILADELPHIA – Braves pitcher Matt Wisler hoped his sore side wouldn’t force him to miss a start just when he’d reeled off consecutive strong outings. But it had been pretty clear Friday which way the team was leaning.
They made it official Saturday when Braves interim manager Brian Snitker announced that rookie Ryan Weber would make Wisler’s scheduled start Monday in a series opener at Washington.
Williams Perez will start Tuesday after missing three months for a rotator-cuff strain, and Mike Foltynewicz starts the series finale Wednesday on one extra day of rest.
Weber hasn’t started a game since July 1, his last start at Triple-A Gwinnett. But he’s made several multi-inning relief appearances since then including 3 2/3 innings for the Braves on Aug. 20 against the Nationals.
“Monday we just need somebody to get the plane off the ground, then piece it together,” Snitker said, meaning they don’t expect Weber to pitch deep into the game. “Webby can go as far as he can. Hopefully with Matt, he misses one (start), does his sides and he’s OK.
“We’re not going to take any chances. He’s throwing good. Those (injuries) are nothing to mess with. Luckily it wasn’t real bad. I think he feels good about it. He could probably pitch, but we’re not going to take a chance.”
The Braves hope that by having Wisler skip one start, he can get healthy and still make four starts before the season ends, building on his recent momentum.
“It’s just going to take some time, I think,” Wisler said Saturday, a day after expressing hope that he’d be allowed to pitch Monday. Discussions with team officials in the interim had brought him around to their way of thinking on the matter.
“I can’t rush it, I can’t do anything crazy,” he said. “It’s got to heal completely before (I pitch). Especially with five starts left regardless; I’d rather make four than try to make (next scheduled one) and blow out and miss the rest of the season. It’s just a patient process at the moment, take it day by day, see how the body reacts and whenever it’s ready, go back and make a start.”
Wisler has been outstanding in two starts since returning from a four-week stint in Triple-A.
He took a no-hitter to the seventh inning and gave up two hits in eight innings ball in his first game back Aug. 25 at Arizona, then allowed four hits, one run and three walks in six innings (110 pitches) in his 10-strikeout game Wednesday.
Wisler is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and .125 opponents’ average in two starts since returning from Triple-A, after going 2-6 with a 7.71 ERA and .328 opponents’ average in his last 10 starts before being sent down at the end of July.
He said he felt tightness on a fifth-inning pitch Wednesday against the Padres and stayed in the game to pitch the sixth, recording two of his career-high 10 strikeouts in that sixth inning. He didn’t tell anyone about the soreness until afterward.
