About 15 hours after Ramiro Pena’s two-run homer in the 10th inning completed the Braves’ stunning late-innings rally from four down to a 6-4 win, he was in the lineup Saturday in place of shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
“I just want to get some left-handed hitters in the lineup,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said after posting the lineup in the morning, which included just one left-handed hitter for the matchup against Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg. “Just trying to get the offense going a little bit.”
Such a move might have seemed inconceivable until recently, considering Pena came in with a .233 career average, .553 OPS and two homers in 313 career at-bats during parts of four major league seasons with the New York Yankees.
But Braves officials said since the first week of spring training that Pena looked like a far better hitter than his stats indicated, and Gonzalez has said — and reiterated several times recently — that Pena would be recognized as an exceptional utility player if he’d spent those years in the National League.
Pena went 2-for-3 with a walk Saturday to make him 7-for-17 (.412) with a double, a homer and six RBIs in nine games, including 5-for-11 with four RBIs in three starts at shortstop. He filled in last weekend when Simmons hurt a thumb.
“He’s playing now,” Gonzalez said of Pena, “where over (with the Yankees) you’re playing in the American League and backing up Derek Jeter and (Robinson) Cano and (Alex Rodriguez), it’s tough to get in the game. Here in the National League, the game will dictate a double-switch, a pinch-hit, go in for defense, that kind of stuff.
“What a pick-up, (signing) that young man.”
The Braves signed the 27-year-old to a one-year free-agent contract in late December, knowing infielder Paul Janish would need at least six months to fully recover from October shoulder surgery. Janish should be ready to play soon, but he’ll likely be the shortstop at Triple-A Gwinnett, with Pena continuing in his current role.
He already has had a far bigger impact than anyone, including Pena himself, expected.
His two-run single in the eighth inning against the Cubs on April 6 pulled the Braves within 5-4 in a game they won 6-5, and his two-run single off the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija in the sixth inning April 7 accounted for the game-winning RBI.
Pena made two exceptional defensive plays in the late innings of Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Miami, including a double-play when he charged in and caught a popped-up bunt, then fired to first base before the runner got back.
He entered Friday’s game in the ninth inning and bunted for a base hit after Chris Johnson’s leadoff single. Both ended up scoring on Justin Upton’s two-out tying single and third baseman’s Ryan Zimmerman’s throwing error. An inning later, Pena got a fastball he was looking for from Craig Stammen and drove it into the Nationals’ bullpen beyond right field.
“Man, unbelievable,” said Dan Uggla, who was on base when Pena homered. “He’s come through huge for us. Seems like every time he’s been called on to do something, he has.”
It was Pena’s first homer since June 15, 2011, and in the 31 games he played between homers he hit .115 (6-for-52) with one extra-base hit.
Pena didn’t expect to play as much as he has, and said Gonzalez’s confidence has been a blessing.
“It feels good,” he said. “I have to believe more in myself sometimes. The good thing is the manager believes in me, he trusts me.”
Pitching, pitching, pitching: The Braves have posted a 1.60 ERA during their eight-game winning streak to lower their majors-leading ERA to 1.98. Saturday's 3-1 win was their fifth decided by two runs or fewer during the winning streak.
During the eight-game winning streak, opponents have scored one or no runs five times.
Eric O’Flaherty and Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning apiece Saturday to trim the bullpen’s majors-leading ERA to 1.35, and Braves relievers haven’t allowed any of their 12 inherited runners to score.
Ratings increase: Through the first nine games of the Braves season, Fox Sports South and SportSouth averaged a 5.26 rating that was 36 percent higher than it was through the first nine games in 2012. The opening-day game against the Phillies had an 8.87 rating and peak of 11.25, the highest for a Braves opener since the 2000 game drew an 11.8 on TBS.
Etc.: Before Saturday the Braves ranked 10th in the National League with a .254 average and eighth with a .329 OBP, but in late-and-close situations they led the league with .324 average and were 2nd with a .410 OBP. … Saturday's lineup was the ninth different one used by the Braves in 11 games, excluding the pitcher's spot.
