KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Tommy Hanson went five consecutive starts last season in which he allowed at most an earned run in at least six innings and couldn't win. He managed only two wins in 16 starts after the All-Star break last year despite a 2.51 ERA.
So to pitch two scoreless innings in a spring-training game Tuesday afternoon and come away with a win? Hey, it’s spring-training rules ... and Hanson is due.
The hard-throwing right hander showed the same aggressiveness he used to dominate the second half of last season and set the tone for his spring with a solid debut in the Braves' 3-0 victory against the Houston Astros.
Hanson threw 18 of his 25 pitches for strikes. He allowed two hits, but one was on a play in which Freddie Freeman failed to cover first base for an infield hit. Eight of Hanson’s first 11 pitches were for strikes.
“I just wanted to go out and throw strikes,” Hanson said. “... That’s what I did a lot the second half last year -- be aggressive but down in the zone and try to get some weak contact instead of going out there and trying to make perfect pitches and try to punch everybody out.”
Hunter Pence had the only hard hit ball off Hanson on a line drive down the right-field line that soggy conditions helped turn into a triple. Otherwise his only blemish came when Freeman broke in on a Brian Bogusevic grounder that Hanson fielded easily.
“I think he thought I was just going to grab it and keep running, but it was one of those where I had to stop,” said Hanson, who knows those kinks are what spring training is designed to work out. “It’s easy for me to get over because I’m always falling that way anyway. I think once he sees me do that he’ll know that he doesn’t have to go that far if it’s one of those middle plays.”
Hanson promptly picked off the runner with a quick move to first that he said he learned from teammate Kris Medlen. Medlen has a great pickoff move for a right-hander. Hanson has struggled to hold base runners in the past.
“He told me before you turn your feet, take the ball out of your glove,” said Hanson, who said he knows he also benefited from mud around first base. “... Instead of deliberately stepping off or deliberately turning, then your arm has to catch up and throw. It’s just that split-second faster. Ball is coming, when your feet hit the ground you’re already throwing.”
Jones nears return to third
After three consecutive days at designated hitter without any problems, Chipper Jones said he might be ready to test his surgically repaired left knee in the field as early as Friday.
Jones went 0-for-3 with three groundouts Tuesday against the Astros, but one of those outs was sharply hit. He’s 2-for-8 with an RBI and a walk, with solid singles in each of his first two games. But most important, he shows no lingering ill-effects from surgery.
"He really has been fine," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "One day in pitchers and catchers camp, it bothered him a little bit, but other than that he's been fine."
Jones plans to take Wednesday off when the team travels to Fort Myers to play the Red Sox and then play DH again Thursday against the Tigers. If all goes well, he said he could be in at third base Friday, likely in the home game against Toronto. (The Braves have a split-squad game Friday in Viera against the Nationals as well.)
Jones tore his ACL on Aug. 10 against the Astros after planting and throwing on a great play up the third-base line. He has fielded ground balls and thrown to first during workouts this spring, but his biggest test will be doing it at game speed.
Kawakami to arrive
After missing the first two weeks of spring with visa problems, Kenshin Kawakami was expected to arrive in Orlando on Tuesday night from his native Japan. He will get his first workout in Wednesday morning in Braves camp.
“First of all we’ve got to find out what kind of shape he’s in,” Gonzalez said. “It’ll surprise me if he’s not in good shape knowing the [work habits of] Japanese baseball players. ... Hopefully he’s not too far behind, get him on the mound.”
The Braves are looking for trade partners for Kawakami and hope to find a team a team willing to pick up a bigger portion of his $6.7 million salary than offers received so far. He went 1-10 last season in the second year of his contract.
Minor setback for Teheran
The Braves' top pitching prospect Julio Teheran suffered a minor setback with back spasms four or five days ago, Gonzalez said. But he's pitching on the side again and might make his first appearance in a split-squad game Friday in Viera, Fla.
“He had a little back spasm, so we slowed down on him but the last couple reports, he’s been great,” Gonzalez said. “Hopefully [he’ll be ready] for the split squad.”
Teheran, 20, is rated No. 5 in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects and the highest-rated pitcher.
He is not expected to contend for a major league job coming out of spring training, but if he continues to progress as he did in his breakout season last year, the Braves will have a hard time keeping in the minor leagues.
