When Mike Minor takes the mound for Game 2 of the division series Friday night against Zack Greinke and the Dodgers, he won’t have much in the way of postseason experience. This will be his first playoff start, but he will draw on the confidence he gained from a July 26 start at Turner Field against Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals.
“He’s an ace starter for them and a No. 1,” Minor said. “There was a big crowd here that night, and it was a big game for us to win. We knew we were going to play those guys in the postseason some time.”
The Braves watched Tim Hudson go down for the season to a gruesome ankle injury two days earlier. They were coming off a loss against the Mets and were opening a homestand against a Cardinals team they had last faced in the Wild Card playoff game in October, one they lost.
Minor responded by allowing one run, a solo homer by Yadier Molina, in seven innings to outduel Wainwright for a 4-1 win. That win started the Braves on a 14-game win streak that catapulted them to a National League East championship, their first since 2005.
With Hudson lost for the season, Minor showed ace-like qualities that night and in the weeks to follow. He ultimately was edged out for the Game 1 start in the division series by Kris Medlen, who at 27 is the more veteran pitcher and who has the experience of pitching in the Wild Card game last year. But Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had said Minor was next in line for that start.
“I hate putting labels on guys, especially young guys,” Gonzalez said. “But (Minor) has done a good job, better than a good job. When you’ve got six, seven years in the big leagues and being successful, that’s when I think we should put labels, this guy is an ace or a No. 1, or you’ve won some hardware to back it up. But I think Minor is a really, really good pitcher.
“We may not have a No. 1, a solid No. 1 or an ace, but we’ve got some pretty good young starting pitching.”
Minor also can draw on the success he’s had in his young career against the Dodgers. He’s 1-1 with a 2.32 ERA in five starts against them — all five quality stats.
Minor faces Greinke, who has made three postseason starts in his career — all last year pitching in the division series and the NLCS for Milwaukee.
Greinke was 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts against the Braves as a Brewer. In his only start against them since signing a six-year $147 million contract with the Dodgers, Greinke pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only four hits, in a 5-0 win June 6.
“He’s a tough pitcher,” said Minor, who is making $505,000 this season. “He’s proven that. He’s been in the league for a while, and he’s dominated for a while. But I think anything can happen. We have big hitters. It leaves a mistake up there, we have a chance to hit it out of the ballpark and put some runs on the board.”
About the Author
