JUPITER, Fla. -- When spring training began, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez hoped the fifth-starter candidates would pitch so well the final decision would be difficult for team officials
Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor did precisely that Monday, pitching five scoreless innings apiece in games against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Beachy allowed two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in a morning "B" game; Minor surrendered two hits and two walks with four strikeouts during a 10-inning, 1-1 tie with the Cardinals in the regular Grapefruit League game.
“They both really pitched well,” Gonzalez said of the two rookies, who are friends and will share a Buckhead apartment. “That’s what you want. You want guys to pitch well and make us make tough decisions.”
Between them, Beachy and Minor have 32 strikeouts and nine walks with 17 hits allowed in 28 innings, including "B" games. They’ve pitched 14 innings apiece, with Beachy allowing four earned runs and Minor two.
"I've been impressed with both guys," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "I think the fifth starter is going to come down to the last couple of weeks. These guys have top-of-the-rotation stuff. Whoever wins that job is going to help us win a lot of games."
Rodrigo Lopez, a longshot third candidate for the job, gave up six hits and two runs in a five-inning simulated game on Monday against Braves minor leaguers at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
It might take an injury or two for Lopez to make the rotation.
The "B" game and simulated game on Monday were added so all three pitchers could work five innings. They’ve pitched on the same day in all of their games, and will do so again Saturday in split-squad games against the New York Mets and Detroit.
Minor has allowed one earned run in 10 innings in three Grapefruit League starts. The Cardinals loaded the bases against him in the second inning on a Matt Holliday double and two walks, before pitcher Kyle Lohse lined out to center field.
“I thought that was going to be a long day today -- second inning already throwing pitches up, walking guys,” Minor said.
The only other baserunner in five innings against him was David Freese on a one-out single in the fourth. The left-hander struck out the next batter, Colby Rasmus.
In the morning, Minor was at the backfield to watch his pal Beachy in the "B" game. With the Braves ahead 1-0, the Cardinals had a runner at third with none out and failed to score against Beachy, who got a groundout to short, a strikeout and another groundout.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Gonzalez said. “Command was good. Breaking ball was nasty."
It’s only spring training, but don’t tell that to pitchers competing for a job.
“I don’t have the luxury of going out there and working on things like some guys do,” Beachy said. “But that’s the nature of my situation, and I’m fine with that. I guess there’s not a better way to prepare than getting after it just like it’s the season.”
Mather homers against former team
Joe Mather's mammoth homer accounted for the first run in the "B" game against his old team.
A corner infield/outfielder competing for a Braves bench job, Mather showed off his power. He got all of a pitch from Cardinals right-hander Brandon Dickson and hit one that barely drew movement from the outfielders.
It came against a "B" squad that included many of Mather’s teammates from last year’s Triple-A Memphis affiliate. He hit .275 with 10 homers and a .348 on-base percentage in 91 games for Memphis, and was claimed off waivers by the Braves.
Considered a frontrunner for a backup job entering camp, Mather has hit just .120 (3-for-25) in Grapefruit League with one double, three walks and six strikeouts.
Kawakami gives up HR for lone Cardinals run
In his second spring appearance, Kenshin Kawakami worked two innings and gave up three hits, including a Matt Holliday homer for the Cardinals' only run. The sixth-inning homer came on a low, 0-2 pitch with one out.
"I thought K.K. pitched well," manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Kawakami, who was two weeks late to spring training because of visa issues, gave up a walk in his one-inning debut Friday against the Yankees. That was the same day a massive earthquake hit his native Japan.
Although his family was safe, hundreds of miles from the earthquake epicenter, it has been a tough few days for the 35-year-old pitcher.
“It’s sad,” he said through his translator. “I watch the news every day and see the amount of victims rise every single day. It’s just very sad.”
Braves held to two hits
Chipper Jones' double and Dan Uggla's single were the only two hits for the Braves after they'd totaled 25 runs and 38 hits in their past three games. Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitched six innings of one-hit ball. ... Reliever Stephen Marek was struck in the right calf by a line drive in the 10th inning, but stayed in to finish the inning.
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