One week after two young pitchers made a little history in a 28-strikeout game in Atlanta, Braves left-hander Alex Wood and Marlins phenom Jose Fernandez will square off again Tuesday night in a series opener at Miami. If you’re going, take some extra “K” signs.
Fans and players alike have been eager for Wood vs. Fernandez II since it became apparent late last week they would face off again in Miami. Both pitchers are known for fiery enthusiasm and Wood said he’s excited about facing Fernandez again after losing a 1-0 decision last week.
“I think it’s hard not to be (excited),” Wood said. “At the same time, after we did the last one, especially going back-to-back, it’s hard to go in expecting the same thing to happen again. I’m more concerned with just going out there competing again and just putting up zeroes.”
They both did plenty of that last week. Never in baseball’s modern era had two teams struck out 28 times without drawing a walk until Tuesday in the Marlins’ win, the only loss for the Braves on a six-game homestand that ended Sunday. All but three of those strikeouts were recorded by Wood (11) and Fernandez (14).
They worked eight innings apiece in a duel as superb as any at Turner Field, which has had more than its fair share over the years. It had been 113 years since two pitchers 23 or younger had at least 11 strikeouts in the same game, so long ago that last guys who did it went by the first names Noodles (Hahn of the Reds) and Long Tom (Hughes of the Cubs).
It didn’t take long for a rematch. Wood (2-3, 1.54 ERA) will face last year’s National League rookie of the year at Marlins Park, where Fernandez (3-1, 1.99 ERA) hasn’t lost in 18 career starts. He’s 11-0 with a 1.07 ERA and .164 opponents’ average there.
“He’s probably the best right-hander I’ve ever faced, as far as for nine innings, right at you,” said Braves catcher Evan Gattis, who struck out three times in three at-bats against Fernandez last week on a total of 11 pitches. “I don’t know what else to say about him. He’s electric. He’s got great stuff. He’s going out there to have fun, too, to play a game. But he just happens to be pretty dominant at it.”
Hernandez’s starts create a party-like atmosphere in the retractable-roof stadium in the Little Havana section of Miami. Fans wave Cuban flags in salute to Hernandez, 21, a Cuban defector. That’s in contrast to the quiet and half-empty stadium the Braves see in most games at Miami.
“It’ll be a nice change of pace for what we’re used to down there,” said Wood, a former University of Georgia standout who got used to noisy environments during Friday night games in the SEC. “I like pitching in front of a good crowd.”
Wood allowed four hits in eight innings last time and gave up the only extra-base hit in the game, a Giancarlo Stanton one-out double in the fourth inning. Casey McGehee followed with an RBI single. The only other hits off Wood were bunt singles.
It was the second consecutive start in which Wood pitched eight innings and got a 1-0 loss. The other was at Philadelphia on April 17, when he pitched his first complete game and struck out seven with one walk in eight innings.
“Hopefully we can get Woody on the (winning) end, because he’s been throwing great,” third baseman Chris Johnson said.
Wood has allowed just one run in four starts and two runs in the other. He doesn’t have Fernandez’s mix of 95-98 mph fastballs and devastating slider, but Wood throws hard enough, often in the low-90 mph range. He changes his speeds, locates well and has an unusual delivery and aggressive approach that teammates applaud.
“It’s funky,” Gattis said of his pitching motion. “A lot of hitters say it’s like (White Sox standout) Chris Sale. And he’s got the stuff to go with it. And he’s a competitor.”
Far more challenging than the Miami environment is the task of facing Fernandez, home or road, since there is usually not much margin for error for an opposing pitcher. Fernandez finished third in the NL Cy Young balloting last season and many believe he is already one of the best three or four pitchers in baseball.
Right-handers are 7-for-60 (.117) against him, with one homer, no walks and 27 strikeouts. In his past two starts against the Nationals and Braves, Fernandez allowed no earned runs, seven hits and no walks with 24 strikeouts in 15 innings.
He’s 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts against the Braves, with five walks and 27 strikeouts in 21 innings.
“In terms of when you kind of get a challenge like that, some people seem to rise to the challenge,” Wood said. “I like to think I’ve always been one of those people.”
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