Atlanta Braves

Dickey's dancing knuckler on display in Braves' new digs (Apr 15, 2017)

Published Apr. 15, 2017 9:39 a.m. ET

ATLANTA - The Braves hope that R.A. Dickey's knuckleball will be dancing like it did in his debut when Atlanta plays its second game at SunTrust Park against the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

The key to a victory might be behind the plate, where catcher Kurt Suzuki gets the challenge of holding onto Dickey's offerings, and Braves fielders making plays behind the 42-year-old former Cy Young Award winner.

Third baseman Adonis Garcia made a pair of errors in a 6-4 loss at Pittsburgh a week ago and Suzuki had three passed balls, the miscues leading to three unearned runs against Dickey.

Suzuki, who had little experience catching a knuckleball, and Dickey were paired through spring training, but things got a lot more difficult once the pitcher was throwing his prized pitch to full effect.

"When you throw ones that can move in multiple directions with velocity, it's hard (to catch)," said Dickey, who also had a wild pitch against the Pirates while giving up nine hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings. "So I have a lot of empathy for (Suzuki). No one works harder at it than he does. He's got the right mentality. ... He'll get better."

Two of the passed balls came in the same inning, leading to a run.

"Some days (the knuckleball) is good, some days it's really good and some days you get the hang of it," Suzuki said. "That one inning it was more shaking than really diving. That's the tough ones because I don't know if they're going to go down or cut."

Dickey, who signed a one-year deal with the Braves as a free agent, will be opposed by left-hander Clayton Richard, who pitched eight scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first start, but didn't have the same kind of success in his second outing.

Richard (1-1, 2.57 ERA) allowed back-to-back third-inning home runs to Hunter Pence and Buster Posey in a 5-3 home loss to the San Francisco Giants last Sunday.

Richard retired 11 of the last 13 batters he faced in the six-inning outing, but the damage was done.

"The at-bat with Pence, I felt I executed pretty well and he got the better of me," Richard said. "Posey's at-bat was a little different. Falling behind 2-0, that gives him a chance to look for one pitch in one zone."

Dickey (0-1, 4.76 ERA) pitched three scoreless innings in the Braves' exhibition game at SunTrust Park to close spring training, and left with good feelings about the ballpark as well as his outing.

"They did a fantastic job with the stadium. It's beautiful," Dickey said. "I love the mound and the field is perfect. I have nothing bad to say at all. It's a great place."

Richard has never beaten the Braves, going 0-5 with a 6.91 ERA in eight games (five starts).

Dickey, meanwhile, had a rough interleague outing against the Padres last season while with Toronto, giving up seven runs (six earned) over 5 1/3 innings in a loss. He is 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in five career starts against the Padres.