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KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) -- Atlanta Braves starter
Brandon Beachy turned out to be a dependable five inning pitcher last
season.
In his rookie year, he started 25 games and
went 7-3, but he chalked up only 141 2-3 innings. He became known for
hitting the wall around the sixth inning and turning it over to the
Braves stellar bullpen.
Entering his fifth year of
professional baseball, all in the Braves organization, Beachy has never
thrown a complete game. He said, after the Braves tied the New York
Yankees, 5-5, in 10 innings on Wednesday, that he is working on pitching
longer and said he wants to start completing
games.
"I am ready to start going deep because that's
what they need from me," Beachy said after going six innings, allowing
six hits and two earned runs. I am trying to get ahead of the batters. I
feel like I can go the distance even (Thursday) if I had
to."
Beachy said something clicked after his third
inning against the Yankees that has him feeling he has found what will
make him a successful starter.
"I've been going
through all spring like it was a long bullpen session, then everything
started to come together. I got ahead and I am ready to go now. I
learned a lot today."
After giving up a run in the
first, and two more in the third, Beachy settled down over the next
three innings and retired nine straight. It was Beachy's best outing of
the spring and manager Fredi Gonzalez noticed.
"I
want him throwing about 100 pitches, but they have to go farther than
six innings," Gonzalez said. He gets his pitch count up, but we are
going to prod him. The most important thing is to get him past the `shot
down innings' where we start to think about making a
change."
Gonzalez said he wants Beachy to be able to
reach at least 115 pitches when needed.
Hiroki Kuroda
went seven innings for the Yankees, allowing two runs and a homer and
striking out six. Yankees manager Joe Girardi has said that Kuroda has
solidified his spot as the Yankees No. 2 starter behind CC
Sabathia
Eric Chavez, who has struggled this spring,
went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI to lift his spring average to
.235. Robinson Cano went 1-for-3 with an RBI to life his average to
.204. Jayson Nix and Eduardo Nunez had two hits apiece for the
Yankees.
Jason Heyward boosted his spring batting
average to .205 with long homer in the ninth among his two hits. The
Yankees led 5-3 going into the ninth, but Freeman walked and Heyward
homered to deep to right off George Kontos. The Yankees put runners on
second and third with two outs in the 10th, but the Braves
escaped.
NOTES: RHP Tommy Hanson
is lined up to be the Braves Opening Day starter on April 5th in New
York. Hanson will start Saturday in his final exhibition outing which
would leave him the usual four days rest before his next start.RHP Tim
Hudson, recovering from back surgery, is scheduled to pitch two innings
in Monday's exhibition finale against the Mets. It will mark his first
appearance of the spring.The Braves agreed to send cash considerations
to the Chicago White Sox in return for minor-league OF Christian
Marrero. ... OF Jack Cust, who signed a one-year, non-guaranteed
$600,000 contract with an option for 2013 with the Houston Astros, was
released after going 1-for-25 with eight strikeouts, and signed a minor
league deal with the Yankees on Wednesday. Cust has hit 105 career
homers including 33 in 2008 with Oakland.
