The Atlanta Braves concluded their road swing on Thursday afternoon with a 6-1 win in Miami to register three wins in the four-game series. Here are three observations from a game that was never in question:
Before coming to Atlanta from Baltimore for cash considerations on Aug. 23, the veteran right-hander had spent a month with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate to make room for 22-year-old Kevin Gausman. At the time of his demotion, Garcia was 3-5 with a 5.77 ERA in 53 innings pitched at the major-league level. But he pitched well in the minors, posting a 2.84 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 81 1/3 innings pitched.
Braves general manager Frank Wren and his staff saw something to believe in, and it's paid off so far. (Keep in mind: In his lone start for Triple-A Gwinnett, Garcia was shelled to the tune of eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. His path back to the majors was by no means guaranteed.)
The Braves have now turned to Garcia four times in September — three extended appearances, including Thursday's strong start — and he's allowed just two runs in 13 2/3 innings pitched. Does that sound anything like the same player? Not really. Of course, it's a small sample size, and he's only seen game action against the Marlins, Phillies and Mets — three of the 10 lowest-scoring teams in baseball — but his efforts have not gone unnoticed.
"He knows how to maneuver himself through a major league lineup. Put a little on, pull a little off. Never give you the same look at any of the pitches," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Next thing you know he's got 55 pitches in the sixth or fourth inning."
Added Garcia: "I come here and they give me an opportunity to play in the bullpen, (to) start. Hopefully I'll continue to pitch the way I've been pitching. Whatever they need me to do — in the bullpen, be a starter — I'm ready for."
Thursday's win came on the heels of Garcia's best individual effort since an eight-inning, no-run start back on May 30 against another NL East opponent (Nationals). In fact, if Garcia only counted his statistics against the Braves' divisional opponents he might be challenging for a Cy Young at age 36 (joking, but still): 21 2/3 innings pitched, 0.83 ERA, 13 hits allowed and a6.5-to-1 K/BB ratio. Could he have chosen a better landing spot?
Garcia is slated to be utilized as a long reliever in playoff situations, and Atlanta has to feel better about his presence on the 40-man roster now than it did following his shaky-at-best start with Gwinnett.
It was the 35th time this season Atlanta's pitching staff has allowed just one run or fewer.
The Braves wrapped up the season series against Miami with a 13-6 record.
If the Braves' Nos. 2-5 hitters are going to combine for seven hits and four walks every night, coupled with the team's consistently strong pitching, the offense will get back on track with or without Jason Heyward at the top.
Gonzalez trotted out Elliot Johnson in left field and at leadoff for the first time on Thursday. The midseason waiver wire pickup delivered by reaching base on two of his five plate appearances — handing the responsibilities off to the four-man combo of Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, Evan Gattis and Chris Johnson. They responded by driving in all six runs scored against Marlins starter Brian Flynn:
Upton: 0-for-2, three walks, two runs
Freeman: 3-for-4, one HR, one walk, two runs, two RBI
Gattis: 1-for-5, two RBI, one run
Johnson: 3-for-5, two RBI
"We had some good approaches against the starter early in the game and got a big number against him," Gonzalez said.
After a series in Philadelphia where the offense just could not get off the ground, especially against starters Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels — not to mention coming directly off a fruitless night against NL Rookie of the Year favorite Jose Fernandez — it was a solid response for the Braves, who have been a below-average offense in September.
Not surprisingly, the largest portion of the workload came on their two most-consistent bats: Freeman and Johnson. Freeman, the team's first baseman who is being touted as a fringe NL MVP candidate (my vote is still with Andrew McCutchen), hit his 20th home run in the win and is now hitting .309/.384/.486 with a 146 weighted runs created (100 is league average), placing him among the NL's top-10 hitters entering Thursday's games.
"I don't think of myself as a power hitter, so I try to stay after the gaps. But, you know, I just hung one right there and I was able to get extended and flick it out of here," Freeman said of home run No. 20. "And I did not know that was gone because I think that's my first one here so I didn't know how far I needed to hit it. I knew I hit it good, but I didn't know I hit it that good."
Then, of course, there's Chris Johnson, who, after his 12th game of three or more hits, is now hitting .330 — just a few points behind the NL batting title lead. He's not going away.
It had been awhile since Atlanta's power right-hander made an appearance — Aug. 21 against the New York Mets, to be exact — and his manager sure looked relieved to have him back. Walden strained his groin a few weeks ago in St. Louis (an injury he's dealt with in the past) and the Braves were careful not to rush his rehab process. After a bullpen session on Tuesday, Walden was ready to go on Thursday.
"This is the best my arm has felt this late in the season my whole big league career," Walden told reporters.
He retired two of the three batters he faced in the seventh, including a double-play ball for the first two outs. His fastball hovered at 95 mph, just a tick under his season average. The Braves and their MLB-leading, franchise-record-chasing, 2.31 ERA-toting bullpen will take it.
"We wanted him to go out there and get an inning and make sure he's OK. And I'm sure he is," Gonzalez said. "That's a big piece that we haven't had in, I don't know, 19 days I think. That'll take a little burden off some of the other guys we've been using a lot. For him to go out there and (David) Carpenter to go out there and (Anthony) Varvaro coming in the second day in a row after throwing two innings yesterday — and not having to use (Luis) Avilan or (Craig) Kimbrel or (Luis) Ayala — it was good."
