Three Cuts: Perez leads Braves to 'comfortable' win over Padres
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves left no room for drama in their third game against the San Diego Padres, taking an early lead and riding quality pitching to a 4-1 win on Wednesday night at Turner Field. Here are three observations from the game:
The 24-year-old right-hander out of Venezuela has watched his major-league stock fluctuate in recent days.
Following a terrible MLB debut out of the bullpen in which he allowed four earned runs while recording just one out, Perez took on a pseudo-hero role for the back end of the Braves' rotation. The staff was desperate to find production in the wake of Mike Minor's injury and the struggles of Eric Stults and Trevor Cahill, and, surprisingly, Perez provided a solution. He allowed two earned runs and struck out 17 in his first three starts. Along with rookie Mike Foltynewisz, Perez helped hold the fort in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots.
Then came the inevitable struggle as the walks and hits caught up.
The Pirates tagged him for four earned runs on five walks and five hits, chasing him from the game after five innings. Perez entered the majors with quality minor-league numbers, but without dominant stuff or a lofty prospect ranking, it was unclear just how "real" his fast start was. Did MLB teams simply need time to put together a scouting report on him?
If that's the case, San Diego needed more time.
"This guy's got some moxie," manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Perez. "He's got some composure, he doesn't rattle. He makes pitches and that's tough to teach. That's something that he's got confidence about."
Perez put his rough outing behind him on Wednesday, dominating a San Diego team that entered ranked fifth in runs scored. He pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed just six base-runners and struck out five. It was his second shutout outing in five career starts. Though the Padres are still operating without Wil Myers (wrist injury) and struggling outfielder Matt Kemp received the day off -- Melvin Upton Jr. started the game in center, going hitless -- it was an impressive performance from a guy presumably battling to stay in the rotation. Through a translator, Perez said he aimed to go deep into the game to help relieve his bullpen and credited multiple defensive plays for his success.
Perez now owns a 1.80 ERA in 30 innings pitched as a starter.
Three of his five starts have produced a sub-3.00 FIP.
"They've gotten better and better," outfielder Kelly Johnson said of the Braves rookie starters. "Williams is competing. He works fast, he's easy to play behind. Folty's just gotten better and better every start. Shelby (Miller) has really had a phenomenal year. If he's not in the All-Star game, there's going to be a lot of mad people around here. And everyone is competing as best they can."
Four runs on 14 hits and three walks typically means good news and bad news for an offense. It translates to opportunities created and squandered. And that was Atlanta against San Diego starter Tyson Ross, who has been the Padres' best starter to date, and his bullpen.
The Braves punished the Padres up and down the lineup, one base at a time. Each of Atlanta's 14 hits came on singles. Nos. 1 and 2 hitters Jace Peterson and Cameron Maybin combined to reach base five times. The final four spots in the lineup produced nine hits. They followed hitting coach Kevin Seitzer's small-ball approach to the extreme.
"On offense, we did the same thing we've been doing," outfielder Cameron Maybin said. "Just competing at the plate and putting good at-bats together and capitalizing when we get runners in scoring position."
The Braves standout center fielder may have exaggerated a little bit on that last part, at least from a team perspective. While the offense did come through in some early-game situations to build an early lead -- one they were never really in danger of relinquishing -- Braves hitters went just 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Once again, much of that production came from Maybin, who continues to drive in runs in big spots.
"I haven't panicked. I just keep the same approach, try not to do anything different. Things are working out," said Maybin, who owns the highest batting average with runners in scoring position. "Stick to my approach and my plan, and hopefully good things keep happening."
The stranded runners should not concern the Braves, though. Overall, the team was hitting 297./.363/.424 for 113 weighted runs created with runners in scoring position, the ninth-best mark in baseball. Maybin & Co. have done well when given the opportunity. That's the good news coming out of this outing, which was bolstered by the return of Kelly Johnson: Atlanta created scoring chances.
(And the bullpen didn't give up a late lead. If the worst news is Atlanta didn't win by enough on a night when plenty went right, things are looking up.)
The Braves now own a 29-30 record and are just two games back in the NL East.
The Braves' left-field spot has been a platoon mess over the past couple weeks. With Kelly Johnson on the disabled list since May 13 while dealing with an oblique injury, Gonzalez shuffled between Todd Cunningham, Jonny Gomes and Eric Young Jr. without much success. Cunningham was the most consistent option, performing above replacement level, while Gomes has struggled at the plate and Young was designated for assignment.
Johnson returned from the DL on Wednesday -- relegating Tuesday night's hero Joey Terdoslavich, fresh off his first career home run, back to Triple-A Gwinnett -- and immediately started pitching in. He finished with three hits and an RBI in his first game in nearly a month.
"It was a good first day. Obviously that's how you like to see it, doesn't always work out like that. Doesn't always work out that way when you've been playing 20 games in a row sometimes," Johnson said. "It's just baseball. It's nice to have that day, but also with the win, guys pitched great. Probably one of the more comfortable three-run games I've ever been a part of."
For comparison's sake, here's a look at what Atlanta's left field looked like in the final two weeks without Johnson compared to the return of its de facto starter.
It's a significant difference.
With Johnson back in the fold, assuming he'll take on the majority of the starts moving forward, the Braves offense, one that ranked 12th in runs scored entering Wednesday's action, will be that much deeper. Also, his inclusion means the Braves are running out a more-than-competent outfield alongside the red-hot Maybin and the ever-steady Nick Markakis.
