2) Would you have felt better had the Braves entered Wednesday’s series finale in San Diego having gone 5-7, instead of 3-9 over their previous 12 games? Well, here’s your reminder that Carlos Carrasco, who was designated for assignment by the Braves for the fifth time this year on Wednesday, blew a lead in high-leverage situations in two of those outings, June 9 against the White Sox and Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Why? Well, the Braves opted to give their top relievers some extra
rest over the past few weeks. That’s what you need to do during this marathon season. But the reality is you still are prone to what happened on Tuesday, when Carrasco surrendered Fernando Tatis Jr.’s game-tying homer, primarily because Robert Suarez (sore forearm) was one of five relievers who were unavailable.
Losing Suarez would be as crushing to the pitching staff as Ronald Acuña Jr.’s hamstring injuries have been to a slumping offense that was elite just six weeks ago. So, yeah, there’s a need to protect him with the hope the ailment doesn’t become serious.
But why was James Karinchak not used with the one-run lead in the seventh? The pregame decision was to stay away from him because he’d thrown 22 pitches the night before. But he still got up to warm up in the eighth. So, in hindsight, he, not Carrasco, should have been facing Tatis.
3) The Braves addressed their bullpen on Wednesday, when they activated Tyler Kinley from the injured list and selected Ian Hamilton’s contract. One roster spot was opened by optioning JR Ritchie, who needs to harness the command issues that have resulted in a 14 percent walk rate in 40 2/3 big league innings this year.
Having to sit as the Braves saw 54 pitches while batting around in Tuesday’s top of the second presented a challenge for Ritchie. But you still can’t issue consecutive walks after your team has just spotted you a four-run lead. And you certainly can’t allow that lead to turn into a 5-4 deficit by the end of that same inning.
Reynaldo López will move back to the rotation to start what will essentially be a bullpen game on Friday in San Francisco. If he pitches effectively while being limited to approximately 60 pitches, he’ll likely get additional starts. But there’s likely more reason to be excited about what Hurston Waldrep could soon bring to the rotation.
Waldrep threw 4 2/3 innings (71 pitches) for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. Once his pitch count is around 90, he would seemingly be in line to gain a rotation spot.
If Waldrep pitches like he did at the end of last year, the Braves will start to feel better about their rotation. But that doesn’t mean they might not still pursue multiple starting pitchers before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.
