Live games have a way of exposing both the good and the bad. Friday night saw a bit of both for the Atlanta Braves.
You could argue that Friday night’s game was essentially over after the first 4 pitches had been thrown. It was just 2-0 at this point, but the Atlanta Braves were never able to muster much of an attack against old friend Alex Wood.
But if was really more about Wood’s counterpart on the mound than it was the former Georgia Bulldog.
For his part, though, Wood was brilliant: 4 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts over 6-2/3rds innings. The only runs came on 2 bombs, but for the night, only 4 balls were squared up by the Braves bats at 95.2 mph or better against him… even Freddie Freeman couldn’t break 90 mph.
But the takeaways… are somewhat telling:
3. Gausman is done
This is a declaration that sounds harsh, but there’s reasons for it.
When Kevin Gausman completed his AAA rehab and returned to the majors, we were told with great optimism that he had restored his curveball and was now also working with a cutter to round out his arsenal once again.
He then went out and stymied the bats of the Washington Nationals – of all teams – with a performance that more-or-less matched what Alex Wood did last night: 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run allowed with no walks and 8 strikeouts.
Brilliant!
Underlying all of that was a curiosity… he didn’t use the curve. He didn’t throw the cutter. Maybe the Nationals thought he was going to?
In the next start, same thing… except for the results as the Phillies hammered him for 6 runs in 6 innings.
Last night? 5 runs in 4-2/3rds innings with 8 hits allowed.Â
ESPN’s gamecast results declare that over Gausman’s 94 pitches, 93 of them were either a 4-seam fastball or a split-finger. One slider was noted… but frankly, that sounds sketchy (75 mph doesn’t sound like the speed of a slider from someone throwing 93-94 fastballs… perhaps the ball slipped as it was also way off the plate?).
Also telling was that with 2 outs and 2 man on base in the 5th, Brian Snitker decided that he’d seen enough and refused to give Gausman even the dignity of finishing the 5th inning and having any shot at a ‘W’… even though he had to double-switch for him in the process.
That sounds like a very frustrated manager.
So the 4-pitch mix was a lie? If nothing else, it’s clearly not being done, which leaves Gausman exactly as he was before that semi-legitimate IL stint.
The take here is that barring a real change he may not find another start for the rest of his Braves career.