Atlanta Braves Clippings Saturday, June 20, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Saturday, June 20, 2015 Braves.com Braves rally vs. Mets, give Wisler first win By Mark Bowman and Carlos Collazo / MLB.com | 12:50 AM ET ATLANTA -- Jace Peterson's two-run double in the eighth inning ruined Jacob deGrom's gem and enabled the Braves to celebrate Matt Wisler's sparkling Major League debut with a 2-1 win over the Mets on Friday night at Turner Field. deGrom had surrendered just two hits before giving up Andrelton Simmons' leadoff double and Pedro Ciriaco's one-out infield single in the eighth. With runners at the corners, the Mets pulled their prized right-hander in favor of former Braves farmhandSean Gilmartin, who promptly allowed Peterson to drill his game-winner over Juan Lagares' head in center field. "[Wisler] threw great," said Peterson, who roomed with the young pitcher when they were in the Padres organization last year. "Any time you can get a performance like that, you want to capitalize on it, and fortunately, I was able to do it." Wisler proved why he has been considered one of the game's best pitching prospects. The 22-year-old right-hander, who was acquired in the April trade that sent Craig Kimbrel to the Padres, allowed one run and six hits over eight innings. His stellar debut was blemished only by Michael Cuddyer's one-out RBI single in the sixth inning. "I actually felt pretty comfortable and confident out there," Wisler said. "It was just another game, really." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Unfazed rookie: After surrendering a leadoff double that helped put Ruben Tejada in position to score when Cuddyer chopped his sixth-inning single over a drawn-in infield, Wisler saw Chris Johnson and Peterson end the frame by turning a nifty double play on Wilmer Flores' sharp grounder. The young Atlanta hurler retired seven of the final eight batters he faced and completed a perfect eighth inning by getting Lucas Duda to look at a slider for a called third strike. Happy Birthday? On his 27th birthday, deGrom continued his recent hobby of shutting down Atlanta hitters -- until the eighth inning. deGrom threw seven shutout innings before running into trouble in the eighth, when Simmons led off with a double. After surrendering a sacrifice bunt and an infield single to pinch-hitter Ciriaco, deGrom was pulled. Simmons and Ciriaco wound up scoring on the next at-bat, with both runs being charged to deGrom. "I hung a curveball there, and he hit it," deGrom said about Simmons' double. "That's part of the game." Ciriaco's hustle: Peterson delivered the game-winner, but it was Ciriaco who helped fuel the eighth-inning rally by sprinting to first base as Flores caught his one-out chopper in the grass and then looked Simmons back to third base. That slight delay allowed Ciriaco to reach with an infield single and ended the night for deGrom, who'd entered the eighth inning having allowed just two earned runs over the past 27 innings he had completed against the Braves. QUOTABLE "I'm just going out there trying to locate and stay within myself, not trying to do too much and just pitch ahead in the count, get strike one and go from there. I think my mechanics are sound right now, and they were like that at the end of last year. Early on I was getting a little out of my delivery. And working, staying on top of that has helped me out a lot in these past seven starts." -- deGrom, on his recent success SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Wisler became the first Braves starter to throw at least eight innings in his Major League debut since John Smoltz back in 1988. Their starts are eerily similar; Smoltz also debuted against the Mets, tossed eight innings and allowed one run with two strikeouts in a win. Wisler needed just 88 pitches to complete his eight innings. He is the first pitcher since 1914 to throw that few over that long a span in his Major League debut. WHAT'S NEXT Mets: The Mets look to Noah Syndergaard in Game 2 of their three-game series at Turner Field on Saturday night at 7:10 ET. The rookie right- hander is coming off his best start of the season, during which he struck out 11 Toronto hitters and allowed just one earned run over six innings. Braves: Atlanta will counter with Williams Perez, who has not allowed an earned run in the 13 innings he has totaled over his past two starts. Perez has proven to be a welcome surprise, as he has used his sinker to consistently escape trouble. In six career starts, he has a 1.50 ERA despite surrendering a .322 on-base percentage. Wisler poised, professional in debut By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 12:23 AM ET ATLANTA -- When Matt Wisler learned on April 5 that Jace Peterson had made Atlanta's Opening Day roster, he sent his former roommate a congratulatory message. Approximately an hour later, after learning that he had been included in the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel to San Diego, Wisler sent Peterson another message that said, simply, "We might be teammates this year." The former Padres products certainly made the most of their opportunity to play together on the big stage. Peterson's two-run double in the eighth inning provided Wisler all the support he needed to celebrate the sparkling Major League debut he produced while leading the Braves to Friday night's 2-1 win over the Mets at Turner Field. "We talked when I got here; he promised me he'd get me a couple runs today," Wisler said. "He pretty much helped me calm down today. He said, 'Don't worry about it, it's just another game, and I'm behind you, just like last year.'" Throughout a significant portion of last year, Peterson and Wisler roomed together while playing for Triple-A El Paso. Now they stand as just two of the multiple pieces the Braves were thrilled to gain through the two significant trades made with the Padres over the past six months. Given their prior relationship, Peterson might have been one of the few who were not shocked to see the poise and professionalism Wisler exuded as he needed just 88 pitches to limit the Mets to one run over eight innings. Neither the surroundings nor the matchup against a very efficient Jacob deGrom deterred Wisler as he moved toward his first Major League win. "I honestly felt more calm than I probably should have out there," Wisler said. "I kept telling myself, 'Don't get too comfortable, because it's going to burn you.'" Wisler, ranked by MLB.com as the Braves' No. 2 prospect, was actually so nervous that he arrived at Turner Field at around 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday. Over the next seven hours leading up to the first pitch, he evaluated scouting reports, went through his normal pregame ritual and met his teammates, many of whom had never seen him, because the Braves acquired him after the conclusion of Spring Training. By the time Wisler opened his career by striking out Curtis Granderson, the nerves had dissipated. "I didn't know anything about him, other than we had traded for him," veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "He had multiple weapons and threw a lot of strikes. I know he was nervous when I was talking to him before the game. But at no point did he ever look out of place or intimidated by the moment." Pierzynski and the Braves were impressed with the command Wisler displayed while consistently mixing speeds and hitting his spots with his fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. He threw 63 of his 88 pitches for strikes and retired seven of the final eight batters he faced after allowing Michael Cuddyer's RBI single in the sixth inning. "When he is in that mode and attacking the zone and throwing all of his pitches for strikes, he's really good," Peterson said. "It was a good pace of the game, and I expect that a lot out of him." Braves being cautious with Freeman By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | June 19th, 2015 ATLANTA -- After bidding adieu to his Major League-best consecutive-games streak on Thursday, veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman remained out of the lineup on Friday because of a sore right wrist. "[The streak] was the last thing on my mind," Freeman said. "I just want to get healthy and get back on the field. We're going in the right direction. It was obviously sore yesterday because of the [cortisone] shot. Today it's a lot better, so hopefully, tomorrow it will be fine." Freeman had played 234 consecutive games before missing Thursday night's series finale against the Red Sox. He received a cortisone injection shortly after exiting Wednesday night's game against Boston in the sixth inning. The wrist began bothering him before Sunday's game at Citi Field, but he continued to play through the discomfort. Though Freeman is hoping to return on Saturday, the fact that he was still feeling some discomfort on Friday might give the Braves reason to hold him out until at least Sunday's series finale with the Mets. Freeman dealt with a similar ailment a few times during his Minor League career, and he was usually able to return to action after resting for just a few days. "It's one of those things that's going to take a little more time, because if I took one bad swing, I could get set back even more," he said.