Gwinnett Braves: Ian Thomas Extremely Strong In Debut
By Jeff Schafer
On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves made a couple moves of their 25-man roster. Starting pitcher, Gavin Floyd, was ready to come off the DL and join the Braves so to add one, you have to subtract one.
Braves left-hander Ian Thomas was the odd man out.
The Undrafted, pitcher out of Virginia Commonwealth held a 4.26 ERA over 10 relief appearances for the Braves and will surely get another shot later this season.
“It’s part of the game. I knew they had to make a roster move,” Thomas said after being sent down to Gwinnett.
Apr 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Ian Thomas (58) follows through against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves defeated the Phillies, 9-6. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Ian Thomas, who made his Triple-A debut for Gwinnett, pitched outstanding on Tuesday night. Ian saw nine batters in three innings and struck out five. Thomas came out after three innings because he was under a limited pitch count to stretch his arm out from being in relief with the Braves.
Though not picking up the victory in his first start with Gwinnett, he pitched great and probably opened up eyes on if this guy is a starting pitcher or relief.
The southpaw became the 13th player to make his Triple-A debut with Gwinnett after having already made his Major League debut.
Thomas left with a 1-0 lead as Gwinnett scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning.
Gwinnett did rally in the eighth inning to win the game 3-2. They scored two runs on three hits to win their first game of the homestand. Todd Cunningham reached on a one-out single. Then was moved to second on a walk to Tommy La Stella and later Cunningham scored on an RBI single by Joey Terdoslavich. After an infield single by Phil Gosselin loaded the bases, reliever Ryan Tepera uncorked a wild pitch scoring La Stella for the game-winner.
Look for Thomas to continue stretching out his arm in the next few weeks as Tomahawk Take will keep you updated.