Atlanta Braves Morning Chop, Box, and Game Recap
Atlanta Braves pitcher Williams Perez (61) pitches during the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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So many things to be pleased about from last night’s 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays:
- Beating a 1st place team (yep, they were)
- Jace Peterson‘s epic ABs (twice had 10-pitch ABs end in walks)
- Alberto Callaspo getting a 2-out RBI single for his first hit in ten days. Still wanna know why he was batting second…or at all.
- Todd Cunningham coming through again – even without a hit, he still produced a winning RBI.
- The performance of the – dare I say it? – shut down bullpen (3 hits, 2 walks, no runs in 4 innings).
But the number one takeaway from this game should be the performance of Williams Perez. Making his first major league start, he ‘toughed through’ some innings that might have derailed most rookies. He threw 79 pitches, 49 for strikes with impressive command of the corners as home plate umpire Pat Hoberg permitted. The only thing missing was a ‘W’ for the effort, as that went to reliever Brandon Cunniff after Cunningham’s 6th inning RBI.
In the 4th inning, Perez struck out Evan Longoria to begin the frame, but then yielded a walk and consecutive singles to load the bases. The bullpen was stirring, but Gonzalez opted to stay with Perez, and he got the grounder needed – with Freddie Freeman starting a nifty 3-6-1 double play. Yes – that was Perez himself on the back end: he made it to first base in time and spiked the ball afterwards.
The 5th inning had another test, with two more baserunners, but Perez got out of this with consecutive strikeouts of Steven Souza and…Longoria again (3 K’s on the night), who swung like he had no idea what to expect.
The next test for Williams Perez will be the Dodgers – and he’s clearly earned the opporuntity. Guessing that Matt Wisler rotation promotion might wait a bit longer.
Happy Birthday, Williams Perez… he’s 24 today.