Apr 12 2009
Kawakami sharp in debut as Braves improve to 4-1
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 5, Nationals 3
Top of the Order: Kenshin Kawakami’s six strong innings in his major-league debut fronted a strong pitching performance, and Jordan Schafer’s three hits and Kelly Johnson’s three RBIs paced the offense as the Braves improved to 4-1.
The Good: One week after he walked seven in 2 2/3 innings in his final exhibition start, Kawakami overcame some early control problems to settle in nicely in his first regular-season effort. The 33-year-old Japanese right-hander gave up three runs but just four hits, walking four and striking out eight, in six innings. He threw 89 pitches, 54 for strikes, and really locked after allowing a run in the first and two in the third, retiring the final eight hitters he faced. Johnson went 3-for-4 with a double and a solo homer, scoring twice and driving in three to improve his average to .364. Schafer continues to look nothing like a rookie: two doubles, three hits, two runs scored, a .421 batting average. Yunel Escobar walked twice, singled twice and drove in a run. The bullpen, the one weak link in this first week, bounced back with its strongest showing to date. Peter Moylan struck out the side in a 13-pitch 1-2-3 seventh. Rafael Soriano gave up a hit and a walk, but induced an inning-ending double play in the eighth. Mike Gonzalez struck out two in a flawless ninth. Jeff Francouer threw out a runner at second base.
The Bad: The Braves left 10 runners on base and Francoeur’s average slipped to .190 after an 0-for-3, but really, no complaints from this one.
View from the Sports Garage: Gotta admit, I was worried coming into this one. The Braves used seven relievers during Friday night’s/Saturday morning’s epic storm-delayed extra-inning home opener, and I wasn’t sure Kawakami could grind out the innings the Braves needed. But the Japanese right-hander dug deep after a little bit of a shaky start in the early innings, and he totally took control of things in the middle innings. The bullpen responded, too, as Moylan-Soriano-Gonzalez locked down the final three innings. Great to see Moylan come out and throw strikes. The double-play ball Soriano got was huge, and Gonzalez looked very comfortable on the hill in the ninth. Johnson, Escobar and Schafer combined to go 8-for-11 with four runs scored and four RBIs. For all the speculation on how the lineup would look, Johnson at the top, Esco in the 2-hole and Schafer hitting eighth has worked out quite well. Five games, four wins. I’ll take that over the next six months.
On deck
Braves vs. Nationals
1:30 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: Jair Jurrjens makes his first home start of the season, coming off a debut performance in which the 23-year-old right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in Philadelphia Tuesday. Jurrjens (1-0, 0.00 ERA) went 1-1 in four starts against Washington last season. For the Nats, lefty Scott Olsen (0-1, 24.00 ERA) allowed eight runs in three innings in his debut against Florida.
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