Colon has strong outing; Markakis, Johnson lead offense
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
— Bartolo Colon completed three strong innings and Nick Markakis recorded his first multi-hit game of the spring as the Braves claimed a 3-2 win over the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex.
Micah Johnson’s twoout RBI triple off Mark Appel in the seventh inning proved to be decisive for the Braves, who saw Colon allow one run and record three strikeouts during his 47-pitch, three-inning effort. Highly- regarded pitching prospect Sean Newcomb aided Atlanta’s efforts as he struck out four of the seven batters faced over two scoreless innings.
Markakis capped his first multi-hit game of the spring with his fourth-inning opposite-field double that found its way into the left-field corner, allowing both Johnson and Brandon Phillips to score. The extra-base hit accounted for the only runs allowed by Jeremy Hellickson, who surrendered five hits as he delivered 58 pitches over four innings.
Making his third start of the Grapefruit League season, Colon walked Cesar Hernandez to begin the game and then surrendered a Freddy Galvis single that slipped through the right side of the infield. Maikel Franco scored Hernandez with an RBI groundout off the Braves’ 43-year-old right-hander, who retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced.
“He’s starting to use the middle of the field more,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said about Franco. “If he continues to do that he’s going to be real successful. One hundred RBIs are the benchmark. Those are the kind of RBIs that are easy to get with the infield back.”
Hellickson pitched around consecutive oneout singles by Phillips and Markakis in the first inning and produced a perfect second inning. But he found trouble after Johnson enhanced his bid for an Opening Day roster spot by begin- ning his two-hit game with a leadoff single in the third inning.
Colon will have four more exhibition starts before beginning what will be his 20th Major League season. He has allowed four earned runs over the eight innings completed within his first three starts.
“I think I still need to complete one more outing to get to where I feel I need to be [for the regular season],” Colon said through an interpreter. “But I feel good.”
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Swanson close to return; Minter still shelved LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
— As Dansby Swanson has spent the past couple days resting a sore back, the Braves are comforted by the fact that the shortstop has spent the past couple weeks making his normal preparations. Unfortunately for the team, the same can’t be said of prized relief prospect A.J. Minter, who has been bothered by nerve inflammation in his left forearm since the start of Spring Training.
While Minter does not know when he might be cleared to throw off of a mound, Swanson is hoping to return to the Braves’ lineup within the next couple days. His back began to stiffen after playing nine innings for the first time this year during Saturday’s game against the Marlins. He registered four plate appearances and was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.
“There’s no need to push it past something and make it something serious,” Swanson said. “It’s just kind of a day-byday thing for me.”
Minter’s status is more concerning because he is just two years removed from Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old southpaw said the Braves’ medical staff has diag— Sean Newcomb’s nosed him with radial stock has fallen since tunnel syndrome, which he entered last season essentially causes some ranked as MLBPipeline’s discomfort near the top third-best left-handed of the forearm. pitching prospect.
Since being preBut as Newcomb scribed a dose pack earcaught the attention of lier this week, Minter has Hall of Fame manager experienced some relief. Bobby Cox and many He hopes to begin playing catch again on Thursday, but it’s too early to know when he might be cleared to begin pitching again.
“It feels fine pitching,” Minter said. “It’s just kind of after the fact, it gets irritated. So, we’re just taking it slow … I’m already starting to feel better. It should be cleared up right away.”
Minter felt some discomfort during the first week of camp, but he progressed to the point where he was aiming to make his Grapefruit League debut at some point this week. This plan changed late last week, when his forearm did not react favorably to a live bullpen session completed the previous day
Widely considered the best relief prospect the Braves have produced since Craig Kimbrel, Minter has the capability to reach the Majors this season. He did not pitch without more than two days of rest in 2016, as he posted a 1.30 ERA over the 34 2/3 innings combined at the Class A, Class A Advanced and Double-A levels.
Newcomb turns heads in latest outing LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
others who witnessed the two scoreless innings completed in the Braves’ 3-2 win over the Phillies on Thursday afternoon, he showed why it’s too early to give up on his tremendous potential.
After taking the mound at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex to begin the fifth inning, Newcomb struck out four of the seven Phillies batters he faced. Though he didn’t like the feel he had for his changeup or curveball, he painted his fastball effectively enough to end three of those strikeouts with a called third strike.
“That was really impressive,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That was fun to watch. I haven’t seen him a lot, but they didn’t swing at him very good. That was different. They swung at 93 or 94 like it was 98 or 99. There must be some deception there.”
Though he has fallen from 21st to 80th on MLBPipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, Newcomb appears to be much more confident as he experiences his second big league camp with the Braves, who acquired him in exchange for Major League Gold Glove Award- winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons after the 2015 season. The 25-year-old southpaw has solidified his 6-foot-5, 255pound frame and developed a strong rapport with Atlanta’s pitching coach, Chuck Hernandez.