The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trade talk doesn't faze Garcia against Dodgers
Starter’s solid work, grand slam hand Wood first defeat.
The Braves came close to trading Jaime Garcia on Thursday. Former Brave Alex Wood surely wishes they would have.
Garcia pitched seven strong innings Friday night and hit a fifth-inning grand slam off previously unbeaten Wood that gave the Braves a 9-0 lead on the way to a 12-3 win at Dodger Stadium, where they’ve won the first two in a four-game series against a team that had an 11-game winning streak before facing the Braves.
“I’m not going to lie to you guys and say I didn’t hear about (trade rumors), because I had a lot of people reaching out to me about it,” said Garcia, who smiled more in his postgame interview than he has after all his previous Braves spring-train
ing and regular-season starts combined.
“But to be honest I don’t really pay attention to anything that’s going on that’s out of my control. I don’t read anything that’s said about me,” he said. “I was aware there was some stuff going on, but I’m an Atlanta Brave and I’m excited that I’m still here.”
Garcia (4-7) allowed seven hits, three runs and one walk with four strikeouts hits in seven innings, driving in more runs than he allowed by hitting a two-out, 0-2 grand slam off Wood.
‘Very impressed how (Garcia) just put everything aside and did his job,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “And was really good again, just
like he was Sunday (when Garcia allowed one run in seven innings of a win against Arizona.) That’s pretty impressive how he separated everything and stayed focused and gave us a great start.”
He’s just the second Atlan- ta-era Braves pitcher to hit a grand slam, joining Tony Cloninger, who had the remarkable feat of hitting two grand slams in one game in July 1966 at San Francisco.
The Braves were deep in trade discussions Thursday on a proposal to send Garcia to the Twins, but the deal stalled and the Braves were believed to be talking with at least one other team in addition to Minnesota on Friday as the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline looms. If this was Garcia’s final start as a Brave, it was a memorable one.
Asked about Garcia’s performance, including his grand slam, Flowers smiled and said, “Yeah, how ’bout that? That’s pretty good. I was at second (base) and I was like, man, that sounded really good. You certainly don’t expect it, especially here at night. He did a great job battling in that at-bat, too. A lot of pitchers get in that spot, down 0-2, and they just kind of wave at it and get it over. But he was grinding, and he got rewarded for that.”
Garcia was the fourth Atlanta-era Braves pitcher to have at least four RBIs in a game and the first since Phil Niekro in 1979.
Ready to return: Brandon Phillips had a .478 average and seven extra-base hits in a six-game hitting streak since the All-Star break, so no one wants the veteran second baseman to get back in the lineup more than he does.
He missed his second consecutive start Saturday with hamstring tightness, but said he planned to play today’s series finale against the Dodgers.
“I told (Snitker) I can play tomorrow,” Phillips said before batting practice Saturday afternoon. “I could’ve played today, but I just want to (be cautious).”
Snitker agreed it was wise to sit out another game, though Phillips, 36, was available to pinch-hit or play off the bench Saturday.
“It’s just one of them things you don’t want to push,” Snitker said. “Rather be safe than sorry.”
Johan Camargo made his second consecutive start at second base and his 10th start in the Braves’ past 11 games, including five starts at shortstop and three apiece at second base and third base during that stretch.
Having the the versatile rookie Camargo available to play exceptional defense at those positions made it a little easier to be cautious bringing back Phillips and letting him take an extra day to recover from a sore hamstring.
“Yeah, wherever you put (Camargo), he’s pretty good,” Snitker said.