The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sanchez might get spot back in the rotation
The Braves PHILADELPHIA — plan to start Sean Newcomb in Tuesday’s series opener at New York against the Mets, skipping the fifth rotation spot that was filled by Matt Wisler the past two times through.
Wisler was optioned to Triple-A on Friday.
An off day in the schedule Monday would allow Newcomb and the other three current members of the rotation to start on regular rest Tuesday through Friday, and the next time the Braves would need a fifth starter would be Saturday against the Giants in Atlanta.
That’s assuming Julio Tehe- ran is ready for his next turn Wednesday after leaving his Friday start with tightness in his upper right trapezius muscle. (For now, the Braves think he will be.)
Teheran was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first inning Friday against the Phillies, then gave up the entire lead before recording an out when he walked the first two batters and gave up a threerun homer by Odubel Herrera, who also homered off reliever Max Fried in the 7-3 Phillies win.
Who would fill the fifthstarter spot next time remains in to-be-determined status for now, but it could be veteran Anibal Sanchez com
ing off the disabled list and moving back into the fifthstarter role he had before he strained his right ham- string April 18.
Sanchez accompanied the Braves on their current trip so that he could continue to work with the team’s strength coach and training staff, and his recovery has been steady and more rapid than initially expected. He’s scheduled to test his hamstring by doing some sprints and throwing off a bullpen mound Monday, then face hitters in simu
lated-game conditions Tues- day afternoon in New York.
If all goes well in that work in New York, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Sanchez could be ready to start next weekend without requiring a minor-league rehab assignment to shake off the rust.
“We’re gonna try to get him on the mound Tuesday to see some hitters,” Snitker said before Saturday night’s game at Philadelphia. “He threw a bullpen (session Friday) and he was fine. We’ll try to amp up some of the running (Monday) -- that’s the biggest thing, he hasn’t sprinted and things like that. As far as his arm and all that kind of stuff goes, we’ll see, but now the plan is to get him on the mound Tuesday, face some hitters, work him out a little bit and see
where he’s at.
“At this point if we get him back out there next weekend, I don’t think he’d maybe need (a rehab start). Anything past that he probably will.”
Gohara reinstated, optioned to Triple-A
The Braves reinstated Luiz Gohara from the 10-day disabled list after his injury-rehab start Friday for Triple-A Gwinnett, then promptly optioned the rookie lefthander to Gwinnett.
The move was expected. Gohara has struggled in rehab starts and the Braves had earlier indicated a likely return in May after he had enough time to rebuild stamina and pitch command following his injury-plagued spring training.
Coming back from a sprained ankle, Go ha ra had exhausted the maximum time on his rehab assignment, thus the move to option and keep him in Triple-A.
He was (0-2, 4.76 ERA) in three rehab starts including
one at Double-A Mississippi and two at Gwinnett.
“He’s not ready,” Snitker said. “It’s spring training for him, pretty much. He got way behind, so he’s just going to need to keep pitching. And it’s one of those situations where a guy like that, he’ll let you know when he’s ready (by his performance). If we don’t need him then it’s good that he can stay down there and get everything together.”
Gohara gave up seven hits and six runs (four earned) in four innings Friday against Durham and had three walks with four strikeouts.
“Just rusty, I think,” Snitker said.
Gohara, a stocky 21-yearold, impressed in five September starts for Atlanta and was the No. 23 prospect in Baseball America’s presea
son Top 100.
He didn’t pitch in any
Grapefruit League games this spring and in his rehab starts he allowed 14 hits, six earned runs and six walks with 12 strikeouts in 11-1/3 innings.
The best of the three rehab starts was an April 22 game against Pawtucket in which he allowed two hits and one earned run with no walks and four strikeouts in four innings. In his other two outings he allowed three walks in each along with 12 hits in a combined 7⅓ innings.