The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wright will have increased role on Braves pitching staff
Kyle Wright was a luxury for the 2020 Braves in February. He was competing admirably for a starter job, but the belief before spring training’s abrupt end was that Sean Newcomb and Felix Hernandez would complete the initial spot in the rotation.
In that case, Wright would go to Triple-A Gwinnett and prepare for his next opportunity. That could’ve come in two weeks — or in two months. As it stood, Wright wasn’t essential to the Braves’ immediate success. They hoped he would step forward and establish himself, but because of their options, they could afford additional patience.
Since then, everything has been thrown everything out of whack. The Braves’ pitching depth — which has dwindled — is far more than a luxury. The Braves need as many quality pitchers as they can have throughout the coming unprecedented, unpredictable 60-game expedition.
Wright is among the players whose importance has greatly increased. He’s again vying for a rotation spot, though the competition is less clustered this time around. Like the previous exhibition season, Cole Hamels is behind and won’t be ready at the beginning. Hernandez decided against playing, clearing another potential roadblock for Wright.
Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz headline the rotation. Newcomb will be the fourth starter with Hamels sidelined. That leaves Wright, fellow youngster Bryse Wilson and Josh Tomlin, the Braves’ reliable long reliever, as the top options for the final spot.
Wright pitched three innings in Thursday’s game, his first intrasquad appearance and his second-to-last tune-up before the season starts. Wright, who battled through some early trouble, said he felt better as his pitch count built.
“Once games start, you want to stay away from (trouble), but it was good for me to get into that situation, make some pitches and get out of it,” he said. “As I threw more, I felt better and better. Executing those pitches was good.”
“I loved his stuff today,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He got better as he went. The location wasn’t great early, but the stuff was good throughout. I thought he threw the ball really well. His ball was moving good. He threw the ball extremely well, I thought.”
Wright’s pre-camp live sessions were in Nashville, where the Vanderbilt product trains in the offseason. Vanderbilt was closed, so he and others worked out at a local high school.
Much of the progress he made was erased just before camp opened, however. Wright wound up slightly behind after he was exposed to someone with COVID-19. Wright tested negative twice before joining the team.
“About the end of quarantine, I got built up through quite a few live (sessions),” he said. “Right before we got here, I was around someone who had it, so I had to get tested. I couldn’t come here until I tested negative, so I had to hit the reset button a little bit and rebuild back up.
“After going out there (Thursday) for three innings, my arm felt really good. I feel like the more I threw, the better I felt. So I feel like I’m in a good spot for sure.”
Wright was having a strong spring before the shutdown. Over the past year, he has made numerous mental and mechanical adjustments. He’s appeared more confident since his brief bullpen stint late last season, drawing praise from teammates Tyler Flowers, Soroka and Fried before MLB’s suspension.
“It was a bummer when we shut down because I was feeling so good,” Wright said. “Any time you have some time off to, I guess, recover in a way, you have to take advantage of that as much as you can. For me, I continue to work on what I was during spring training and to make sure I am where I was before.”
Wright has stuck to his normal five-day routine in preparation for the season. Whether it’s starting or relieving, the Braves will need every inning Wright can provide in the early going.
Opening day is July 24 in New York, where the Braves will open a three-game series against the Mets. Their fifth starter likely would make his debut July 29 at Tampa Bay.
By Stephen Hawkins
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The massive grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway are twothirds of a mile long and were empty for the last race there.
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series race becomes the first major sporting event in Texas in more than four months to allow spectators. It could be one of the largest gatherings of any kind in the state since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Just how many show up on a hot day with the virus still raging is another question.
“It can absorb a lot of people and you never cross paths with another soul,” track President Eddie Gossage said of the facility 20 miles north of downtown Fort Worth.
In Tennessee, Bristol was allowed to sell up to 30,000 tickets, about 20% of its capacity of 140,000plus, and appeared to have at least 20,000 spectators for NASCAR’s All-Star race Wednesday. Speedway Motorsports, which owns Bristol and Texas, is a private company like NASCAR and does not release official attendance numbers.
Texas has about 135,000 seats and under plans approved by the state could allow as much as 50% capacity. But there aren’t expected to be anywhere close to the possible 67,500 or so spectators. The crowd Sunday will more likely be similar to the one seen Wednesday night at its sister track.
“To be perfectly honest, I think the place is going to look mostly empty,” Gossage said, without giving or confirming any specific numbers. “We’re a different configuration than Bristol, and so they won’t stand out as much as they did at Bristol, even if we have the same number of people.”
Frontstretch seating at the 1½-mile Texas track alone is longer than the entire length of Bristol’s half-mile track, where “The Last Great Colosseum” is shaped as a massive bowl.
Texas hosted the IndyCar season opener June 6 without any spectators, then submitted and received approval by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office to have fans at the NASCAR race. Since then, spikes in new coronavirus cases and a surge in hospitalizations have led to new limits for the public, and sports is far from normal.
Motor sports for now are still allowed at up to 50% of normal capacity if the facilities, including smaller local tracks, can ensure appropriate social distancing.
Though some fans won’t attend because of concerns about the virus, there is also the summer forecast with temperatures expected to be in the upper 90s Sunday afternoon. The high temp was 67 degrees March 29, when the race was originally scheduled.
“Most of them are telling us it’s just too hot,” Gossage said.
No spectators are allowed for the Xfinity and Trucks series races at the track today, but those attending Sunday will be required to wear face masks, which can be removed when in their seats and socially distanced from others not in their immediate group.
“I feel good about everything. I know the (safety) plan is exceptional,” Gossage said. “Personal responsibility is a big component of everything that’s going on in our world right now. And so if folks will be personally responsible and do what they’re supposed to, it’ll be fine.”