Jays: First at-bat can be the hardest

ATLANTA— Joe Biagini went into Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves with low expectations.

Not on the mound, of course. In Biagini’s first two starts after an injury crisis forced him into the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting rotation, the 26-year-old right-hander posted two wins, allowing just six hits and one run through nine innings while striking out seven batters along the way.

That was before Wednesday’s rough, six-run first inning.

But it was Biagnin’s first turn at the plate that had him worried. With the two teams moving from the Rogers Centre to Atlanta’s SunTrust Park, the pitchers were moving into the batter’s box.

“I think that it’s not going to go very well for me,” Biagini said earlier in the week.

His track record, while limited, isn’t great. In 25 plate appearances with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the six-foot-five, 240pound Biagini went 2-for-20, with one run scored and one RBI. So, low expectations. “I was never a very successful hitter and I haven’t done anything positive with a bat in my hands . . . for a while,” Biagini said. “So I think that I’m going to try to bunt efficiently and, if I can’t do that then I will just try to avoid getting struck by the ball.”

Bunting, he said, is the pitcher’s responsibility. “I should be good at that, or at least give my best effort to do that.”

Biagini turned to hitting coach Brook Jacoby and teammates Darwin Barney and Ezequiel Carrera for tips on the weekend: get the bat out early, let the ball run into the bat, get it down. And everything worked out as planned in the third inning, when the pitcher bunted to Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, moving catcher Luke Maile to second.

Ultimately, Biagini’s bunting skills were less of a concern than injury. After Marcus Stroman doubled as a pinch-hitter earlier this season, pitching coach Pete Walker said it’s not ideal to watch any of his pitchers swinging a bat.

“I still think it’s an unfair advantage for the National League,” he said at the time. “We don’t get the reps that they get so you’re always a little bit concerned that someone could tweak something.”

Biagini’s concern before the game? “I’m looking forward to just saying that I did it and laughing about it and hopefully not embarrassing myself too badly.”