Braves top prospect Didier Fuentes made his highly anticipated return to the majors on Wednesday night — his first appearance since the opening series against the Royals back in March.
The first inning looked eerily reminiscent of the version of Didier Fuentes we saw last season during his MLB debut. He was way too reliant on the fastball once runners reached base, seemingly abandoning his secondary offerings, and his command out of the stretch wavered.
Even so, he nearly escaped a first inning jam, striking out two batters before a two-out, two-strike, three-run homer put a crooked number on the board early. Fuentes would then allow another run before finally recording the third out.
Fortunately, the Braves bats showed up. Drake Baldwin got things going with a solo shot in the first, and Michael Harris followed with home runs in back-to-back innings to give Atlanta the lead.
From there, Didier Fuentes looked like a completely different pitcher. He leaned far more on his secondary stuff, which flashed real life and effectiveness.
The third inning, in particular, should have everyone excited about what’s to come. After a couple of defensive miscues put him in a bases-loaded jam with one out, Fuentes responded by striking out the next two hitters on just seven pitches.
That’s the kind of talent the 20-year-old possesses. The final line — three innings, seven hits, four earned — doesn’t look pretty, but the seven strikeouts tell a different story. When he’s locating, the stuff jumps off the page.
The offense wasn’t done either. Matt Olson launched his seventh homer of the season, a three-run shot that pushed the Braves’ lead to four.
Martin Perez took over in the fourth — notable, considering he was originally lined up to start the following day. That naturally raises some questions about how the rotation will be aligned moving forward.
But as they say, that’s tomorrow’s problem. The Braves still had a game to finish, and the Nationals’ offense isn’t one you can relax against — which proved true again.
Two solo homers in the sixth trimmed the lead to two, making things a bit uneasy, especially with Raisel Iglesias on the IL. However, Iglesias isn’t the only high leverage reliever that’s been lights out early this season. All of them have been nearly unhittable, a trend that continued on Wednesday night.
Dylan Lee handled the seventh, Tyler Kinley the eighth, and Robert Suarez closed things out in the ninth for his second save of the season. All three delivered scoreless innings, sealing the win and pushing the Braves to 17–8 through their first 25 games — with seven wins in their last eight.
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Photo by (Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)
