Many good things happened in Monday night’s controlled scrimmage — the third one of Spring Training 2.0.
Mike Soroka put together his usual workman-like performance, focusing on his offspeed stuff through four innings. Here’s what he had to say after his second outing since the restart.
Mike Soroka: "My stuff has never felt better. … I feel as good as I ever have." #Braves
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) July 14, 2020
Josh Tomlin was also effective, as he makes his bid for a spot in the starting rotation.
For the most part, the bats were quiet early, but Travis d’Arnaud continued his excellent work in Spring Training 2.0, smacking his second home run, both of which came against Tomlin. Ozzie Albies also went 2-2 with a couple of singles off of Soroka. The Braves’ second baseman doesn’t seem to have missed a beat, despite over three months off because of the coronavirus.
Perhaps the most exciting moment of the game was when Cristian Pache launched a hanging slider off the wall for a double in his first at-bat. A couple of more feet, and he would have had his first homer since the restart. I’m not sure the Braves want their top prospect on the Opening Day roster, considering Pache only has a month of AAA experience. However, based sheerly on his size, he looks ready to contribute tomorrow if he needed to.
Unfortunately, the scariest moment of the game also had to do with Pache. Since its a controlled scrimmage, the Braves placed him on first base for some situational work, and he attempted to steal. He was thrown out, but more importantly, he stayed down with an injury for a few minutes. The Braves brought out the cart to take him to the locker room, but thankfully, Pache could walk off on his own power. He didn’t appear to have a limp either.
Brian Snitker said Pache will “probably be good to go tomorrow,” calling the incident spooky, but it doesn’t look to be a long-term issue.
Brian Snitker says Cristian Pache will “probably be good to go tomorrow.”
Calls it a “spooky” incident sliding late into second and thinks it just rattled Pache mentally more than physically. https://t.co/3AMbh2JLjo
— Kelly Price (@thekellyprice) July 14, 2020
After the brief TV broadcast changed, Johan Camargo got in on the action with a two-run homer off of Tyler Maztek, who is vying for one of the bullpen’s last spots. With 30-man rosters and Nick Markakis choosing to opt-out, both Camargo and Riley will be on the Opening Day roster, but having them each playing at their peak would give Brian Snitker a wealth of options to choose from daily. That will be necessary considering the Braves play 20 consecutive games to begin the season.
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