BRADENTON, Fla. — Reynaldo Lopez navigated constant traffic on the bases in his latest exhibition outing.
The Braves’ offseason signee, who’s competing with Bryce Elder for the fifth starting pitcher spot, went 3-2/3 innings Tuesday against the Pirates, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out two and walked three.
“Some days you don’t feel good,” Lopez said. He’s spent the past two years primarily as a reliever, so Lopez’s body has been adjusting to a heavier workload again as the Braves prepare him as a starter.
Lopez’s velocity was a tick down from his average. He hovered in the 92-94 mph range, hitting 95 mph five times. His fastball averaged 98.2 mph last season.
“One of those days,” Lopez said. “Don’t feel good, pitches don’t feel right. You just have to fight. One of those days, that’s when you know as a pitcher to use what you have today. Fastball wasn’t good. Slider wasn’t good, curve(ball). I just let it out, let the position players work a little bit (laughs).”
Manager Brian Snitker: “There are going to be those days, especially this time of camp. This day-in, day-out thing – all pitchers go through that at spring training where your legs get a little heavy. It’s just part of getting into shape. It’s good that he got his four ups and got through the outing. That’s exactly what we were looking for.”
The only run came via the game’s first at-bat. Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz smacked an elevated fastball over the left-center wall for a leadoff homer. While Lopez kept the Pirates scoreless the rest of his day, it wasn’t easy.
Lopez put himself into a predicament in the second inning, walking two and surrendered a single to Nick Gonzales that loaded the bases with none out. Lopez struck out Jason Delay and catcher Sean Murphy, a superb defender, immediately picked off Gonzales at first. Lopez walked Cruz and was replaced by Brian Moran, who finished the frame. Lopez re-entered in the third – that’s spring training for you – and pitched a scoreless inning.
“He was OK,” Snitker said. “I like when (pitchers) get into a little trouble and have to extend themselves a little bit and make pitches. He got through four innings, which was really good.”
This was Lopez’s third spring outing. He should have two more before the Braves begin the regular season March 28 in Philadelphia.
Elder next
The Braves will start Elder against the Orioles on Wednesday in Sarasota. The right-hander, who was an All-Star last season but struggled in the second half, has a 7.04 ERA in three outings this spring (just 7-2/3 innings). Lopez has been the perceived favorite to open the season in the rotation (for several reasons), in which case Elder could begin the season at Triple-A. There is just over two weeks remaining before those decisions must be made. Ultimately, both pitchers will play important roles in the Braves’ season.
Luplow at first
Outfielder Jordan Luplow, attempting to make the Braves roster, played first base Tuesday. He made a nice catch and tag on Murphy’s throw to nail Gonzales. Luplow has played parts of seven seasons in the majors, but he has made only 21 appearances at first base, including three (one start) last season for the Twins.
“It was (good),” Snitker said. “We worked him out there, and I didn’t realized he’d played (a bit) there in the big leagues. We worked him out there (Monday), and (bench coach) Walt (Weiss) said he looked pretty good.”
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