BOSTON — In the middle of June, the Rockies took a trip to Truist Park …
And were blasted.
They could not possibly have prepared for the monster that awaited them.
In a four-game sweep, the Braves – on an insane heater at the time – scored 40 runs on 49 hits. Four blowouts.
“We were excited to get out of there,” Pierce Johnson, who pitched for that Rockies team, recalled Tuesday at Fenway Park as a member of the Braves. “It was a race to the bat rack. I felt like we just couldn’t get an out. And everybody was swinging the bat. … One through nine, they can do damage, they’re gonna hit for power, guys are gonna disrupt the base paths.”
Oh, and the Braves’ pitching staff held Colorado to 12 runs over those four games.
“They were holding it down in the (bullpen), and obviously the starters were electric,” Johnson said. “For us, it was nice to get out of there. But really excited to be on the other side of that.”
The Braves, who have realistic World Series aspirations, think Johnson can help them achieve those. They traded for him. On the outside, his numbers might not look great. The context is necessary: He’s a power pitcher from the right side. He possesses legitimate stuff, which can be difficult to find.
His four-seam fastball is averaging 96 mph this season. His curveball has achieved a 40% whiff rate – this means batters are missing 40% of the curveballs at which they swing.
“Pierce is a guy I know that when we had played the Rockies and he pitched against us, we were all like, ‘Man, that would be a nice arm to have,’” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Just talking to some guys around the league and everything, they were very complimentary of his stuff, as we saw. So I think that’s a great get.”
In his first sentence in his answer to the first question reporters asked him, Johnson mentioned this: “I know I haven’t had the best year so far.” He carried a 6.00 ERA to the Braves.
He thinks he’s much better.
The Braves think the same.
“Throw more strikes. Start there,” Johnson said. “I know my stuff’s good, it plays. I’ve gotten a ton of swing and miss this year. I just have gotten into some bad counts; guys have done some damage, and that’s on me. But honestly, just get back to basics, throw strikes, and let the defense do the work because we’ve got a really good team here.”
The Braves, at this point, are without A.J. Minter, Nick Anderson and Dylan Lee. Johnson probably will pitch in high-leverage spots immediately. The Braves hope their relievers all return eventually. For now, Johnson and others will see big spots.
Before the trade, Johnson, who is from Denver, lived at home while pitching for the Rockies. They play at Coors Field, which can be difficult. It sometimes makes a curveball difficult to throw.
His numbers are much better away from home this season. And he pitched more at Coors Field than he did on the road – around eight innings more – and he acknowledged it’s sometimes difficult to recover from outings in Colorado.
“It’s just a little different pitching there,” he said when asked about how his curveball played there. “I was finally making the adjustment a little bit there at the end. But it definitely is an adjustment pitching in the altitude and at a bigger park where there’s more area for the ball to land. Just sticking to the basics, throwing strikes. And when I was throwing strikes, I was having a lot of success. But if I hurt myself, that’s on me.”
Years ago, Johnson went to Japan to pitch. He soon earned a big-league deal with the Padres.
And now, the Braves – perhaps the best team in baseball – valued him enough to trade for him to bolster its title hopes.
“I mean, a lot of emotions go through that,” Johnson said. “Going over to Japan was the best decision I ever made for my career, for myself and for my family. It got me back, ultimately, to the States. But the fact that a team of this caliber wanted me, it means a lot. So I can’t wait to wear the ‘A’ and go out there and throw some strikes.”
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