The Braves are sticking with their plan to have recently signed pitcher Dallas Keuchel make his first major-league start of the season after just two tuneups in the minors.
“Right now, he’s going to pitch Friday, yeah,” manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.
That firmed up Snitker's comments from two days earlier, when he said he was "hoping" Keuchel would pitch for the Braves on Friday and "everything is pointed in that direction."
The Braves play at Washington on Friday in the opener of a three-game series and 10-game trip.
“I’m just anxious to watch him pitch and get him in our mix,” Snitker said Wednesday. “I think he’s going to be a significant get for us.”
Keuchel, a seven-year MLB veteran and the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Houston Astros, became a free agent after last season. He remained without a team until June 7, when the Braves signed him to a $13 million contract for the rest of this season.
The 31-year-old left-hander pitched two seven-inning stints in the Braves’ farm system last week, throwing 77 pitches for Single-A Rome on June 10 and 106 pitches for Double-A Mississippi five days later.
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