If Sunday was Kevin Gausman’s audition to remain in the rotation, if it were an opportunity to convince the Braves their rotation is capable, he failed in drastic fashion.
The Braves took two of three in Philadelphia, but the finale left a sour taste and unanswered questions. J.T. Realmuto’s grand slam was the Phillies’ third homer against Gausman, who stumbled in his second start back from the injured list as the Braves lost, 9-4.
Gausman, who pitched seven innings and allowed one run in his last start, did little to show the Braves they should feel comfortable relying on him in the long-term. He allowed six runs on nine hits across six frames.
“He just wasn’t hitting spots with his fastball like he did the other day,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I just think the fastball command wasn’t quite as sharp as it was the other day.”
The past two games were a case study of sorts, where the organization had their last evaluations of Max Fried and Gausman prior to Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Fried was satisfactory Saturday, but Gausman regressed from his stellar outing against the Nationals. He again didn't show his supposed expanded arsenal, relying on his fastball and splitter. During his rehab stint, Gausman spoke of a richer pitch repertoire that's yet to be instituted.
“I don’t know,” Snitker said, deferring to Gausman on the pitches.
The right-hander has long banked on two pitches, so there was intrigue in how he’d work in a curveball and cutter. He said he threw it a couple times Sunday, experiencing little success.
The pitch(es) did not register on Baseball Savant, which categorized all 100 of his throws as fastballs and splitters. The system is imperfect, however, and his cutter could’ve registered as a four-seamer and the curveballs were likely two of his 73-mph tosses listed as splitters.
“I threw a couple (curveballs) today,” he said. “I didn’t have any success with them. Threw them for balls. But I threw a couple good cutters.”
Gausman further elaborated, explaining he’ll continue working the pitches into his performance but didn’t feel his breaking balls, given where they are, would’ve helped him Sunday.
“I just haven’t gotten into any situations where it was really going to help us,” he said. “The times I did throw it, they just weren’t good. More than anything it comes down to executing. Those breaking balls, I just didn’t execute them today. But I’m not going to stop throwing them.”
In his last start, Gausman showed brilliant fastball command. His two-pitch combo was all he needed. This time around, location was the problem. Bryce Harper and Adam Haseley each homered off teed-up four-seamers down the middle.
Gausman almost escaped the fifth-inning jam. With the bases loaded and none down, he struck out Harper and induced a harmless shallow popup from Rhys Hoskins on a 3-0 count. On a full-count fastball, Realmuto planted the pitch in the seats for a six-run lead.
The start boils down to mistake pitches, leaving fastballs down the middle that slugging teams like the Phillies simply won’t miss. The Braves could afford the loss after a pair of thrilling wins, but Gausman’s inability to give the team a chance might loom over the franchise’s immediate plans.
The Braves are exploring adding a starter, though due to demand they may ultimately stick with what they have. But Gausman provided few reasons not to scan the landscape for rotation aid.
Not only with the final two months in mind. After Mike Soroka and Dallas Keuchel, the Braves could go a number of ways with a hypothetical postseason rotation, and none of those alternatives can be inserted with full confidence.
Gausman was an important element of last year’s team, pitching well in 10 starts and helping the team to a division title. They don’t necessarily need him to replicate that performance, but they do need him to be a steadier hand than he was in South Philadelphia.
The Braves have three games remaining before the deadline. They begin a pivotal series with the Nationals on Monday, with the fortunate of missing Stephen Strasburg and likely Max Scherzer.
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