JR Ritchie turned in one of the better starts of his young MLB career Tuesday in a game the Braves lost 4-0.
The rookie right-hander allowed just one run in five innings against the Reds at Truist Park. He struck out a season-high eight and worked around four hits and three walks.
“The plan going into it was just go right after ‘em,” Ritchie said. “They don’t chase a lot as a team. They had some in-zone whiffs, so it was just throw my best stuff right at ‘em. And made some good pitches when I needed to with runners on. I felt like I controlled counts pretty well. If I fell behind 1-0 I got back to 1-1. Definitely happy with it and excited to build on it.”
Ritchie was coming off a tough night in Chicago on Wednesday when he was beat up to the tune of six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. Tuesday’s performance was much better, with a solo home run by Reds star Elly De La Cruz in the third inning being the lone blemish.
Braves catcher Sean Murphy had the best view of Ritchie’s five innings.
“I thought he looked great,” Murphy said. “Had a great heater tonight, good command of his changeup. He mixed better than we did in Chicago. Just looked more comfortable. I feel like he just settled in and pounded the zone and mixed it. I just felt like he had a little more fun today.”
Of the 86 pitches Ritchie threw, 52 found the strike zone. He threw 13 first-pitch strikes out of the 22 batters he faced and only allowed two hard-hit balls.
Ritchie also threw 29 curveballs, the most of any of his pitches.
“(Braves bullpen coach) J.P. (Martinez) said something to me the other day, ‘Stuff doesn’t create chase, counts do.’ So just trying to put myself in good counts and advantage counts,” Ritchie said. “I think throwing the fastball for strikes early on will help set it up later, especially if guys respect the curveball.”
Setting the tone early, Ritchie struck out Reds’ leadoff hitter Carlos Jorge on four pitches, the last of which was a curveball Jorge swung over. De La Cruz walked on four pitches after that, but Ritchie got Sal Stewart swinging at a 96.8-mph fastball and Tyler Stephenson to check his swing on a curveball for strike three.
Ritchie allowed his first hit of the night to JJ Bleday to start the second, then got a fielder’s choice and two more Ks: Dane Myers chased a low changeup and Héctor Rodriguez waved at a 97-mph fastball up in the zone.
After two quick outs in the third, De La Cruz connected on a 2-0 curveball located down-and-in and put a solo home run into the seats in front of the Chop House in right. Ritchie lost composure for a moment by walking Stewart in the following at-bat, but struck out Stephenson on a high fastball to end the inning.
Another Bleday single began the fourth. Ritchie then induced a weak flyball to right, a comebacker for a fielder’s choice and another strikeout of Rodriguez on a changeup in the dirt.
Ritchie’s final frame included a two-out walk to De La Cruz and a solid single to left by Stewart. After a visit from Murphy and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, Stephenson grounded out to third on a first-pitch sinker.
All Ritchie had to do was attack.
“Oh, man, I wish it was that simple,” Murphy said. “No, it’s never that simple. It’s just finding a balance of attacking, but also knowing where your misses are. It’s a whole learning process for young guys and every time he goes out there he learns something. I learn something, too. I can help meet his pitches better the more I see him. There’s no one-size-fits-all for anybody.”
After Ritchie (1-4) departed, fellow rookie Owen Murphy allowed a run on a solo home run by Myers in the sixth, another on a De La Cruz one-out RBI single in the seventh, and another on a Eugenio Suarez solo homer in the eighth.
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