Foltynewicz turnaround strengthens Braves rotation

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ST. LOUIS –

For a guy who was the Braves' best pitcher and a National League star last year, Mike Foltynewicz looked pretty deficient 10 days ago.

While the young beginner throwers of the Braves blossomed, he averaged 8.02 and tenacity in his place in the rotation, magnifying the health issues of his elbow.

Since then, Foltynewicz seems to have recovered, at least partly because of mechanical adjustments. In his last two starts, his fastball speed has returned to last year's, his slider has become effective and his confidence has soared. He began playing his role in a rotation of five players who, entering Saturday night, totaled 1.61 ERA in the last 10 games.

"I'm trying to catch up," said Foltynewicz, referring to co-runners Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Julio Teheran and Kevin Gausman. "It's really fun to have a friendly competition like this.

"I do not want to be the guy who ruins it. … I just want to follow the same path with them, which I think I am. "

Foltynewicz missed almost all spring training because of elbow pain caused by a spur of bone. He opened the season on the injured list and did not make his first big game of the season before April 27th. On May 14, he allowed eight earned runs in 4-2 / 3 innings against the Cardinals at SunTrust Park.

Tellingly, he faced the same team from St. Louis on the road Friday night. This time, he did not allow any deserved round in six innings or more, took out the season's best seven times and failed to record his first win of the season. His fastball was clocked at 96-97 mph.

This performance was built on an encouraging start last Sunday in which Foltynewicz limited the Brewers to two earned runs in six innings at SunTrust Park. If this start offered to the Braves the hope that Foltynewicz is about to return to form in 2018, Friday confirmed it in their minds.

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"He looked like old Folty," said manager Brian Snitker. "I told him," We're coming back where you were. It's good to see. 'It can be a very important element in our team to get it back like that.'

"I think his confidence and pace are really returning to their former meaning," said Dansby Swanson.

Foltynewicz agreed with these assessments.

"That's really the case (in 2018)," said Foltynewicz. "Your confidence can go down pretty quickly, especially when you have to face the Cardinals again and what happened last (against them), but the confidence was there. I think it's the most important thing right now, trust and conviction. "

The first baseman, Freddie Freeman, thinks the previous problems stemmed from the absence of Foltynewicz's spring training.

"He just needed a few starts (to go), obviously," said Freeman.

The turnaround, if that's what his last two starts are finally revealed, did not come without adjustments, including keeping his hands higher before delivering the throws.

"The last two starts have kind of put some pressure on me, so I can just throw all those (negative) things in the trash and focus on what I have next," Foltynewicz said. "The team is playing very well right now and I'm happy to be part of it."