LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – R.A. Dickey said all spring that he wasn’t concerned with results in Grapefruit League games, that it was only about how he felt in preparing for the season. The Braves knuckleballer said that when he got knocked around in several starts and said it again Saturday when he had his best spring performance.
Dickey gave up a triple and a home run in a three-batter span to start the game, then retired 12 of the next 13 and pitched six solid innings in a 3-0 loss to the Mets at Champion Stadium. It was his final start before the Braves break camp Wednesday.
“The biggest positive for any of us is leaving spring training both mentally and physically healthy,” said Dickey, who entered with a 7.20 ERA and recorded his fourth consecutive loss, but showed encouraging signs while allowing seven hits, two runs and one walk with three strikeouts.
“You can’t underscore how important being mentally healthy is. And for me it’s just, again, about trusting the process, getting to know my teammates, putting in the work, being a professional and getting ready for the season.”
The 42-year-old former Cy Young Award winner threw 59 strikes in 85 pitches, then pitched another simulated inning in the bullpen.
Juan Lagares led off the game with a triple that bounced past third baseman Rio Ruiz, then scored on a passed ball charged to catcher Kurt Suzuki, who’s expected to catch most of Dickey’s starts this season after doing so this spring. Dickey struck out No. 2 hitter Ty Kelly before Michael Conforto homered to give the Mets a 2-0 lead three batters into the game.
Dickey said he would’ve approached Conforto differently in that same scenario in a regular-season game.
“I think I’ve given up three or four homers this spring, and all but one have been on, like, hitter-count fastballs, which is an irregularity for me to even throw,” he said. “Even today, a No. 3-hole hitter, 2-0 sinker, that’s not a pitch I would ordinarily throw. But again, whether I would have given up six runs or no runs, you just trust the process and trust that you’re building into something. And I feel great.”
He’ll start the fourth game of the season April 7 at Pittsburgh (the Pirates’ home opener) after the Braves open with a three-game road series against the Mets. Dickey said his last game action before April 7 will be in Friday’s exhibition game against the Yankees at SunTrust Park, the first game at the Braves’ new ballpark in Cobb County.
“I think I’m going to try to get a couple of innings in the exhibition game just as a taper outing, kind of fine-tune some things,” he said. “A lot of it for me will be getting into New York, getting into some cooler temperatures, seeing how the ball reacts, what adjustments I need to make, because I bet we’ll have similar temperatures in Pittsburgh. Even though it’s a day game that I’m pitching (April 7), it’s still going to be a little bit cooler, which will make the ball react differently in that climate.”
Though Suzuki is expected to be Dickey’s primary catcher, the Braves could use Tyler Flowers if a particular matchup against an opposing pitcher is better with Flowers in the lineup. Flowers has caught Dickey this spring, though not nearly as frequently as Suzuki.
“I was talking to Kurt about it, because he’s experiencing it, about what he’s seeing and things,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He said he’s starting to get a hang of it. Some of (Dickey’s knuckleballs) are going to get away, that’s just the way it is. It was better today. I thought (Dickey) was good.”
Dickey said, “(Suzuki) did pretty good, and I think he’d tell you that he’s going to get even better. There were a number of pitches today that kind of carried him out of the zone a little bit that I think he was upset a little bit, that I think he was upset with. Which is a good sign, because he wants to be good at it. We had the passed ball (Saturday) that scored the run and maybe one or two others throughout the spring, but I got to tell you I’m really pleased with how well we’ve been able to work together.
“I didn’t get an opportunity (to work with) Tyler as much, but even when I did it wasn’t bad. So I think we’re in good shape as far as giving Snit different options, different lineups. I don’t think it’s, hey, this (Suzuki) is your guy. He might catch me a lot, but I don’t think he has to. I think it’s because we worked together the most. (But) I think the other guys can do it.”
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