ATLANTA — After maneuvering and shuffling pitchers for 4 1/2 months, plugging prospects and other minor leaguers into the rotation to cover for injuries and provide extra rest for the main starters, the Atlanta Braves are in the crucial stretch drive and intend to go with their regular five starters the rest of the way.
And rookie Spencer Schwellenbach’s rapid ascent is a big reason they feel confident doing that.
Rising to the occasion Thursday as he’s done several times already in 14 major league starts, Schwellenbach had nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball in a 3-2 series-clinching win against the rival Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park.
The right-hander allowed three hits and one walk and retired 19 consecutive batters before giving up his second run of the game in the seventh inning — a two-out Bryan Stott single followed by J.T. Realmuto’s RBI double.
“That one felt really good,” Schwellenbach said after beating the Phillies for the second time in two starts against them. The Braves are six games behind the NL East-leading Phillies with 35 games left for each team including four more head-to-head contests next week in Philadelphia.
“It’s just really impressive, how he goes about it and how he handles himself in situations,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Schwellenbach, who has a 3.94 ERA with 94 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 82 1/3 innings. “Pressure in the games doesn’t seem to bother him at all.”
Spencer Schwellenbach, Filthy 80mph Curveball. 😷
5th K pic.twitter.com/2h1UKLc4IN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 23, 2024
A former collegiate shortstop who made just 24 minor-league starts before his May 29 big-league debut, Schwellenbach has exceeded expectations in a season when the Braves badly needed him to, considering they lost Spencer Strider to season-ending elbow surgery after two starts and had top prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver each go on the injured after making three major league starts between them.
“That was kind of my mindset when they called me up,” Schwellenbach said, “was that we need a guy, and I’m gonna be that guy. Just having that mindset, staying confident, is kind of all I can do for myself.”
Schwellenbach threw 65 strikes in 94 pitches and didn’t allow a runner to reach base in the second through sixth innings. He walked Kyle Schwarber to start the game and issued no more free passes.
After Bryce Harper’s one-out single in the first inning, Schwellenbach gave up a run on a Nick Castellanos groundout to begin a stretch in which no other batter reached base until two outs in the seventh.
In two starts against Philadelphia, Schwellenbach is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA, 15 strikeouts and 10 hits and one walk allowed in 12 2/3 innings.
In his past eight starts, beginning with a July 6 win against the Phillies, he’s 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA, 62 strikeouts and six walks in 50 2/3 innings.
“He’s finding his way nicely,” said Adam Duvall, whose leadoff homer in the sixth inning provided a 3-1 lead for the Braves and some respite for the long-slumping outfielder, who was 1-for-29 with 17 strikeouts in his previous 12 games and homerless since July 26.
Adam Duvall rockets one 110.4 MPH off the bat 💥 pic.twitter.com/Q4hWc4tJSB
— MLB (@MLB) August 23, 2024
Third baseman Gio Urshela had a game-tying RBI double for the Braves in the second inning and again played terrific defense, combining with second baseman Whit Merrifield, another midseason pickup/injury replacement, to turn a 5-4-3 double play for the second consecutive night against Phillies speedster Trea Turner, who had been doubled up only four times all season before it happened twice in the past two nights.
Urshela was released by the Detroit Tigers on Sunday and signed Monday with the Braves, a day after they lost slugger Austin Riley to a broken hand after he was hit by a fastball Sunday.
“Gio has looked incredible the last three games in the infield, and you know what you’re going to get from Whit — good second baseman, been playing really well for us,” said Schwellenbach, who was such an outstanding shortstop himself in college that some teams thought he was a top-three-rounds prospect as a position player.
The Braves had him on their draft board all along as a pitcher, and we’re seeing why.
“It felt good to finally put the barrel on one,” Duvall said of his decisive homer to help Schwellenbach get his fifth win. “But yeah, he pitched an unbelievable game tonight. It was fun watching that.”
After facing the Phillies the first time without Schwarber or Harper, Schwellenbach had similar results Thursday against a fully loaded Phillies lineup, using his full six-pitch repertoire and throwing almost as many sliders (24) as four-seam fastballs (27).
“He’s a smart kid,” Duvall said. “It seems like he knows how to pitch, and he’s got the stuff to put guys away. That’s what you need. To be able to command, and still have that many pitches, it’s impressive for a young guy.”
Schwellenbach’s 96.1 mph fastball velocity was up slightly over his season average (96.0) and topped out at 97.5.
“I think I’ve thrown twice as many (innings) as I had last year, and I feel really good,” said Schwellenbach, who has pitched 127 1/3 combined innings this season at all levels, after totaling 65 in 16 starts in his first minor league season. “Like, ball’s coming out good. I feel good. So, that’s all you can ask for.”
In his July 6 start against the Phillies, he had six strikeouts with no walks in six innings, and allowed seven hits but only one run.
“I thought he was better tonight,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Usually, once you see a guy, it helps. But he was really good tonight. I think he attacked the zone better. I think the stuff was better. Velocity was really good. He threw all kinds of different pitches. Curveball, slider, split. He had the whole tool bag out.”
Schwellenbach’s highest percentage of swings and misses Thursday came with his slider (16 swings, seven whiffs) and the curveball (nine swings, six whiffs).
“The curveball has been working really well for me the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I just tried to do what I did the last time with them. Same scouting report. Harper and Schwarber in the lineup this time around, but watching the last couple of games, they struggled with curveballs. First at-bat to Schwarber, I didn’t throw him any good ones, but later in the game that’s kind of what I leaned on.”
Schwellenbach’s performance would be impressive regardless of background. But given his relative lack of experience, it’s remarkable. A second-round pick by the Braves out of the University of Nebraska in 2021, he missed 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery and pitched in 16 games in 2023 at both A-ball levels.
While his stats in those first 16 games were good — 2.49 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 16 walks — there was nothing to portend his performance a year later. Schwellenbach was so good early this season in High A that he was promoted after six starts. Then he was so dominant in two starts in Double A – 13 scoreless innings, 17 strikeouts and one walk — that he got the call to the majors.
Despite just 141 2/3 previous innings pitched above the high school level — 31 2/3 as a closer in his final season at Nebraska, 110 in the minors — Schwellenbach has distinguished himself at the major league level and looked entirely comfortable doing it.
“He pounds the strike zone,” Snitker said. “He’s been really impressive from the get-go. He’s got secondary pitches, his velocity stays the whole game. I think because he uses all of his pitches, we see him still late in the game and he’s not losing velocity, his fastball is still quick and gets on top of hitters.
“He’s got a lot of pitches and he throws them all for strikes, and they’re all really good, quality pitches. I just think the fact that he throws strikes is huge. And he controls the running game, he fields his positions — he does all the little things that winning pitchers do.”
(Photo of Spencer Schwellenbach: Jordan Godfree / USA Today)
