Even in Spring Training, when the opposing starter fails to go an inning, you expect to have a good game. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened for the Braves this afternoon against the Tigers, as R.A. Dickey struggled again and the Braves fell by an 8-6 score.
Despite the sad ending, the game started out well for the Braves, who jumped all over Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann. Brandon Phillips singled with one out, and moved to second on a single from Freddie Freeman, getting his first PA after returning from representing Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. That set up a huge opposite field double from Matt Kemp to drive in two runs. After Zimmermann recovered to strike out Nick Markakis looking, Kurt Suzuki hit a deep fly to left that cleared the fences, giving the Braves a 4-0 cushion.
Dickey kept the Tigers off the board in the first, but things went poorly in the second. A single, a triple, and a groundout scored two runs. Starting the third, Dickey gave up a single and then a homer to Andrew Romine, knotting the game at 4-4. After Dickey got a bit of luck when Nick Castellanos was thrown by hot topic Ronald Acuna trying to stretch a single into a double, he wasted it by giving up a double to Justin Upton and later uncorking a knuckler that Suzuki couldn’t corral, yielding the go-ahead run.
Despite another single and wild pitch, Dickey survived the fourth unscathed. In the fifth, he walked Upton, and after Johan Camargo booted a grounder, Dickey was removed in favor of Chaz Roe. By the way, that was Camargo’s sixth (!!!) error this spring. Errors are a poor measure of fielding, but last season, Jose Iglesias only had five errors total, and the median shortstop only had 13, so... not a great sign for a guy whose calling card is supposed to be his defense.
Chaz Roe elicited an infield pop that also eluded Camargo, leading to the sixth Tigers run. He walked the leadoff batter in the sixth, who then came around to score after a fielding error from Ozzie Albies and a sacrifice fly. In the seventh, it was Eric O’Flaherty’s turn to give up a run, this time courtesy of a hit by pitch and two singles.
The Braves tried to get back into it in the ninth with RBI singles from Dylan Moore and Rio Ruiz. Ozzie Albies came up as the tying run, but popped up to end the game.
Freddie Freeman went 1-for-3 and two strikeouts in his return to the Grapefruit League. Ronald Acuna went hitless, but walked and struck out twice; Ozzie Albies was also hitless in two plate appearances. Blaine Boyer pitched the eighth and was the only Atlanta hurler to not give up a run.