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So much early-season jitters and the pressure that goes along with it.
Thanks to an offensive outburst by Cody Johnson and a solid outing on the mound by Chad Rodgers in his first start of the year, a more relaxed looking Rome Braves bounced back from a thumping the night before by rolling to a 10-5 win over the Columbus Catfish on Wednesday afternoon at State Mutual Stadium.
“I know I pressured myself the first couple of nights,” said Johnson, who led a 13-hit attack going 4-for-5 with four RBI, two coming on a massive home run to center in the seventh inning. “But now I’m more comfortable at the plate.
“You have to remember that this is a very, very young team,” he added. “It’s the first time for a lot of guys, but once everybody gets comfortable, you’ll see what we can do.”
The win improves the Braves to 3-4 heading into the final game of the home stand tonight when Rome and the Catfish square off at 7 p.m.
During Wednesday’s matinee, the Braves set the tone on their first trip to the plate when Michael Fisher, taking over the leadoff role for the first time this season, and Chad Lundahl opened the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles, then scored on an RBI hit by Johnson and a sacrifice fly to center by Concepcion Rodriguez.
Fisher, who normally bats second, finished the day going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, something Braves manager Randy Ingle knew the shortstop who was drafted out of Georgia Tech last year was capable of.
“He was the best choice for us today at that spot,” Ingle said, “but he can hit in a lot of places in the lineup.”
“It’s been a while since I batted leadoff,” said Fisher, “probably when I was a sophomore at Tech. But I stay with the same mental approach and I’ve been working on being more aggressive.”
In the fourth, Rome’s stayed with the offensive basics, combining five hits — all singles — with two walks and an error to plate five more runs as the Braves sent nine men to the plate to take a 7-0 lead, then added another run in the sixth when Johnson led off with a single, advanced to third of a pair of wild pitches and scored on a sacrifice fly by Samuel Sime.
Johnson provided more insurance in the seventh when launched his two-run homer, his third of the season that bounced of the wall in center.
“He has tremendous power,” Ingle said of Johnson, “but he can drive the ball where it’s pitched. You can bet he’ll have more days like this.”
While the Braves were producing he runs, Rodgers made the most of his first start of the season — last Saturday’s doubleheader forced Rome to back up its five-man starting rotation d by pitching 5 2-3 innings, giving up just four hits, one earned run, while striking out four batters and not issuing a walk.
“Chad pitched a tremendous game,” Ingle said of the lefthander who started in Danville last year but was designated as a long reliever this season. “He’s one of nine or 10 guys out in the bullpen who could be starters.”
“I’m trying to do my best to break into the rotation,” Rodgers said, “and today first strikes were big for me. I wanted to get ahead early and the fastball was the big key, plus (the early runs) definitely takes the pressure off.”
Cody Cipriano was able to make some noise for the Catfish, driving in two runs on two hits, including a solo homer, while Maiko Loyola also had a solo shot.
Raul Gonzalez took over from Rodgers on the mound in the sixth inning, with Benino Pruneda finishing off the game in the ninth.
“Coming out of spring training,” Fisher said, “everybody came up here trying to do too much and was feeling the pressure. I know I was.
“But now we’re definitely more relaxed.”
NOTE: After tonight’s final game against Columbus, the Braves head out for their first road rip of the season, heading to Charleston, S.C., for a four-game series starting Friday night against the RiverDogs, whom Rome faced in the season opener. After a short two-game set in Columbus April 15-16 against the Catfish, the Braves return to SMS for a four-game stand against the Savannah Sand Gnats starting April 18.
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