Turnin 2 SS 2b
07-23-2002, 01:31 PM
MIAMI -- You think batting against A.J. Burnett, who mixes a 97-mph fastball with a sweeping breaking ball, is fun for hitters? Catching the Marlins flame-throwing right-hander is just as difficult.
"His stuff is going to move all over the place," catcher Charles Johnson said. "He throws 95 and 97 [mph]. His fastball is alive and it jumps. His breaking ball is great. But every now and then, he will throw one hard and it will go far inside. He's a tough guy to catch. You know when you are catching A.J. you've got to be ready. He can yank some curveballs. But he can make some great pitches, also."
Burnett unleashed his entire arsenal against the Braves on Monday night in the Marlins' 2-1 win before 10,125 at Pro Player Stadium.
In six innings, the 25-year-old from Arkansas uncorked a little bit of everything. He scattered five hits while giving up one run. He walked three, struck out six and flung away two wild pitches -- one while striking out Henry Blanco, who reached first base.
"I was a little everywhere," said Burnett, who has 11 wild pitches on the season. "But I felt good. I threw some good curveballs."
With the kind of live arm Burnett has, he's effective even when wild. A year ago, he no-hit the Padres despite nine walks and one hit batter.
While beating the Braves wasn't as historic as tossing a no-no, it still was satisfying because last week Burnett was on the losing end of a 10-0 shutout at Atlanta.
It feels good, considering they got me last time," said Burnett, who gave up nine hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings. "It's like revenge. It's good to get them, finally."
The Marlins beat the Braves at their own game -- pitching.
Atlanta had won six straight and future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux (9-3) had not lost in 15 straight starts.
That all changed Monday, when Florida won its fourth straight and pulled into a third-place tie with Montreal in the NL East, 14 1/2 games behind Atlanta.
Once again, standout pitching made up for an offensive shortage.
Over the win streak, Florida has allowed three runs on 22 hits over 36 innings (0.75 ERA).
The one big mistake Burnett made was in the fourth to Andruw Jones, who drove a full-count fastball 439 feet for his 22nd home run.
But the Marlins tied it in the bottom of the fourth on Homer Bush's two-out RBI single through the gap at short, scoring Juan Encarnacion from second.
Johnson, who entered with a .156 career average against Maddux, drove home the winning run with a double over Gary Sheffield's head in right in the sixth.
"It was a big hit for me," said Johnson, hitting .209 on the season. "It's been a rough year all the way around for me. For me to drive a ball to right field and get an RBI that helped us with the game was huge."
Winning with the staff pitching up to preseason expectations has the Marlins wondering what might have been if the staff remained healthy.
"We need to step it up," said Burnett, who threw 110 pitches before he was removed for a pinch-hitter. "We need to have a couple of more of these throughout. We need to go around [the rotation] where everybody is pitching well and keep it going."
Manager Jeff Torborg credits Johnson's handling of the staff during the streak. The former All-Star has urged mixing up the pitches so the young arms don't try to keep overpowering batters.
"They've been very aggressive in the strike zone," Johnson said of the quality pitching. "We've got a lot of guys who throw hard. Sometimes you have the tendency to want to call a lot of fastballs. When these guys are working on their breaking balls and changeups, that's when things really change for them.
"All along, everybody has known this can happen. It's all about them staying within themselves. We all know they have great fastballs. But can these guys throw their curveballs and changeups consistently enough to make guys swing at them? Because if everybody knows you're throwing 95 and can't throw your breaking ball for a strike, then everybody is waiting on that heater."
"His stuff is going to move all over the place," catcher Charles Johnson said. "He throws 95 and 97 [mph]. His fastball is alive and it jumps. His breaking ball is great. But every now and then, he will throw one hard and it will go far inside. He's a tough guy to catch. You know when you are catching A.J. you've got to be ready. He can yank some curveballs. But he can make some great pitches, also."
Burnett unleashed his entire arsenal against the Braves on Monday night in the Marlins' 2-1 win before 10,125 at Pro Player Stadium.
In six innings, the 25-year-old from Arkansas uncorked a little bit of everything. He scattered five hits while giving up one run. He walked three, struck out six and flung away two wild pitches -- one while striking out Henry Blanco, who reached first base.
"I was a little everywhere," said Burnett, who has 11 wild pitches on the season. "But I felt good. I threw some good curveballs."
With the kind of live arm Burnett has, he's effective even when wild. A year ago, he no-hit the Padres despite nine walks and one hit batter.
While beating the Braves wasn't as historic as tossing a no-no, it still was satisfying because last week Burnett was on the losing end of a 10-0 shutout at Atlanta.
It feels good, considering they got me last time," said Burnett, who gave up nine hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings. "It's like revenge. It's good to get them, finally."
The Marlins beat the Braves at their own game -- pitching.
Atlanta had won six straight and future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux (9-3) had not lost in 15 straight starts.
That all changed Monday, when Florida won its fourth straight and pulled into a third-place tie with Montreal in the NL East, 14 1/2 games behind Atlanta.
Once again, standout pitching made up for an offensive shortage.
Over the win streak, Florida has allowed three runs on 22 hits over 36 innings (0.75 ERA).
The one big mistake Burnett made was in the fourth to Andruw Jones, who drove a full-count fastball 439 feet for his 22nd home run.
But the Marlins tied it in the bottom of the fourth on Homer Bush's two-out RBI single through the gap at short, scoring Juan Encarnacion from second.
Johnson, who entered with a .156 career average against Maddux, drove home the winning run with a double over Gary Sheffield's head in right in the sixth.
"It was a big hit for me," said Johnson, hitting .209 on the season. "It's been a rough year all the way around for me. For me to drive a ball to right field and get an RBI that helped us with the game was huge."
Winning with the staff pitching up to preseason expectations has the Marlins wondering what might have been if the staff remained healthy.
"We need to step it up," said Burnett, who threw 110 pitches before he was removed for a pinch-hitter. "We need to have a couple of more of these throughout. We need to go around [the rotation] where everybody is pitching well and keep it going."
Manager Jeff Torborg credits Johnson's handling of the staff during the streak. The former All-Star has urged mixing up the pitches so the young arms don't try to keep overpowering batters.
"They've been very aggressive in the strike zone," Johnson said of the quality pitching. "We've got a lot of guys who throw hard. Sometimes you have the tendency to want to call a lot of fastballs. When these guys are working on their breaking balls and changeups, that's when things really change for them.
"All along, everybody has known this can happen. It's all about them staying within themselves. We all know they have great fastballs. But can these guys throw their curveballs and changeups consistently enough to make guys swing at them? Because if everybody knows you're throwing 95 and can't throw your breaking ball for a strike, then everybody is waiting on that heater."