There was a lot of unnecessary stress in the ninth inning, but the Atlanta Braves completed the sweep of the Miami Marlins, 11-9, on Wednesday night.
Up comfortably by eight runs heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Braves sent in reliever Josh Tomlin to close out the game. In just 2/3 of an inning, Tomlin allowed five runs and was replaced by Will Smith, who had a four-run lead and immediately gave up a two-run home run. He finally recorded the final out three batters later.
92.9 yhe Game reporter Joe Patrick joined The Midday Show and was asked about the Braves bullpen situation. Would a guy like Huascar Ynoa or Touki Toussaint be a better option for the bullpen at this point? Especially when the Braves will have to find a spot for one of them once Ian Anderson returns.
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"The Braves have so many riches in terms of their starting pitching, you would think that one of those guys would just slide in perfectly for the position that Josh Tomlin has been in and be so much more effective in that role," Patrick told Andy and Randy.
"We've seen Brian Snitker use prospects or younger players, who are starters, in bullpen roles earlier in their career, and Max Fried has been one who's always said that was a key component in his development."
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"So I think it makes total sense. When you look at the Braves schedule, they have so many off days coming up that it actually doesn't really make sense to go to a six-man rotation because then you're going to end up stretching guys out too far between starts. In the meantime, I think the only thing you can do (is put Toussaint or Ynoa in the bullpen)."