Right-hander Jair Jurrjens was feeling better after a mere three-inning outing Tuesday night.
Although he had no command of his breaking stuff then -- "I didn't have my control at all. My changeup was just floating in the air," he said -- the one thing he expressed a wish to change was his outlook. He hasn't had fun pitching since his start against the Giants on Aug. 4. What happened after that?
Tim Hudson had to have Tommy John surgery. And with that, Jurrjens felt the weight of the entire starting rotation on his shoulders, as though he should be starting every day.
Tuesday night, leaving after giving up six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, all he could think of was the burden he had put on the bullpen. "That," he says, "was really stressing me out."
John Smoltz spoke to Jurrjens immediately when he came into the dugout after having been removed. "He told me to forget about the game," Jurrjens said.
And by Wednesday afternoon, Jurrjens was smiling again. The goal now is to be smiling while he's on the mound.
MARLINS 4, BRAVES 1: LHP Mike Hampton pitched a season-high eight innings and would have pitched the ninth inning, too, had his spot not come up in the batting order. But the Braves couldn't touch Marlins RHP Josh Johnson. As Hampton put it, "I pitched a good game on a night when I needed to pitch a great game." Hampton allowed three runs on eight hits.
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