It was heart-in-the throat time in the ninth inning of Sunday's opener at Philadelphia. It appeared that Mike Gonzalez was going to cough up the win and waste Derek Lowe's eight-inning, two-hit shutout performance.
Only one run scored, but manager Bobby Cox had Rafael Soriano warming up in the bullpen, and that was not exactly comforting given how Soriano has pitched in his limited opportunities this spring. The bullpen is a big question mark in general. Peter Moylan made the opening-day roster, a surprise given that he is less than a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He amazed the Braves with his spring training performances, but Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell will have to ease Moylan into the mix nonetheless.
It isn't as though the Braves haven't made changes to the bullpen. Manny Acosta, who was inconsistent last season, did not make the opening-day roster and will begin the season with Class AAA Gwinnett.
And the idea behind bolstering the rotation by acquiring Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami was that starters who could pitch deep into the game would lighten the relievers' load.
Long relievers Jorge Campillo and Buddy Carlyle made more than spot starts when injuries ravaged the rotation last season. And Jeff Bennett can pitch several innings on consecutive days as well.
But the eighth-inning setup guys and the closer are not as solid right now as the Braves wish they were, no matter what they are saying publicly.
BRAVES 4, PHILLIES 0: Kelly Johnson hit the first pitch of Tuesday's game out of the park, Chipper Jones hit his first homer of the season in the fifth inning and Jair Jurrjens pitched scoreless ball through 5 2/3 innings. Jordan Schafer's brilliant defense on a gusty night preserved the shutout in the late innings.
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