Before Saturday, Braves reliever Peter Moylan had made two appearances without recording an out, which left him an ERA of infinity and some people questioning if he returned too soon from ligament-transplant elbow surgery.
The Aussie sidearmer was keeping things in perspective Saturday afternoon and said he's confident his vaunted sinker will resume sinking soon. So far, it has been flat, making it a very hittable 88-mph fastball. "It's still there --- I know it's still there," said Moylan, whose pain-free spring training convinced him and the Braves that he was ready to begin the season on the active roster, only 11 months after having an elbow operation that takes most pitchers 12 months or slightly longer to recover from.
Moylan and manager Bobby Cox still believed it was the right decision, despite the right-hander's early results --- two appearances, three hits, five runs, two walks, no batters retired before Saturday, when he pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts.
"It's a matter of getting confidence with hitters in there," said Moylan, who faced only one batter Friday and gave up an RBI double, as Washington's Ryan Zimmerman lined a sinker to the left-center gap to drive in the second run in a three-run sixth inning that gave the Nationals a 4-3 lead.
The bullpen blew two leads in that home opener before the Braves rallied to win 6-5 in 10 innings, with Kelly Johnson delivering the game-ending hit on a one-out single that scored rookie Jordan Schafer from second base at 1:26 a.m. (the game was delayed 2 hours, 2 minutes by rain).
"He feels good," Cox said of Moylan. "His ball's just flattening out. In spring training, his ball was [sinking] so much. So it's there. Hopefully he's telling me the truth" about being pain-free.
"It's really not even about getting the confidence," Moylan said, amending his earlier statement. "My first outing of the year has traditionally not been my best. It's just two outings [so far]."
In 2007, Moylan gave up three runs and three hits while recording one out against Florida his first appearance. He posted a stingy 1.51 ERA and .201 opponents' average in 89 2/3 innings over his remaining 79 appearances that season.
That made him a key contributor for the Braves , who penciled him in as a primary setup man in 2008. But he hurt his elbow in the first week and had season-ending surgery May 8.
Moylan made it back sooner than most from "Tommy John" surgery, without any of the setbacks that some pitchers endure, such as scar-tissue breakup.
