Braves Prospect Owen Murphy Reflects on First MLB Start

Owen Murphy’s first career start in the major leagues is in the books. It was short, but the Atlanta Braves' prospect got a long-awaited nod.

He pitched 2 2/2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks while striking out two. He left the game with the bases loaded, but Dylan Dodd came in and got the Braves out of the jam.

Some things didn't go his way. There was an error in the outfield committed by Mauricio Dubón to lead off the inning, and it set off a rally that he couldn't escape.

Desite the game not going the way he had hoped, there was still something to take away as a learning experience.

"It's a lot different than every other level, of course," Murphy said. "It's the biggest jump in our sport. So being able to attack guys the way you should is super important, and I learned a lot today."

He mainly attacked hitters with the fastball, but he showed the changeup, one of his newer pitches, 24% of the time. He didn't draw any whiffs and only got a single called strike on it. However, one of them was used to induce an inning-ending double play in the top of the second inning.

"It's definitely a work in progress," he said. "But we're getting there. First year throwing it. But each and every time I'm out there, each and every outing, we're getting more confident."

One pitch that showed effectiveness was his slider. He netted three whiffs and two called strikes on nine that were thrown.

For now, the next step for Murphy is to be determined. All he knows is he is ready for another go.

"We're throwing caution to the wind," he said. "We'll see. You know, I just want to get back out there and go right after guys. Hopefully, that's soon, and we'll see what happens."

For manager Walt Weiss, the error was sticking point for him when looking back on Murphy's day. However, he still felt he didn't hit some of his spots where he needed to.

"Left some pitches over the plate," he said. "It was more about execution than anything else."

It didn't help that the bullpen wasn't clean the rest of the way. While most of their arms got their jobs done, home runs gave Tyler Kinley trouble again, and Dylan Lee allowed a run before getting out a messy sixth inning.

Ultimately, the Braves found themselves on the losing end of Saturday's game, 7-6, despite multiple multi-run leads. Another winnable game goes into the loss column.

They play their series finale with the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. First pitch of the rubber match is set for 1:35 p.m.

Add us as a preferred source on Google