Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Cory Gearrin heads to the dugout in the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros on Tuesday in Atlanta. Atlanta won 3-1 in 11 innings. (AP Photo/David Goldman)If Rhea County High School graduate Cory Gearrin didn’t know major league baseball was a cold, cruel business before Tuesday afternoon, he painfully does this morning.
Roughly an hour after the Atlanta Braves reliever recorded the first big-league win of his career against the Houston Astros, his employer sent him back to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room for Julio Teheran, who’s expected to start tonight at Arizona.
“It’s a shame,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez told MLB.com afterward. “[Cory] was outstanding. He gets his first win in the major leagues and we’ve got to make a player move to shut him down.”
The good part is that Gearrin isn’t being sent down because of flaws so much as fate. When injured starter Brandon Beachy was placed on the 15-day disabled list over the weekend and Atlanta found itself without an off day this week, the organization had little choice but call on Teheran for a spot start.
But because of that, it would also not be surprising to see Gearrin return to the big club within the week. Especially given the 25-year-old righty’s 3.18 ERA and .158 opponents’ batting average in 10 appearances this spring.