NewsJurrjens hopes to keep following Maddux
Atlanta (44-45) vs. New York (42-46), 7:30 p.m. ET
By Adam Rosenberg / MLB.com
07/17/09 1:13 AM ET
ATLANTA -- Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens had only been on Earth 217 days when Greg Maddux made his big league debut for the Cubs on Sept. 3, 1986. When Maddux made his Braves debut in 1993, Jurrjens was just 7 years old. So when Jurrjens takes the mound on Friday after Maddux has his No. 31 retired forever by the Braves, it will surely be a special night for the 23-year-old Curacao native who grew up a Braves fan. "It would be awesome to have a good game, especially on a day they are retiring the jersey of one of the best pitchers ever," Jurrjens said. "I hope I can throw one of those quick games under two hours with, like, 92 pitches like he used to do." To this point in their respective careers, Maddux and Jurrjens have taken somewhat similar tracks. Through his first 50 starts, Maddux had amassed 22 wins. Jurrjens is close behind with 20 career victories in his first 50 outings. If the Braves had been able to give Jurrjens more run support in the first half of this season, he could very well have surpassed Maddux's total to this point. "It will be something special," Jurrjens said of the opportunity to pitch on such a historic night. "I want to steal some ideas from him. I met him last year, but it was a really quick meeting." As a youth in Curacao, Jurrjens wasn't solely a pitcher. Although he followed the Braves, he doesn't remember studying Maddux the way many young pitchers did. That doesn't mean the 300-game winner known as "Mad Dog" didn't leave an impression on the young Jurrjens. "He made it look so easy, but pitching is not easy," Jurrjens said. "You wish you could have the same mindset like him every time. He's just special. He was born with that intelligence." Jurrjens has already made quite an impression on those who have seen him pitch, despite pitching in just his second full season. Entering his start Friday, he has a 2.91 ERA but just a 7-7 record to show for it. After relaxing over the All-Star break, Jurrjens says he is ready to continue his strong season and keep the Braves in the National League East race. Although many felt Jurrjens deserved a spot on the NL All-Star team, he seemed to relish to opportunity to take a few days off. "I got a good massage in," Jurrjens said. "It was nice. Those few days, you just try to relax. You can't keep your mind on baseball all the time, or you lose the fun in it." Although it would be hard to top Jurrjens' first half, the young right-hander knows there's plenty of room for improvement. He hopes to be more efficient in his pitch counts so he can consistently go further into games. "I wish I could go back and throw more strikes like I did earlier in the season," Jurrjens said. "I need to stop falling behind so much like I did the last couple of starts and just be aggressive with hitters." Pitching matchupATL: RHP Jair Jurrjens (7-7, 2.91 ERA)
Jurrjens seeks to start the second half the same way he ended the first half -- with a win. The right-hander defeated the Rockies on Saturday for his second win of the month after going winless in June. He went 7 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs against the Mets on May 12. NYM: RHP Mike Pelfrey (7-4, 4.47 ERA)
Pelfrey survived his all-too-common one bad inning in his victory against the Reds on Sunday. He had four 1-2-3 innings, one in which he allowed two hits and one in which the Reds scored three times on five hits, a walk and a balk. The Mets have lost five of his eight most recent starts. Pelfrey had a seven-inning no-decision against the Braves at Citi Field on May 12. He allowed two runs in the 4-3 victory. Before this season, Pelfrey had produced a 2-3 record and 5.55 ERA in seven games -- six starts -- and 37 1/3 innings against the Braves. Brian McCann has a .400 average in 20 at-bats against Pelfrey. Chipper Jones has two home runs and a .308 average in 13 at-bats against the Mets starter. Tidbits
Tim Hudson and Buddy Carlyle threw live batting practice on Thursday afternoon. Hudson, who will begin his Minor League rehab assignment with Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach on Sunday, feels good physically as he returns from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. But he's still fighting to find consistent control. ... Jo-Jo Reyes was activated from the 15-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He'll make his first start for the G-Braves on Friday. ... Kelly Johnson has six hits in his first 25 at-bats with Gwinnett. Johnson is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday. Tickets
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• 640 WGST, Project 9-6-1 Up next
• Saturday: Braves (Kenshin Kawakami, 5-6, 4.26) vs. Mets (Johan Santana, 10-7, 3.09), 4:00 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Braves (Javier Vazquez, 6-7, 2.95) vs. Mets (Fernando Nieve, 3-3, 3.03), 6:00 p.m. ET
• Monday: Braves (Tommy Hanson, 4-0, 2.85) vs. Giants (Jonathan Sanchez, 3-8, 4.69), 7:00 p.m. ET
Adam Rosenberg is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
