The Braves manager remains confident in JR Ritchie in spite of a rough outing on Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs.
JR Ritchie got the ball from Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss on Wednesday for the first time since early August.
Through 4.2 innings against the Chicago Cubs, Ritchie unfortunately didn't have the night he hoped for, surrendering seven hits and six earned runs including two homers to hand Atlanta an 8-4 loss.
Still, Ritchie managed five strikeouts on the night, earning credit from Weiss who acknowledged the 23-year-old right-hander's room for improvement while noting just how difficult it is to keep a Cubs lineup led by Pete Crow-Armstrong off-balance.
"That's a tough lineup to get through for anybody, let alone a young kid," Weiss said, according to MLB.com. "But like I said, JR is going to be a good one. He just needs to tighten some things up. He's a young kid."
Chicago heated up quickly in the first as Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch drew a pair of walks with the latter coming home for the Cubs' first run of the game off an RBI double by Alex Bregman.
Ritchie bounced back in the second, turning to the changeup to get Michael Conforto and Pedro Ramírez down swinging. However, the Cubs kept attacking over the next couple innings when Crow-Armstrong and Bregman went yard to extend the lead to 3-0.
Chicago would chase him out of the game during the fifth when Crow-Armstrong tripled in Carson Kelly while Bregman brought home two more runners with a triple of his own.
In the midst of adversity, Ritchie remained level-headed.
"The guy is obviously a good hitter and sometimes guys are hard to get out," he said of Crow-Armstrong.
Cubs starter Shōta Imanaga was credited with the win, striking out eight Braves while only allowing four hits and a single earned run through six innings pitched.
Meanwhile, Ritchie has now compiled a 5.03 ERA and 1.47 WHIP as a result of the loss. He has also gone 1-3 overall while striking out 58 batters across 15 games this season, starting in nine of them.
Even as Wednesday's results were disappointing, Ritchie showed flashes of potential during his Aug. 2 start against the NL East rival Washington Nationals, fanning four batters and giving up just two earned runs in four innings of work.
With fellow starters Reynaldo López and Bryce Elder on the injured list, Ritchie could be a key asset going forward until they both get back. He will likely get another opportunity next Tuesday during the Braves' upcoming series against the Cincinnati Reds.
For now, Atlanta will enjoy a day off before turning their attention to Friday's opener against the Houston Astros set for 8:10 p.m. EDT.
