Jair Jurrjens made his first rehab start for the Gwinnett Braves after suffering a left hamstring injury on April 30. It seemed like old times for the young right-hander in the first inning, pitching 17 pitches, 13 of them strikes and two strikeouts against the Durham Bulls. The rest of his outing was disappointing. In the third inning Jurrjens loaded the bases and walked in a run, one of his four walks. He pitched 2 2/3 innings throwing four strikeouts, four walks while allowing two runs on five hits. The stats are just stats though, the important thing was that Jurrjens did not look like he was injured. He declared himself, "100 % healthy" shortly after his outing. "No pain. It felt good coming off the mound, but I sprinted too fast over there," Jurrjens said after I asked him how it felt to cover first on a double play attempt. He did indeed sprint over there, getting to first way before the throw. That is a good sign for Atlanta fans. He will make his next start, "Friday or Saturday, if everything goes well," J.J. told the media after the game. Coolray Field was anything but cool during the beginning of the contest, something Jurrjens had to adjust to. "It was very hot, but I guess that’s how it will be," said the 24 year old. His next start will determine how quick he is put back into the Atlanta rotation. The series against Detroit (June 25-27) would seem to be the target return for Jair.
On the other side Durham put one of the top prospects on the mound in Jeremy Hellickson. The G-Braves looked pretty helpless through Hellickson’s six innings, managing only two hits. One of those hits came off the bat of third baseman Wes Timmons. Timmons stretched his hitting streak to 11 games, which is the longest streak for the team this season.
Trailing 2-0 for most of the game, the Braves were able to tie it, scoring a run in the sixth and a run in the seventh. In the eighth inning, they exploded for five runs on five hits. Second baseman Joe Thurston put the Braves on top with a two-run double with the bases loaded. Shortstop Louis Bolivar singled to make it 6-2. Timmons finished off the scoring with an RBI on a fielder’s choice.
The five hits and five runs tied a season high for most hits and runs in an inning for Gwinnett. They now trail Durham by 9 1/2 games and can gain another game with a win on Tuesday.
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