ATLANTA -- One night, the Atlanta Braves might count on Mike Gonzalez to get the last three outs.
The next night, Rafael Soriano could be the one handling the crucial job.
The Braves have two overpowering pitchers at the back end of their bullpen, and manager Bobby Cox doesn't need to worry about which one should be the closer.
He just uses them both.
Gonzalez has eight saves and Soriano five, making the Braves the only NL team that has two relievers with at least five saves. (There are three in the AL.)
``I don't mind it at all,'' said Gonzalez, who started the season as the full-time closer. ``When you've got an arm like Soriano's, you've got to take advantage of it. If you can mix and match, you should mix and match. I'd be doing it, too.''
Cox makes his call based on who's coming to bat for the opposing team in the final two innings. Gonzalez is a lefty and Soriano a right-hander, which gives the manager plenty of flexibility to decide who should pitch the eighth when the Braves are ahead, and who gets the ball in the ninth when the official save is on the line.
``I'm just playing the innings, that's all,'' Cox said before Wednesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, praising Gonzalez and Soriano for their unselfishness. ``It takes team performers in order to do that.''
While Gonzalez is normally the closer, Cox has flipped the roles three times this season and it's worked every time, including Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Pirates. Gonzalez pitched a scoreless eighth and Soriano finished up for the save.
``It just depends on what (Cox) wants to do,'' Soriano said. ``It's not a big deal for me.''
Gonzalez has a similar mind-set. Even when he pitches the eighth, he approaches it like he's going for the save.
``When I go in for the eighth inning, we're going to be ahead or tied,'' he said. ``I know I'm more or less going to be facing the 2-3-4 hitters or the power lefties. There's still no room for error.''
Cox can hardly go wrong the way both guys have pitched in recent weeks. Over their last 10 appearances before Wednesday, Gonzalez had given up one run in 10 1-3 innings, with 12 strikeouts, while Soriano was even more dominant with 15 strikeouts and just one run allowed over 11 2-3 innings.
Overall, Gonzalez was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 27 innings. Soriano was 1-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 27 2-3 innings.
``I don't care what I do,'' Soriano said. ``I'm just playing to win.''
SCHAFER INJURED: Former Braves center fielder Jordan Schafer, who was sent to the minors last week after struggling in the big leagues, is dealing with another setback.
Schafer sustained a deep bone bruise in his left hand while batting for Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday. While X-rays and an MRI showed no serious damage, the youngster will have to sit out a couple of weeks to let the pain subside.
James Parr, who also pitched in Atlanta this season, is now sidelined at Gwinnett because of a tender elbow. General manager Frank Wren expects the right-hander to miss up to two weeks.
YATES HURTING: Pittsburgh reliever Tyler Yates, who pitched for the Braves in 2006-07, was sent back to Pittsburgh for more tests on his sore right elbow.
Yates, the Pirates' top set-up reliever, went on the 15-day disabled list May 16 and doesn't seem to be making any progress. The elbow flared up when he threw a couple of simulated innings on Tuesday.
``You can't mess around with a pitcher's arm,'' manager John Russell said. ``We have to find out what's going on.''
Tuesday
May 6th, 2025
9:12AM
