Wear and tear may be slowing D-Braves' Hodges

Casey Hodges has had arguably the best arm on the Danville Braves’ pitching staff this season. So it’s uncharacteristic that the right-hander has struggled in his last two starts.

Hodges took the loss in Tuesday’s 11-3 drubbing by Bristol. The Rocky Mount native allowed a season-high six runs on seven hits in only 4 1-3 innings. In his previous start at Elizabethton, the Twins tagged Hodges for five runs on nine hits in five innings of work.

As a result, Hodges’s earned run average ballooned from 1.20 to 2.47.

With almost 70 innings pitched this season, Hodges is beginning to feel the rigors of a pro baseball schedule added onto his college season earlier this spring.

“It’s just been a long season for me,” Hodges said. “I’m just trying to fight through some fatigue. I’ve just got to man up and pitch through it. I’ve got just a few starts left. I’ve got to get stronger somehow.

“In the major leagues, they throw 200-something innings a season. I’m kind of approaching that. I’ve just got to learn to pitch through it. It’s new territory for me right now.”

And a blister on his right foot isn’t helping the situation, although Hodges said it isn’t bothering him physically.

“Maybe a little bit mentally, but it’s something I’ve got to overcome too, because it shouldn’t affect me,” he said.

Arm fatigue is nothing new for rookie league pitchers who are getting their first taste of pro ball. In fact, it’s fairly normal.

“At this level, yeah,” D-Braves manager Paul Runge said. “Guys are used to the max in high school and college. A lot of times the pitches and stuff aren’t monitored. I’m not saying that’s the case with him.”

Hodges pitched 89 innings this spring while going 10-1 with Mount Olive College, which won the Division II national championship.

“He pitched a lot of innings before he came,” Runge said. “He’s pitched a lot of innings here. I’m sure that’s factoring in. He’s not as sharp as he was at the beginning of the year. He’s missing his spots, especially with his fastball. He really hasn’t been putting hitters away with his secondary pitches right now.”

In his last two games, Hodges has allowed 11 earned runs. That’s three more than he had in his first 10 starts combined.

Hodges’ early success made him a natural candidate for Minor League Baseball’s Most Spectacular Pitcher Award. He is one of six pitchers eligible from the rookie league, and fans can vote at www.mspaward.com.

“I expected to pitch pretty well, but not as well as I have been,” Hodges said of his first pro season. “It’s kind of catching up to me a little bit, but having pitched this well early, I kind of expect it from myself now. Any time you go out and have an outing like that, especially when I’ve had two of them back-to-back, it really kind of gets to you. It makes me want to be better the next time I go out.”

Runge said the coaching staff has been monitoring Hodges’ latest starts closely, making sure that he doesn’t pitch past the fifth inning.

“We’ve cut back on the number of innings and pitches he’s thrown,” Runge said. “That’s all you can do at this point and time. He’s only got one or two more starts.”

HOW THEY SCORED

TOP OF THE SECOND: Kenneth Gilbert hit a one-out single to left. Kevin Dubler flied out to center field. Brandon Short moved Gilbert to second base with a single to left. Jedon Matthews hit a two-run double to the warning track in dead center field, scoring Gilbert and Short. Juan Silverio flied out to left. Bristol 2, Danville 0

TOP OF THE THIRD: Andrew Garcia drew a one-out walk. John Kateon singled to left, moving Garcia to second. Jose Vargas grounded into a forceout at second, advancing Garcia to third and putting Vargas on first. Vargas stole second without a throw. Gilbert’s single through the left side scored Garcia and Vargas, and Gilbert took second on the throw home. Dubler lined out to the shortstop to end the threat. Bristol 4, Danville 0

TOP OF THE FIFTH: Garcia walked to lead off, and he moved to second base on Kateon’s groundout to shortstop. Garcia scored on Jose Vargas’ single to center. That ended the night for Danville starter Casey Hodges, who was replaced with Steven Kent. Gilbert singled to right, moving Vargas to second. Dubler brought Vargas and Gilbert home with a double to right. Short singled to left and Dubler advanced to third. Matthews singled to center, which scored Dubler and moved short to third. Matthews advanced to second on the throw. Silverio grounded out and Hancer Vargas struck out to end the threat. Bristol 8, Danville 0

TOP OF THE SEVENTH: Will White was hit by a pitch. After a pop out, Jon Gilmore got Danville’s first hit with a grounder up them middle, which moved White to second. Gerardo Rodriguez doubled down into the corner in right field, scoring White and moving Gilmore to third. Chris Shehan’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Gilmore and moved Rodriguez to third. Matt Kennelly doubled off the center field wall, scoring Rodriguez. Bristol starting pitcher Gregory Infante was replaced by Kevin Asselin. Chais Fuller popped out to the right side. Bristol 8, Danville 3

TOP OF THE EIGHTH: Rico Reid comes into pitch for Danville. Silverio singled into shallow right field. Silverio moved to second on a sac bunt and then advanced to third on a groundout. John Kateon reached on a throwing error by Danville shortstop Chais Fuller, whose throw pulled the first baseman off the bag. That allowed Silverio to score. Jose Vargas then flied out. Bristol 9, Danville 3

TOP OF THE NINTH: Dubler hit a one-out single to center. After Short flew out to right, Matthews doubled to right, scoring Dubler. Silverio singled to score Mattews. A wild pitch sent Silverio to second, but Hancer Vargas grounded out to end the inning. Bristol 11, Danville 3

NEWS & NOTES

Bristol right-hander Gregory Infante had a no-hitter through 6 1-3 innings. Jon Gilmore broke it up with a single through the middle. After hitting Danville’s L.V. Ware to lead off the bottom of the first inning, Infante mowed down the next 17 D-Braves in order and faced the minimum number of hitters until the seventh inning. … Gerardo Rodriguez broke up the shutout with an RBI double to right field in the seventh. … After starting off hot in his first 10 games in Danville, Camilo Parra has struggled mightily. He’s struck out 15 times in his last 17 at-bats.