Georgia native Blalock battles through rocky first in hometown start

ATLANTA -- As Bradley Blalock caught his breath in the visiting dugout at Truist Park on Wednesday night, his long-awaited dream of a hometown big league start threatening to turn into a nightmare, he took stock. And he decided that this was not how this night was going to go.

After a rough first inning against a dangerous lineup, Blalock collected himself. He shook himself off. And he found a way to stick it out, lasting five innings in the Rockies’ 5-2 loss to the Braves.

“It kind of got away from me there in the first inning,” Blalock said. “I got two quick outs and then I fell apart there. But I was glad I gave my team a chance to win there in the next four innings, [and] put up four zeroes.”

The stat line won’t stand out, but by recovering from the rough beginning, Blalock found a way to contribute to his team -- and to walk off the mound with his pride intact and some lessons learned -- and enough good vibes to wear a smile for all the postgame pictures with a crowd of friends, family, and well-wishers from nearby Loganville, Ga.

“This was a little bit different for him,” said manager Bud Black. “Because of that. Upwards of 70 people, your hometown, your [fifth] Major League start. All that stuff combined. And going up against the team that he rooted for. So a lot of emotion there. But he hung in there. He battled. So that’s a good sign.”

Blalock actually estimated his cheering section at well upwards of 70 people, roughly 200 in fact. He was born in Conyers, Ga. and attended Grayson High School in Loganville, about 40 miles east of Truist Park. And it seemed that just about the whole town came out to see him.

As a result, he acknowledged that this start was not like his previous four in the big leagues.

“The nerves really didn’t hit me until I went out there to start stretching.” Blalock said, “Then everyone was kind of yelling at me from the family section. Kind of settled in there and was ready to go after that. But I’ve just got to be better the first inning out there.”

Blalock, acquired in a trade with the Brewers in July, got two quick outs to open the first, but back-to-back doubles by Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson put the Rockies down by a run. After a walk, Jarred Kelenic then hit a three-run homer. Blalock issued another walk before escaping.

Colorado gave him two runs in the next half-inning, giving Blalock a boost, and from there he settled in. He allowed only one more hit, a bloop to shallow center that could have easily been scored an error, though he did issue a total of six walks on the night. Still, it was quite a recovery on a night that could have well and truly gone awry.

“Right there in the first inning, I got the last out, and knew the team was going to get in there and hit,” he said. “So once they put up two runs, it was like, ‘OK, now I’ve got to get these guys. Put up some zeroes and let them keep hitting.’”

Blalock finished with four runs allowed on four hits over five innings. He did issue those six walks, but he struck out two of the last three batters he faced. There’s plenty of development still to come, but there’s also plenty to build on.

“He battled,” Black said. “I like that. I like that about Bradley. He fights and battles, which is what you want. … Six walks, we talked about it after I took him out of the game, and he knows that can’t happen at this level. That’s too much stress, too much pressure to handle if you go out there every fifth day and do that. So he knows. But I like his stuff. I like the way he competes. And he hung in there. He did.”