Rainey's return from TJ surgery worth the wait

ATLANTA -- 447 days since appearing in a Major League game, Tanner Rainey came full circle in his return from Tommy John surgery on Saturday night.

The late-inning righty reliever made his comeback on the same mound where he last pitched on July 10, 2022: at Truist Park. Rainey delivered a scoreless eighth inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout on 18 pitches in the Nationals’ 5-3 loss to the Braves.

“The only thing I can say is, it made the 14 months worth it,” Rainey said.

Manager Dave Martinez turned to Rainey to pitch into the top of the Braves’ heavy-hitting lineup. Rainey’s first pitch back: a slider called by catcher Keibert Ruiz to Eddie Rosario. Atlanta’s No. 8 hitter made contact for a soft ground ball single to third base, and he reached second on a throwing error by Carter Kieboom.

“Keibert surprised me when he called it,” Rainey said. “But when I was warming up, the slider felt really good. When he called it, I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I got exactly what I wanted out of it, it’s just unfortunate where he hit it. It’s a tough play.”

Working with a runner in scoring position, Rainey caught Orlando Arcia swinging on a slider in a 1-2 count. He issued a walk to Ronald Acu?a Jr. on six pitches, followed by a popup to second base from Ozzie Albies on a 95.5 mph fastball.

Rainey delivered a wild pitch that advanced Rosario and Acu?a to second and third, but he escaped the jam by getting Austin Riley to fly out to right field on a 96.5 mph fastball.

“It was a good part of the lineup for him, and he did really well,” said Martinez. “He’s an adrenaline guy. He’s going to come in, his [velocity’s] going to be up in the mid-90s, and his slider was really effective. I’m proud of him.”

Rainey located 11 of his 18 pitches for strikes. He delivered his four-seam fastball, which reached 96.8 mph, for 10 pitches and his slider for the other eight. Rainey credited the uptick in his velocity from his rehab outings to “the adrenaline, the lights, the stadium, the fans -- that makes a big difference.”

“I’m so happy for him,” said Ruiz. “He looked great. The fastball was good, the slider was there, too. … He’s going to help us win some games.”

On that July afternoon last year in Atlanta, Rainey threw two scoreless innings. Just three days later, he was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right UCL sprain, and he underwent Tommy John surgery that August. Rainey, who had earned the role of Nats closer, had picked up 12 saves with a 3.30 ERA in 29 appearances before his fifth Major League season was cut short.

Rainey, 30, set a goal to return this year. He described the coincidence of being reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Friday to make his return in Atlanta as “a little weird,” but there was nothing coincidental about his comeback.

Rainey had grinded through the recovery process at the Nationals’ training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., before being cleared to pitch in rehab assignments in August, the one-year mark since his surgery. He worked his way up through the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A before rejoining the Nats at Nationals Park this month to throw bullpen sessions and sim games monitored by the staff. Rainey said, “the last two or three weeks, I think I made big strides” through these activities.

To clear roster space, the Nats transferred catcher Riley Adams (broken left hamate bone) to the 60-day IL and placed right-hander Robert Garcia on the paternity list on Friday.

“I want to see Tanner in the big leagues,” general manager Mike Rizzo said before the game Saturday. “I want to see how he reacts and how he performs. Not so much that he has anything to prove, because we kind of know the pitcher that he is, but I think it's important for him and for us to see him pitch and for him to do it before the season's over.”

Rainey experienced some nerves initially, but he settled in once he warmed up in the bullpen. When the phone rang in the ‘pen, the only thing on his mind was, “get out there, throw, be healthy.”

And so Rainey did. Fourteen months later, all 447 days worth waiting for.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words here,” he said.