Rookie Shuster 'still peeling the layers off'

ATLANTA -- Jared Shuster endured another rough first inning, and the Braves squandered too many opportunities as they suffered a 5-4 loss to the Padres on Friday night at Truist Park.

The Braves erased an early deficit with a game-tying, three-run third inning that began with Marcell Ozuna’s second home run of the season. But Xander Bogaerts’ sixth-inning single off Michael Tonkin gave the Padres a lead they did not relinquish.

• Braves place Harris on injured list

Here are three takeaways from a loss that dropped the Braves’ record to 6-2:

What’s next for Shuster?
When Shuster exited in the fifth inning of this matchup against a potent Padres lineup, manager Brian Snitker offered some words of encouragement to the Braves' top prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings. The 24-year-old left-hander has endured a rough first week as a Major Leaguer.

“It’s not going to be perfect and it’s not going to be easy,” Snitker said. “He’s still peeling the layers off.”

Like Kyle Wright in 2019, Shuster has quickly learned Spring Training success doesn’t prove a pitching prospect is ready. Shuster issued three walks and needed 37 pitches to get through the Padres’ two-run first. If looking for positives, he had allowed four first-inning runs while facing the Nationals in his MLB debut five days earlier.

Shuster has looked nervous while issuing three walks in the first inning of each of his first two starts. How unexpected was this? He didn’t issue more than three walks in any of the 27 appearances (25 starts) he combined to make at the Double-A and Triple-A levels last year.

“I think it’s just nitpicking and beating myself,” Shuster said.

Shuster responded to Sunday’s first inning by keeping the Nationals scoreless over the remainder of his 4 2/3-inning debut. The Padres, meanwhile, touched him for one more run in the second and then chased him when the fifth began with a Manny Machado double and Nelson Cruz infield single.

With Wright likely to come off the injured list to start Tuesday against the Reds, Shuster may be given time to continue his development at the Triple-A level. This shouldn’t be seen as a setback if it happens. He entered the year with just 212 1/3 innings at the professional level. So, like Wright in 2021, he might benefit from some more time in the Minors.

Squandered chances
Matt Olson and Austin Riley combined to reach safely in eight of 10 plate appearances. But the Braves wasted the contributions these two made from the lineup’s second and third spots, respectively.

It was one of those nights for cleanup hitter Ozzie Albies, who stranded eight runners during an 0-for-5 night. Albies’ most productive plate appearance came in the third inning, when Olson scored on Nick Martinez’s wild pitch.

After Olson and Riley drew consecutive walks in the fifth, the always-aggressive Albies swung at an 0-1 pitch out of the strike zone and ended up striking out. Riley and Olson combined to see 10 pitches as they again drew consecutive walks in the seventh. Brent Honeywell quieted that threat when Albies grounded out against a first-pitch fastball.

“It’s one of those nights where you try your best, and it doesn’t turn out in your favor,” Albies said. “So you turn the page, and tomorrow is a new day.”

Good sign?
Ozuna told Albies before the game that he’d homer, and he proved prophetic when he began the bottom of the third with a 440-foot drive off Martinez. The Braves know the veteran slugger is capable of running into a homer every now and then. They’d just like to see him run into pitches more frequently than he has while going 2-for-21 thus far.

With Michael Harris II set to be on the injured list for more than a week, Ozuna provides some outfield depth. But his primary role with the Braves would be as a designated hitter, a role Travis d'Arnaud could handle much more capably on the days he’s either not catching nor in need of a rest.

Ozuna provides some value now, and he certainly will get more than a week’s worth of at-bats before the Braves will decide where he fits. But the early start hasn’t erased thoughts of the team eventually eating the approximately $37 million the veteran is owed over the next two seasons.

“You’d like to see the consistency more, driving the ball and using the whole field,” Snitker said. “You did see the improvement during Spring Training. I know it’s Spring Training, but it’s what we got to judge. Hopefully, at some point in time, he finds himself.”