Sean Newcomb impresses but Braves’ offense held in check in 1-0 loss to Yankees

Sean Newcomb turned in another solid performance but the Braves’ offense was held in check in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

The big story for the Braves in this one was their pitching performance, particularly from Newcomb who remains in competition for one of the final spots in Atlanta’s rotation. Newcomb pitched well and was able to induce a couple of key double plays. He allowed three hits and issued his first two walks of the spring but struck out four over four scoreless innings.

Will Smith replaced Newcomb and allowed a hit and a walk but struck out two over 1 1/3 innings in a scoreless appearance.

Josh Tomlin replaced Smith with one out in the sixth and immediately found himself in a bit of trouble. Tomlin allowed a lead off single to Clint Frazier who then moved up to second on a ground out by Mike Ford. Chris Iannetta followed with a single to center that dropped in front of Cristian Pache that scored pinch runner Josh Stowers to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Chris Rusin and Patrick Weigel both tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth with each recording a strikeout.

Atlanta was unable to generate any offense in this one against New York pitching. Dansby Swanson singled in the first against Masahiro Tanaka but wouldn’t see another hit until the eighth inning when Jack Lopez singled to center. Lopez stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch but was left stranded.

Ronald Acuña Jr’s struggled at the plate continued going 0-for-3 with three more strikeouts. Johan Camargo, Travis d’Arnaud and Adam Duvall were a combined 0-for-9 with five strikeouts. Braves hitters struck out 11 times on the afternoon.

Atlanta will be back in action on Monday when they host the Boston Red Sox in a night game at CoolToday Park.