The Daily Chop: Mike Foltynewicz rounding into form, Tyler Matzek and more

Mike Foltynewicz put together his best outing of the spring Saturday and took a “regular-season approach” according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Foltynewicz was looking to gain some conditioning through his first two spring starts but relied on his slider more on Saturday and saw some good results. Foltynewicz’s spring so far is in sharp contrast to 2019 when he reportedly came out throwing his slider aggressively early which resulted in elbow soreness.

“My first two [starts] I was maybe too relaxed out there,” said Foltynewicz, who had recorded just four outs in last weekend’s start against Boston. “But now, you start to get that mental focus and just start attacking guys and treat it like a regular season game.”

More Braves News

Sean Newcomb threw four more scoreless innings on Sunday but the Braves were unable to generate any offense in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

One of the better stories of the spring is that of reliever Tyler Matzek who nearly walked away from the game a few years ago but is now turning heads in camp with his performance.

MLB News

Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Blake Snell will return to the mound Monday against the Blue Jays. Snell felt soreness in his elbow after his one-inning spring debut back on February 26. He received a cortisone shot two days later and was held out of action until he resumed throwing this past Tuesday.

Justin Verlander exited his start Sunday early due to triceps soreness. Verlander had been scheduled to throw about four innings but was pulled after two innings while throwing 28 pitches.

The Los Angeles Angels announced that left-hander Andrew Heaney will be the team’s starter on Opening Day. Heaney dealt with elbow issues in 2019 and made just 18 starts posting a 4.91 ERA in 95 1/3 innings.

The Baltimore Orioles claimed right-hander Hector Velazquez off of waivers from the Red Sox. Boston designated Velazquez for assignment on March 5.