Mike Gonzalez still has no clue why he lost so much of his velocity during Tuesday night's game. But for the next two weeks, he'll have the opportunity to rest his left arm.
The Braves placed Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday afternoon and recalled left-handed reliever Macay McBride from Triple-A Richmond.
During the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game against the Nationals, Gonzalez's fastball was being clocked around 83 mph. Just three days earlier while throwing a scoreless inning against his former Pirates teammates, his fastball was registering closer to 92 mph.
Gonzalez, who missed the final five weeks of last season with tendinitis in his left elbow, isn't feeling any sort of discomfort. But the Braves want to take precaution in hopes that he's simply bothered by a dead arm.
Before allowing a run and a hit while retiring just two batters on Tuesday, Gonzalez had worked 14 consecutive scoreless innings. He had allowed just four hits in his previous seven innings.
McBride, who was sent to Richmond because of the control problems he experienced during the first two weeks of the regular season, posted a 3.13 ERA in seven appearances with Richmond. Because he threw five innings on Monday night, he likely won't be available out of the bullpen until at least Thursday.
