Three Cuts: Braves lose C. Johnson in loss to Reds, bring up Foltynewicz

ATLANTA -- A loss to the Reds was only one of the blows the Braves suffered Thursday night.

They announced afterward that one of their most productive bats is headed to the disabled list as Chris Johnson suffered a fracture to his left hand in the 5-1 defeat.

After a fourth-inning walk Johnson was caught stealing and as he slid his hand dug into the dirt, jamming it backward. He came out the next half inning to third base, which was when he realized something was wrong.

"(Freddie Freeman) threw me the ball and it kind of jammed my hand back," Johnson said. "I was like 'Eww, that doesn't feel good. I just played defense, came in and had the trainer look at it. He told me I was done pretty quick."

Johnson expects to have a better sense of his stay on the DL after he undergoes an MRI Friday to check if the ligaments between the fracture have been damaged.

"If those are alright and then we'll have a timetable, I think," he said.

Johnson, who was 0-for-1 in the loss, is hitting .279/.347/.372 with four doubles and five RBI.

Without the third baseman, the Braves have called up right-handed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz. His rise, along with Shelby Miller's latest quality start and Christian Bethancourt's costly passed ball as we take Three Cuts from Turner Field:

Atlanta's bullpen went into the evening ranked seventh in the majors with 71 2/3 innings, a figure that was largely due to not one of its starters having thrown seven innings through the first 21 games.

Miller delivered that breakthrough, then he proceeded to offer up another for all MLB pitchers.

He opened the seventh in a 1-0 hole -- a run that was unearned -- before catcher Tucker Barnhart hit a solo home run. Then Mike Leake followed with one of his own, backing up his own eight shutout innings on the mound by becoming the first pitcher to homer in 2015.

"Made two terrible pitches right down the middle," Miller said. "It was terrible. We were in the ballgame at that point and just gave it away. That was on me."

Cincinnati would add another run in the eighth -- this off a Todd Frazier homer -- and one in the ninth -- coming via a Billy Hamilton HR -- but it was Miller's rough seventh that all but sealed his first loss since Aug. 11. That snapped a 12-start winning streak.

Still, it was another strong outing overall from Miller, who has been the Braves' most consistent starter to date. He's now 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA and Thursday represented his highest pitch count of the season at 112 and the third time in the last two outings in which he's thrown at least 100 pitches.

"I thought Shelby Miller was outstanding today," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "If he goes out and gives you 30, 28 more starts like that, he's going to have a helluva year."

He also worked his way out of a jam in the sixth inning, which was started off by a passed ball by Christian Bethancourt that allowed Hamilton to get on and later score. But with the Reds with runners at second and third and zero outs, Miller struck out Frazier, walked Jay Bruce to load the bases and then retired Marlon Byrd (strikeout) and Skip Schumaker (line out).

"Worked his way out of an unbelievable jam," Gonzalez said. "For him to only give up one run in that situation, you have to tip your hat, that's pitching. That's pitching really, really, really well."

The wait is over for Foltynewicz, who has had enough seasoning for the Braves to add their second-ranked prospect to the rotation.

Foltynewicz will make his first major league start on Friday, filling the spot vacated by Trevor Cahill, who has ben moved into the bullpen and a long relief role.

Foltynewicz, 23, challenged for a spot in the rotation this spring, but with a 5.84 ERA over six games, he opened in Triple-A Gwinnett. He produced a 2.08 ERA in four starts and in his last two outings, racked up 18 strikeouts over 13 innings.

"He's earned the opportunity to come up and pitch," Gonzalez said.

He appeared in 16 games with the Astros last season with a 5.30 ERA in 18 2/3 innings of relief work, but in 10 games between Aug. 17 and Sept. 23, Foltynewicz had a 1.93 ERA over 9 1/3 with eight strikeouts and six walks.

He'll be the latest piece in the Braves' offseason haul of prospects, following second baseman Jace Peterson. Foltynewicz was acquired along with Rio Ruiz and Andrew Thurman for Evan Gattis.

With a 5.11 ERA over the last 14 games heading into Thursday, the back end of the Braves' rotation is in need of a lift, especially when you consider the way Cahill helped to balloon that ERA.

Acquired in an April 2 deal with the Diamondbacks, Cahill struggled, going 0-3 with an 8.03 ERA. HIs debuted by giving up four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Marlins on April 14, then followed by allowing three in four innings vs. the Mets on April 21, and allowed four more in six innings against the Phillies on April 26.

He made his first appearance out of the bullpen on Wednesday against the Nationals, giving up four runs on six hits in two innings.

Gonzalez stressed that this isn't a fill-in start and he expects Foltynewicz to have time to prove he's ready to stay in the rotation.

"Hopefully he can rattle off the rest of the year," Gonzalez said. "He seems very capable of doing it."

A.J. Pierzynski's red-hot bat -- he has an MLB-best .422 average among players with a minimum of 50 plate appearances -- has limited Bethancourt's time behind the plate.

Heading into the series opener against Cincinnati, he had caught in just five of the last 12 games. However, the threat of Hamilton, who leads the majors' with 13 steals, and the fact that Pierzynski caught runners at just an 18 percent rate last year led Gonzalez to go with Bethancourt, the better defensive player.

"This guy is a force behind the plate in the running game," Gonzalez said. "I'd like to see him and Billy Hamilton -- well, you know what, I take it back, I don't want to see Billy Hamilton on the base path. But (Bethancourt) is a guy that, when he is catching, the other manager knows we can't just run at will. He turns it around really, really well."

With Hamilton up in the sixth inning, Miller appeared to have successfully kept him off the base paths for the third straight time, fanning the Cincinnati center fielder on three pitches. But Bethancourt would lose a 75-mph curveball on strike 3 and Hamilton reached first.

Passed balls have been a continued problem for Bethancourt, who had six in 260 1/3 innings last year in Atlanta and 82 over the last seven seasons in the minors.

The latest one set the stage, but the Bethancourt vs. Hamilton duel wouldn't happen, though, as Zack Cozart singled on the next pitch. A batter later Joey Votto doubled to score Cincinnati's leadoff man.

Having already thrown out the Marlins' Dee Gordon (tied for second in MLB with eight steals), doing the same to Hamilton would be an impressive feat for Bethancourt and he'll at least get another chance at that showdown. Gonzalez disclosed before the game that he also plans to start Bethancourt in Sunday's series finale.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney