BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
BRISTOL, Va. – Ryan Z. Braun had been waiting a long time to get back on the mound. A very long time.
“I threw some intrasquad games down in extended spring training,” Braun said. “But [pitching] in an actual game that counted, not since the end of the [2007] season.”
Braun made his first injury rehabilitation outing for the Bristol White Sox on Tuesday night, pitching a scoreless inning in Bristol’s 6-2 Appalachian League loss to the Greeneville Astros.
Braun entered in the sixth inning in relief of starter Nevin Griffith. He struck out Aaron Bray looking on three pitches and got both Ryan Humphrey and Grant Hogue to ground out weakly to second base.
It was the latest stop in a comeback attempt for Braun, who underwent “Tommy John” surgery at the end of spring training in 2008. He signed with the Chicago White Sox organization last year and is slowly working his way back.
“My elbow’s been feeling pretty good for the last month and a half to two months,” Braun said. “It was just a normal day of warming up and going out there to pitch.”
Braun pitched in the majors for the Kansas City Royals in 2006 and 2007, going 2-1 with a 6.66 ERA in 35 appearances over two seasons.
One of his teammates in Kansas City was Bristol native Jimmy Gobble, who is currently pitching in the majors for the White Sox.
“We were bullpen mates in Kansas City,” Braun said. “He was in the big leagues longer than a lot of guys in the Kansas City bullpen. He was a good guy to look to and talk to and learn the ropes.”
Braun’s now hoping to get back to the majors with Chicago. He aced his first real test on Tuesday.
“Any game that counts, I’m being judged by the people above,” Braun said. “They want me to do real well and stuff. It’s just good to go out every game and try as hard as I can.”
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