:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/32020195/20140422_ajl_ad1_185.jpg.0.jpg)
Fernandez is electric in the most dominant start of his professional career
If you missed today's game for any reason, go back and watch it before reading this. Jose Fernandez was as good as we've ever seen him, striking out 14 Braves and walking none in eight shutout innings. Fernandez straight up embarrassed the Braves lineup, by mixing and locating his pitches. In particular, Fernandez's slider was untouchable all night. It seemed as if it was moving differently every time he threw it and even though the Braves knew what was coming, there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.
Of Jose Fernandez's 14 strikeouts, 10 of them came against the heart of Atlanta's lineup in Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla, and Justin Upton. If Fernandez was facing the American League All-Star team tonight, he probably still would have had ten strikeouts. It would have been nice if Manager Mike Redmond had let him stay in for the ninth, but Steve Cishek was effective in getting the save. Overall, this game was all about Fernandez. He out dueled a stingy Alex Wood and dominated every aspect of his outing. If it's not clear by now, drafting Jose Fernandez was one of the best decisions the Marlins franchise has ever made.