CUMBERLAND, Ga. -- Luiz Gohara should be thinking about finally making his first start this season. After starting the season on the disabled list and coping with the passing of his father last December, Gohara should be able to focus on himself and his baseball.
However, there's more on his mind than possibly taking the mound at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday.
Gohara's mother has struggled with heart issues and her condition has reportedly decreased. She underwent heart surgery, according to MLB.com. Gohara will remain with the Braves until Wednesday, then he is expected to travel home to Brazil to be with her.
"I feel pretty good. Just got my mindset ready to go," Gohara said by his locker before Saturday's game.
The night before, the 265-pound southpaw threw 1.2 hitless innings, his third outing out of the bullpen this season. He told the media on Friday that he was told he was going to start Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies who are riding the Braves' coattails in the NL East. However, Brian Snitker said on Saturday that he didn't tell the 21-year-old any such thing.
"He’s a candidate. We don’t have to use him. I’d like him to start that game, but I didn’t tell him he was going to start it," Snitker said.
That's because they could still need him in the bullpen.
Gohara would be starting in place of Mike Soroka who went on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. It would be his first start since last season. After getting called up last September, Gohara made five starts going 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA. But he had 31 strikeouts in those five games.
MLB Pipeline projects Gohara as the No. 4 player in the Braves' farm system.
"I think it’s good for him to be here in this environment with these guys," Snitker said. "I’m seeing progress with him. We know what he’s capable of. We want to get him back to where he was a year ago. He stood out in a really good way."
But after Wednesday, Gohara is expected to depart for Brazil. He will likely be placed on the bereavement list, which could allow him to be gone for as little as a couple of days or a week.
Snitker said the club communicated to him that they are there for him and that he needs to do what's best for him and his family.
"It’s a lot to put on a young guy, that’s for sure. Especially to go through it when you’re on this stage and everything you go through with the pressures and all of the playing in the major league, I think he’s been handling it really well here," Snitker said. "I’d only hope someone did that for my son or daughter if they were in the same position."
Gohara has been able to compartmentalize everything for the time being.
"All I do is just keep my focus to what I’m doing here right now and my job, and after I do all my things, I just focus on something else," Gohara said.
It's been a difficult six months for Gohara. His father passed away in December. Then after returning to the club in the spring, he started on the disabled list with a left ankle sprain. He made four starts in AA and AAA, going 0-3 with a 6.89 ERA. But in the Braves' bullpen, he has 7 innings of work allowing just four baserunners and one run.
