MILWAUKEE -- Anthony Recker made yet another positive impression as he showed off his arm strength while throwing out three would-be basestealers during Thursday afternoon's 11-3 loss to the Brewers at Miller Park. But like the rest of his Braves teammates, Recker saw no reason to celebrate anything that transpired in the lopsided contest.
"Today wasn't my best day, but tomorrow is another day," said Recker, who had entered Thursday having thrown out just three of the 14 opponents who had attempted to steal against him since he joined Atlanta's roster after the All-Star break.
Along with bettering his previous season caught-stealing total within one game, Recker also became the first catcher to ever record two caught stealings in one game against Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar, who ranks second in the Majors with 45 stolen bases.
But after sitting behind the plate as the Brewers tallied a run in every inning they came up to bat, the unselfish Recker certainly wasn't dwelling on any of his personal statistical accomplishments.
"I threw a couple guys out," Recker said. "But obviously any time you give up 11 runs as a catcher, you don't feel like you've done a very good job."
Regardless of what transpired on Thursday, when the Braves were reminded of how fortunate they were to have recent success despite being depleted in both the rotation and bullpen, the Braves have been thrilled with what they have seen from Recker, who has batted .359 and compiled a .945 OPS through his first 50 plate appearances of the season.
There is certainly reason to be suspect of the staying power of Recker, who has spent a majority of his pro career at the Minor League level. The soon-to-be 33-year-old catcher spent the past three seasons as a backup for the Mets and began this season with the Indians before being sold to the Braves for cash in May.
But Recker has done enough over the past month to seemingly keep a spot on Atlanta's roster at least through the end of this season.
When Tyler Flowers returns from the disabled list next week and resumes his duties as Atlanta's starting catcher, the Braves will need to decide what to do with Recker and veteran A.J. Pierzynski. There has been some internal discussions about possibly carrying three catchers. But as of now, there does not seem to be any talk about Recker being the odd man out.
"He's played really well," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "That's good to see because going forward, you're looking for catching all of the time, and he's making the most of his opportunities."