PHOENIX -- Given he wasn't sure he'd ever realize his ambitious goal of pitching again, Jonny Venters certainly didn't expect to exit Thursday's 10-inning win over the D-backs having completed his ninth back-to-back appearance of the season and fifth since the Braves acquired him from the Rays on July 26.
"I'm as surprised as anybody would be, but then again, I feel like this whole year has been a surprise," Venters said. "I didn't expect things to unfold the way they have this season and to feel as good as I do right now."
Had Venters walked away from his April 25 season debut with the Rays and never thrown another pitch, he still would have produced one of this season's best feel-good stories. He had returned to the Majors for the first time since 2012 and overcame the significant odds that had stacked against him over the past few years. Venters ignored the retirement sentence that was seemingly attached to the third Tommy John surgery he underwent in '14, and then remained determined in '16 when Dr. Neal ElAttrache creatively found a way to complete a fourth reconstruction surgery -- the one Venters considers to be a half-TJ surgery.
Venters spent this past winter trying to adapt to being a pitcher who could compete with a fastball that sat between 90-91 mph. But the lefty has surpassed expectations as his fastball has averaged 93.2 mph and he has posted a 2.57 ERA over 39 combined appearances with the Rays and Braves.

"I was thinking I would have to be fine, which as you know is not typically how I've pitched," Venters said. "I've always been effectively wild. But I've tried to make that adjustment. Some days I feel like I can do it and some days I feel like I revert back to my natural ways of just trying to throw the ball over the plate."
When Venters posted a 1.84 ERA during his 2011 All-Star season with the Braves, his fastball averaged 95.6 mph and sunk like a bowling ball. He no longer has the ability to create that jaw-dropping sink on a consistent basis, but his fastball still has impressive life. It has averaged 93.6 mph as he has posted a 1.29 ERA over 14 innings (17 appearances) for the Braves.
"Everything has been a welcome surprise," Venters said. "It's been crazy. I don't think anybody thought this would happen."