Beachy works to go deeper into games

Brandon Beachy didnt waste any time preparing for 2012. A few days after the Braves season ended with that 4-3 13-inning loss to the Phillies on Sept. 28, Beachy was back in the gym. I really built my day around (working out), he said. His goal: Build arm strength and endurance to improve his ability to go deeper in games and increase his innings. Beachy pitched 141 23 innings last season, averaging about 5 23 innings in his 25 starts. He worked into the seventh or later in only three starts, but his pitch counts often were a result of his strikeout totals. He led the Braves and National League rookies with 169 strikeouts, finishing his surprising season with a 7-3 record and 3.68 ERA as he struck out 10.7 hitters per nine innings. There were also 15 no decisions. Beachy said he worked too deep in the count to too many hitters, which drove his pitch counts up and ultimately sent him to the bench quicker than he wanted. Thats a stat everyone likes to bring up, the strikeouts...