It had taken a while to get to this point. This was Blair's 13th big league start, and there had also been four trips to the Minor Leagues this year. He had plenty of frustration, an ERA that sat at 8.23 before Monday (it's 7.71 now) and a new delivery.
Yes, it was all worth it.
"All the hard work he put in, making changes, it's nice to see him rewarded," manager Brian Snitker said.
Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell had gone to Blair after the righty gave up five runs over four innings to the Giants on Aug.