When you think about it, the mere fact the right-hander Brandon Beachy is even pitching again in the major leagues after two Tommy John surgeries is pretty amazing. In fact, according to the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, only 65.5 percent of pitchers who had the procedure twice were able to return to the majors as compared to the incredibly high 87 percent who were able to comeback from one Tommy John surgery.

As such, it came as no surprise that Beachy purposely took considerably longer and was far more conservative during his second recovery and rehabilitation than during his first. But if his first two outings since his return on July 11 are any indication of how successful his second surgery and subsequent rehab went, it is quite possible that he may not be among that 65.5 percent.

In his two starts since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, Beachy is 0-1 with a lofty 7.88 ERA. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

To be fair, it is unreasonable to expect Beachy to be fully recovered after his second surgery on March 21, 2014, especially when it has been proven that it often takes pitchers upwards of two years to fully recover to the point where they are somewhat close to where they were prior to their surgery. And even then, Tommy John returnees rarely put up the same number of innings pitched that they did prior to their surgeries. But simply put, Brandon Beachy has been rather ineffective since his return to The Show having been out for nearly two full years.

In his first start on July 11 Beachy lasted four innings allowing three earned runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two, suffering the eventual 7-1 loss to the last place NL Central Milwaukee Brewers.

But in his second start on Monday night in Atlanta Beachy was in a position to succeed but instead failed when he gave up a two-out, two-strike double to Braves left fielder Eury Perez. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had Beachy intentionally walk the number eight hitter, Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons, to put runners at first and second. But then the unthinkable happened – Beachy walked Braves pitcher Matt Wisler, the man that Beachy had pitched around Simmons to get to.

With the bases now loaded, Braves second baseman Jace Peterson lined Beachy’s first pitch for a double down the left field line scoring Perez and Simmons to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. Beachy managed to strike out centerfielder Cameron Maybin to end the inning but the damage was done. And although the Dodgers scored four in the top of the fifth inning to tie it thereby taking Beachy off the hook for his second loss in as many starts, the two runs that he allowed after the intentional and unintentional walks proved to be the difference in the game.

“Frustrated, very frustrated,” Beachy told reporters after the game. “My stuff was better, I just failed to execute in a few crucial spots. … It takes me a little bit to get settled in and then I do, and then just make a mistake – two outs and two strikes and nobody on – and it turns around quickly.”

Beachy was charged with four earned runs on five hits (including a two-run home run) while walking three and striking out three. In his eight innings of work since his July 11 return, he is 0-1 with a 7.88 ERA. As such, one has to wonder how long Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi and Mattingly will stick with Beachy in their rotation – especially when 2010 first round draft pick Zach Lee continues to dominate at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Lee also pitched on Monday night – something that Dodger fans need to keep in mind – allowing only two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out five in his seven innings of work. He is now 7-3 on the season at OKC with a team-leading 2.36 ERA.

All of this being said, it’s not that the Dodgers should just give up on Beachy; in fact, they can’t since they signed him to a one-year contract with an incentive-based option for a 2016. It’s just that they might be better off optioning the 28-year-old Kokomo, IN native back to OKC for a little more recovery time so that he will be among that 65.5 percentile – if he can, that is.