CHICAGO – Concerned that he may have been tipping his pitches, Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman worked with pitching coach Pete Walker on coming set with his hands in a consistent spot from the stretch Saturday afternoon.
The rookie right-hander allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning Friday night, but he refused to use the possibility he was tipping his pitches as an excuse. Rather, Stroman insisted he was just trying to prevent any bad habits from creeping in.
“It’s not the reason I had a bad outing but I just want to stay on top of it,” he said in a brief interview. “I’ve been doing a good job of making sure my hands were in the same place when I come set in the stretch and yesterday I got away from it a little bit.”
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Stroman, 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 14 starts, said his habit of coming set with his hands in different places probably started much earlier in his career, but “it’s something I didn’t have to worry about before.”
“The game is so much more advanced here,” he added, “the hitters pick up on everything with video.”
In his work with Walker, Stroman simulated throwing pitches to bullpen catcher Alex Andreopoulos from the stretch, with coaching assistant Sal Butera also looking on.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had little to say about the matter, offering only that “they’re always constantly looking at things.”
Drew Hutchison and Dustin McGowan were also thought to have tipped some of their pitches earlier this season.
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DRABEK IN COMMAND: Initially reluctant about his shift to the bullpen, Kyle Drabek enjoyed some success as a reliever and when the Blue Jays found themselves in a bind, earned himself a promotion back to the big-leagues.
“Feels great,” he said of his call-up, coming after Chad Jenkins was optioned following the 7.1 inning load Blue Jays relievers had to bear Friday. “Once I was told it kind of felt like the first time again, just really happy.”
Drabek was 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 16 relief appearances at triple-A Buffalo, allowing just five walks and 26 hits in 26 innings with 16 strikeouts. In 13 starts for the Bisons, he was 7-7 with a 4.00 ERA.
“The biggest change is I think my command has gotten better out of the bullpen (because) you attack hitters quicker,” said Drabek. “Starting, I tended to try and pick at the little corners and being in the bullpen, being able to attack for one inning has helped that. …
“I enjoy that,” he added later, “being able to go out there and try to just blow people away.”
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POSITIVE MIND: Chad Jenkins became an undeserving odd man out when the Blue Jays needed a fresh arm for the bullpen but the right-hander took his latest demotion in stride.
On Saturday, he tweeted the following:
Jenkins is 1-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 21 games covering 31.2 innings.
