Anibal Sanchez discovered the best way to move the Tigers forward against the Yankees in the ALCS yesterday was to pitch backwards.
So 2-0 counts brought tantalizing breaking pitches, 1-2 counts meant fastballs that caught the plate. And the Tigers righty came to this conclusion after struggling during the season before he revved up for a stretch run that included a 2.15 ERA over his last eight starts.
Sanchez said after two rough outings, "I tried to see how I pitched and the problems I had, whether I didn't have command or missed my pitch, whether I should keep the ball down.
"And I was working with my pitching coach [Jeff Jones] and he said, 'Work backwards. If the count is good for a fastball, throw off-speed pitch. If good for off-speed, throw fastball.' But always, I tried to be aggressive. I tried to mix my pitches."
And the 28-year-old right-hander did that to perfection yesterday, limiting the Yankees to three hits and three walks — while striking out seven — in seven brilliant scoreless innings as the Tigers took a healthy 2-0 ALCS lead with a 3-0 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Sanchez was calm and controlled all day, but when he fanned Nick Swisher and Jayson Nix to end the seventh with a runner on second, he was visibly excited, pumping his fist. The 3-2 pitch he used to erase Nix? A change-up splitter, said catcher Alex Avila.
"That was huge. He really stepped it up there. He brought something a little different with what they'd been seeing the whole game," Avila said. "He has that split-finger change. He can change speeds with it. He did a get job of doing that and he was able to work both sides of the plate.
"The stuff he had and what made him so dominant was really just having command of all his pitches. He's the type of pitcher that's going to throw anything at any time. He's tough to guess with, especially when he's able to throw all his pitches for strikes."
Sanchez came to the Tigers in a July trade from the Marlins. He had a tough time settling in and getting comfortable. New team. New town. New teammates. And a new league. His wife was expecting. His plate, shall we say, was kind of full.
But eventually it started coming together. Acquired to be the No. 5 starter, he is securely in at No. 4. He has four pitches and can throw them all for strikes. And he throws them in any count, which the Yankees learned yesterday.
"And if I got ahead, I could throw whatever I wanted," Sanchez said of the game plan. "Avila and I were on a good page."
Even if it read backwards.
fred.kerber@nypost.com
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Tigers’ starter baffles Bombers
Dengan url
http://susuvirus.blogspot.com/2012/10/tigersa-starter-baffles-bombers.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Tigers’ starter baffles Bombers
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Tigers’ starter baffles Bombers
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar