Win or lose, Tyler Chatwood‘s heart is in it. That’s apparent whether he’s allowing six runs and getting chased in the fifth inning, as he did on Monday against Seattle, or if he’s throwing a dominant eight innings of four-hit baseball as he did on Saturday in San Diego. Chatwood’s countenance tells all.
Rockies manager Bud Black saw positive things from his starter on Saturday afternoon.
“His mannerisms, his body language exuded confidence. I think it showed up in his pitch-making,” Black said postgame.
The Rockies right-hander has again been a tale of two pitchers – one who struggles at home and who dominates on the road. On the road he boasts a 2.68 ERA over 40.1 innings pitched in six starts. With an equal number of starts under his belt at Coors Field, he’s made it through just 32 innings and with an ERA of 7.03. So, it came as no big surprise to Rockies fans that Chatwood would look strong against the Padres in San Diego.
As for what made him successful, Black says it was a mixture of pitches.
“His stuff was good, as usual. Fastball had life and velocity. Used his curveball – threw close to 20 curveballs today – which is great. The slider/cutter was effective. Not many changeups, but the fastball had velocity, used the breaking pitches as he needed to,” Black said.”
Most importantly, Chatwood worked in the strike zone. In the 10-1 Rockies victory, Chatwood struck out eight Padres. He only threw 77 of his 114 pitches for strikes, a 68 percent clip, but he walked only one batter on the day.
“Again – [he] threw strikes. One walk [in] eight innings, a good outing,” Black said.
The Rockies play only two home games in the first half of June – a two-game series with Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Chatwood’s next start is scheduled for Friday, June 9 against the Cubs in Chicago. Yes, in Chicago. That’s something to feel confident about.
