Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood endured his worst start of the 2017 season on Friday night at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over 4.1 innings, Chatwood allowed five runs on six hits and tied a season-high with four walks. He also struck out six. Los Angeles did all their damage against Chatwood in a five-run second inning, in which he walked three hitters including the leadoff man. It was a disappointing follow-up to a dominant performance on Sunday against the Diamondbacks in which he allowed just one run on two hits over seven innings.
It’s been an up-and-down year for Chatwood, who boasts a complete-game shutout against the Giants in April, but also six (of eight) starts in which he has allowed four runs or more.
Despite his rocky second inning, Chatwood and the Rockies kept things close, ultimately falling 6-2 thanks to seven strong innings from Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw. Colorado’s Jake McGee allowed a run in the eighth, a solo home run by Cody Bellinger.
To call this Chatwood’s worst start of 2017 is accurate, statistically, but it was really just the one bad inning that did him in. As is the case for any pitcher, really, it was walks that caused his undoing. He threw 85 pitches on the night, only 45 for strikes. Chatwood tends to give up big innings when he struggles with control, just as he did on Friday night.
In his now six seasons in the big leagues, walks have played a part in several of his worst outings each season. His results in the games that followed have been mixed.
2011: On August 16 of his rookie season with the Angels, Chatwood was on the wrong side of a 7-3 loss to the Texas Rangers in Anaheim. Chatwood allowed five earned runs over 2-plus innings, surrendering eight hits and two walks. He failed to retire any of the five batters he faced in the third inning, including a leadoff home run to Josh Hamilton. He threw 68 pitches, only 37 for strikes.
The loss was his ninth on the year in his 23rd start. Chatwood didn’t fare much better in his next start, suffering another loss and lasting only 3.2 innings. He was demoted to the bullpen following that start. Chatwood made one more start in late September, again taking a loss, that time lasting only 2.2 innings. He ended the season with a 6-11 record and 4.75 ERA.
2012: After coming to Colorado in a trade for Chris Iannetta, Chatwood started this season in the bullpen before being sent back down to Triple-A. He joined the club full-time in August in a starting role. His toughest outing that year came Sept. 3 against the Braves in a 6-1 Rockies loss.
Chatwood allowed all six Atlanta runs, five of them earned, on only three hits. His real undoing was the five walks, including three in a four-run third inning. He did not return to pitch the fourth. Chatwood threw 71 pitches in the game, 41 for strikes.
He fared slightly better in his next outing, allowing two runs over five innings in a no-decision against the Phillies. Colorado lost the game 3-2. Chatwood finished 2012 with a 5-6 record and 5.43 ERA in 12 starts and seven relief appearances.
2013: The Braves again proved to be Chatwood’s foil the following season in a 9-0 undressing on July 31 in which the right-hander did not escape the third inning. Chatwood allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits in the loss. It was the highest runs total Chatwood has allowed in his career, due in part to a seven-run third inning in which he retired just one of the nine batters he faced. The eight runs he allowed in that game were as many as he allowed in the entire months of May and June combined that year.
Adding injury to insult, Chatwood strained a hamstring running sprints ahead of his next start and was soon after placed on the disabled list with a mid-back strain, missing the entire month of August. His first start after returning from the DL did not go well, either. He walked three batters in 2-plus innings, including two in a row in the third inning (following a home run) before being pulled. Still, 2013 was his first winning season; he ended the season 8-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 20 starts, leading Colorado’s starters in ERA over 111.1 innings pitched.
2014: Chatwood’s 2014 season was cut short when he suffered a UCL injury in his throwing arm after just four starts. He underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the remainder of 2014 and all of 2015. Chatwood was relatively consistent across those four starts before going down with injury, picking up a win and three no-decisions.
In his final start, on April 29, Chatwood allowed three runs on six hits over 5-plus innings. In the sixth inning he walked two hitters, sandwiched around a base hit, before leaving the game with tightness in his throwing arm. That injury, of course, proved to be season-ending. He ended the year 1-0 with a 3.87 ERA.
2016: Chatwood made a career-high 27 starts in 2016 (also tying a career-high with 27 games played), allowing three runs or less in 18 of those starts. In 10 outings he allowed one run or less. In two of those starts, however, he allowed seven runs – and one of them proved far worse.
In a July 19 start at Coors Field against the Tampa Bay Rays, Chatwood allowed seven runs, all earned, in 3-plus innings. He took the loss in a 10-1 blowout, Colorado’s 50th team loss on the season. A five-run fifth inning, which began with a walk, was his ultimate undoing. In that frame Chatwood allowed a home run, a single and three doubles (in addition to the walk). A leadoff single followed by a walk in the next inning spelled the end of the road for Chatwood after throwing 64 pitches.
He responded with a shaky five innings in his next outing, allowing only one hit and no runs, but walking eight hitters and striking out six. Chatwood picked up the win in that one, a 7-2 victory over the Braves. His best major league season came to an end with a final record of 12-9 and a 3.87 ERA.
Chatwood will likely have to wait a full week to gain redemption. His turn in the rotation is scheduled to come again on Friday in the first of a three-game series at Cincinnati. With the loss, Chatwood fell to 3-5 on the season. His ERA sits at 5.25.