Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Addison Reed proves mechanical adjustments aren't sudden fixes
The last time Addison Reed was at Chase Field Diamondbacks' fans lustily booed him as he walked off the mound, having blown a save against the Washington Nationals.
It happened again on Friday after a road trip in which Reed and the Diamondbacks were encouraged by the way he pitched following some mechanical adjustments.
Reed came into the game in the top of the 10th with the score tied at 2-2 and after getting a quick first out, walked two batters – one intentionally – and gave up two run-scoring singles before being pulled by manager Chip Hale.
Reed's final numbers - 1/3 of an inning, two hits, two walks and two earned runs - are a bit misleading in that a good throw from catcher Tuffy Gosewisch would have gunned down Dexter Fowler at second for the second out of the inning. Instead, Fowler stole the base and scored on a bloop single to right by Kris Bryant.
Reed had been a different pitcher on the road trip through Philadelphia and Miami, pitching four scoreless innings in three appearances.
"Everything is feeling good right now," Reed said before Friday's game.
Reed made two major mechanical adjustments in Philadelphia on the advice of pitching coach Mike Harkey and bullpen coach Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. First, he moved to the first base side of the rubber, where he had pitched for much of his career before moving to the third base side last year in an attempt to get more downward tilt on his slider. Second, he dumped his high leg kick and now puts his weight on his back leg and drives toward home plate.
"When I went out there for two innings (against Philadelphia on Saturday) it was the first time I ever tried it in a game," Reed said. "To be honest with you it felt like I was learning a new language. It felt really weird but in Miami it felt a little better and (Thursday) it felt natural. My fastball command was a lot better."
Reed said the sliders he threw in the eighth inning of Thursday's 7-6 win over Miami were, in his mind, the best he's thrown in 2 ½ seasons. He also discovered the side benefit of losing the leg kick and accelerating his delivery time to home: Giancarlo Stanton became the first runner in Reed's five-year career to be thrown out trying to steal second. Base runners had been 24 for 24.
"In the past if a guy got on first base and he had any kind of speed he was going to steal second base," Reed said. "If he got a hit he essentially had a double … So it was kind of cool."
Hale isn't about to throw Reed back into the closer's role, not with Enrique Burgos and Brad Ziegler collecting a combined three saves in the Miami series. Plus, he knows mechanical adjustments aren't usually sudden fixes.
That proved to be the case Friday.
"I'm sure it will take more time for him to be consistent with it," Hale said.
Sticky situation
Hale was asked about the eight-game suspension given to Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith, who was ejected Thursday after a foreign substance — a combination of sunscreen and rosin — was found on his arm.
Hale said pitchers will use sunscreen or pine tar to get a better grip on the ball and said Major League Baseball should look into approving a substance pitchers can use similar to how hitters use pine tars on their bats.
He also said he wouldn't ask an umpire to check on an opposing pitcher unless, "I felt like it was ridiculous, like something that was making the ball move different."
The reason for his reluctance is simple.
"When you ask an umpire to go out and check a pitcher you have to make sure none of your pitchers are doing it," Hale said … "You just have to be very careful about it."
Injury update
Hale said reliever David Hernandez, working his way back from Tommy John surgery, will throw for Double-A Mobile this weekend and should return to the Diamondbacks next week. He said he'll use Hernandez in lower-leverage situations for a while "just to get his feet wet. It's been over a year (since he pitched)."
•Starter Patrick Corbin, also recovering from Tommy John surgery, had some body soreness after his last start in extended spring training and won't return to the club by June 4, as the club had hoped. A mid-June return is likely.
•Third baseman Jake Lamb has yet to play the field or run the bases in his return from a stress reaction in his left foot but he's also expected to return sometime in June. Hale said Lamb will go on a short rehabilitation stint in the minor leagues before returning to the Diamondbacks.
"With the feet, you're making those quick movements and you won't want to come back too early and re-injure it because then you're talking about another month away," Lamb said. "I want to take the extra (time) and be reassured that it's good the rest of the season."
Saturday's game
Cubs at Diamondbacks
When: 7:10 p.m.
Where: Chase Field (Roof hotline: 602-462-6262).
Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Rubby De La Rosa (4-2, 4.08) vs. Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (4-4, 2.77)
TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KSUN-AM (1400).
De La Rosa has pitched at least seven innings in four of his last five starts. He was dominant against Miami on Monday, allowing just six hits and two runs in nine innings, but he didn't factor into the decision. He's been murder on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .181 average while lefties are hitting .301 off him … Arrieta has had quality starts in six of his eight outings and he's allowed just two runs over 15 innings in his last two starts. He's allowed just 12 walks in 52 innings.
Coming up
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-3, 5.52) vs. Cubs RHP Jason Hammel (3-1, 2.70).
Monday: At St. Louis, 1:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Chase Anderson (1-1, 2.54) vs. Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (4-2, 4.08).
Tuesday: At St. Louis, 5:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley (2-1, 4.00) vs. Cardinals RHP Jaime Garcia (0-1, 2.57).