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I am anchor
Corbin starts strong, loses control in spring start
Posted
By Mark Carlisle
Independent Newsmedia
PHOENIX — Patrick Corbin started strong, but had a shaky finish in his four-inning start Sunday.
The Diamondbacks lefty starter pounded the zone in the first two innings in a 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch but started missing his targets in the third and fourth. In his second start of the spring, Corbin gave up three earned runs on two walks and five hits, including a home run, double and triple. He struck out three and was the losing pitcher.
Corbin was on his game in the first two innings, using nine pitches in each inning to retire the side. His lone mistake came on an 0-1 pitch that Eloy Jimenez sent into the White Sox bullpen in right for a solo home run.
Corbin said he missed his target just a bit, but Jimenez, whom MLB.com ranked as baseball’s 5th-best prospect, made him pay.
“We tried going in, it probably was middle-in, came out a little bit, and he inside-outed it. He’s a pretty strong kid,” Corbin said of the 21-year-old Jimenez. “So, it wasn’t an awful pitch, but he just kind of went with it, kind of inside-outed it, and just was strong enough to get it over there. But seems like he’s got some pop in that bat.”
Aside from that swing, Corbin was dominant in the first two frames, striking out two and throwing only three balls in 18 pitches.
The next two innings were a different story.
After starting all seven batters with a strike in the first and second, he threw a first-pitch strike to only three of 12 batters in the third and fourth. Twenty-two of 40 pitches in those innings were balls.
Manager Torey Lovullo said he didn’t see any distinct change between the first and second half of Corbin’s start.
“I just think he was missing off of the edges a little bit,” he said.
Lovullo said that while Corbin’s line score didn’t look great, there was a lot to like from the lefty’s start.
“I know he got touched up for a few runs, but I think if you look inside his outing, the fastball seemed very lively, was moving downhill, might have been just missing, and the secondary stuff I thought was effective,” Lovullo said. “You know, (the White Sox) came out swinging the bat today. You’ve got to give Chicago credit. They were aggressive on any pitches in the zone… but I was very pleased overall with the pitching. It was a good day, despite the loss.”
Chicago White Sox right fielder Eloy Jimenez, left, slides into third ahead of the throw for a triple in the fourth inning of Chicago's 6-5 spring training win over the Diamondbacks Sunday, March 11, at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. Jimenez, who also hit a solo home run in the fourth, has two home runs and a triple in his first four spring at-bats. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Shortstop Tim Anderson was one of those aggressors, knocking an RBI double off the wall in left to put Chicago up 2-0 in the third. Jimenez returned in the fourth, legging out a triple and later scoring. Corbin walked two to load the bases in the fourth but got out of the jam.
During Corbin’s fourth-inning, Lovullo sent pitching coach Mike Butcher out to talk to Corbin to “get him redirected.” He said the coaching staff sensed Corbin was becoming frustrated after several close pitches were called balls.
“The body language was telling us he was losing a little bit of focus,” Lovullo said.
Corbin said one of the good things about letting runners on was getting preseason experience working out of the stretch.
“You don’t want to get into jams, but it was good to just feel some of that, some guys on base and getting used to throwing out of the stretch a little bit,” Corbin said.
In 2017, Corbin had his highest swinging strike rate of his career and the highest first-pitch strike rate since his All-Star season in 2013, before he had Tommy John surgery in 2014.
Like most pitchers, Corbin is far more effective when he gets ahead in the count early. In 2017, batters hit .246 against Corbin when he started them with a strike (including when batters put the first pitch in play). They hit .335 against him when he started off with a ball.
Though both Jimenez’s homer and Anderson’s double came after first-pitch strikes, Corbin still fared far worse against batters he started off with a ball. The White Sox were 2 for 10 with three strikeouts against Corbin after a first-pitch strike. Five of nine who started with a ball reached base, with hitters going 3 for 7 with a triple and two walks after a first-pitch ball.
Closing time?
Diamondbacks pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano throws a pitch to Chicago White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada that Moncada hit to center for a solo home run in the sixth inning of Chicago's 6-5 Sunday, March 11 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. It was Moncada's first home run of the spring. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Closer candidate Yoshihisa Hirano got an inning of work Sunday and allowed one run on a solo shot from the White Sox’s other top offensive product, Yoan Moncada. Lovullo said, like Corbin, Hirano’s poor score line was not representative of his outing.
“I thought his stuff was lively,” Lovullo said. “The fastball, based on what I was watching from the side looked like it had a lot of hop on it. I know he got touched up for a home run. I think it was just a mistake up out over the plate to a very good hitter, good fastball hitter.”
Hirano will be a 34-year-old rookie after pitching 11 seasons for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He will compete for the closing spot with Brad Boxberger, who led the American League with 41 saves for the Rays in 2015 but has battled injuries the past two years, and bearded fan favorite Archie Bradley, a dominant setup man in 2017. Last year’s closer, Fernando Rodney, who turns 41 this month, signed with the Minnesota Twins in the offseason.
Cashing in
The D-backs scored all five of their runs in the seventh inning. Lovullo said he liked how his team built the inning and came up with clutch hits to pay it off.
Lovullo said one thing he’s looking for in spring training is how his offense builds innings, pointing to Sunday’s the first two innings. The D-backs left the bases loaded in the first and stranded two more runners in the second.
Lovullo said he expects the offense will fare better in the regular season with the A-team in the lineup.
“I know at certain times that we’re going to have better outcomes with the right guys up there closing the deal and scoring runs, but we built a lot of innings today, and I was very satisfied offensively.”
The two batters who couldn’t cap off the top two innings with RBI hits, Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings, will likely be on the Opening Day roster. However, plenty of other big bats sat out Sunday.
March matchup
Just before his media appearance after Sunday's start, Corbin was happy to hear Syracuse earned a spot in the men's basketball NCAA tournament. Corbin didn't attend Syracuse, but grew up in Cicero, New York, about 10 miles north of Syracuse, and went to Cicero North-Syracuse High School.
Many D-backs fans will be rooting against Corbin though, because the Orange face the Arizona State Sun Devils Wednesday in one of the tournament's four play-in games in Dayton, Ohio.
The D-backs only former Sun Devil, right-handed pitcher Jake Barrett was optioned to the minors Saturday. He appeared in 28 games in 2017 with a 5.00 ERA.
The Arizona Wildcats earned a 4-seed in the tournament Sunday after winning the Pac-12 tournament Saturday night. They will face the Buffalo Bulls Thursday in Boise, Idaho.
Collision
White Sox left fielder Nicky Delmonico left the game after colliding with shortstop Tyler Saladino on a fly ball in shallow left. The team said he has left shoulder subluxation and will be re-evaluated Monday.
Chicago White Sox shortstop Tyler Saladino (20) and center fielder Ryan Saladino come to check on left fielder Nicky Delmonico after Delmonico collided with Saladino chasing a shallow fly in left in the seventh inning of Chicago's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks Sunday, March 11, at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. Delmonico exited after the play. The White Sox said Delmonico had left shoulder subluxation and would be re-evaluated Monday. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]
Chicago White Sox right fielder Eloy Jimenez, left, slides into third ahead of the throw for a triple in the fourth inning of Chicago's 6-5 spring training win over the Diamondbacks Sunday, March 11, at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. Jimenez, who also hit a solo home run in the fourth, has two home runs and a triple in his first four spring at-bats. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Shortstop Tim Anderson was one of those aggressors, knocking an RBI double off the wall in left to put Chicago up 2-0 in the third. Jimenez returned in the fourth, legging out a triple and later scoring. Corbin walked two to load the bases in the fourth but got out of the jam.
During Corbin’s fourth-inning, Lovullo sent pitching coach Mike Butcher out to talk to Corbin to “get him redirected.” He said the coaching staff sensed Corbin was becoming frustrated after several close pitches were called balls.
“The body language was telling us he was losing a little bit of focus,” Lovullo said.
Corbin said one of the good things about letting runners on was getting preseason experience working out of the stretch.
“You don’t want to get into jams, but it was good to just feel some of that, some guys on base and getting used to throwing out of the stretch a little bit,” Corbin said.
In 2017, Corbin had his highest swinging strike rate of his career and the highest first-pitch strike rate since his All-Star season in 2013, before he had Tommy John surgery in 2014.
Like most pitchers, Corbin is far more effective when he gets ahead in the count early. In 2017, batters hit .246 against Corbin when he started them with a strike (including when batters put the first pitch in play). They hit .335 against him when he started off with a ball.
Though both Jimenez’s homer and Anderson’s double came after first-pitch strikes, Corbin still fared far worse against batters he started off with a ball. The White Sox were 2 for 10 with three strikeouts against Corbin after a first-pitch strike. Five of nine who started with a ball reached base, with hitters going 3 for 7 with a triple and two walks after a first-pitch ball.
Diamondbacks pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano throws a pitch to Chicago White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada that Moncada hit to center for a solo home run in the sixth inning of Chicago's 6-5 Sunday, March 11 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. It was Moncada's first home run of the spring. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Closer candidate Yoshihisa Hirano got an inning of work Sunday and allowed one run on a solo shot from the White Sox’s other top offensive product, Yoan Moncada. Lovullo said, like Corbin, Hirano’s poor score line was not representative of his outing.
“I thought his stuff was lively,” Lovullo said. “The fastball, based on what I was watching from the side looked like it had a lot of hop on it. I know he got touched up for a home run. I think it was just a mistake up out over the plate to a very good hitter, good fastball hitter.”
Hirano will be a 34-year-old rookie after pitching 11 seasons for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He will compete for the closing spot with Brad Boxberger, who led the American League with 41 saves for the Rays in 2015 but has battled injuries the past two years, and bearded fan favorite Archie Bradley, a dominant setup man in 2017. Last year’s closer, Fernando Rodney, who turns 41 this month, signed with the Minnesota Twins in the offseason.
Chicago White Sox shortstop Tyler Saladino (20) and center fielder Ryan Saladino come to check on left fielder Nicky Delmonico after Delmonico collided with Saladino chasing a shallow fly in left in the seventh inning of Chicago's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks Sunday, March 11, at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix. Delmonico exited after the play. The White Sox said Delmonico had left shoulder subluxation and would be re-evaluated Monday. [Mark Carlisle/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]
