KANSAS CITY – After every start, Vladimir Gutierrez will connect through Zoom with his offseason pitching coach, Hector Berrios, to discuss the way he pitched.
Gutierrez and Berrios will dissect which pitches worked, the type of swings hitters took against him and how hitters are standing in the batter’s box. Following a rough outing against the San Diego Padres, Gutierrez thought his struggles stemmed from the location of his pitches.
“That’s what I was working on all week and that’s what I brought to this game,” said Gutierrez, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos. “That’s what I was trying to focus on as much as I could.”
The results certainly backed that up. Gutierrez allowed two runs in six innings against the Kansas City Royals, permitting five hits and three walks while striking out six.
It didn’t hurt that his slider was untouchable at times. Royals hitters took 20 swings against his slider and it resulted in 11 whiffs and four foul balls.
“He’s got really good stuff,” Eugenio Suárez said. "I mean, I like him a lot. I think he got a chance to stay in the big leagues for a long time and do a really good job.”
The key to Gutierrez’s outing – and a big part of the Cincinnati Reds’ 6-2 win against the Royals on Monday – was his response to giving up an RBI double to Jorge Soler in the sixth inning. The Royals took a 2-1 lead and they had two runners in scoring position with one out.
Bell trusted Gutierrez to pitch out of it, throwing 85 pitches to that point.
“He really stuck with his plan,” Reds manager David Bell said. “I thought he was a bit stubborn; he didn't really give in. He was willing to expand the zone. He pitched backwards a little bit and did it really with a lot of offspeed pitches. That was his plan going in and he stuck with it no matter what. He executed it and that was the tough part of it.”
Gutierrez pitched out of the jam. In a 1-1 count, Hanser Alberto hit a ground ball to shortstop Mike Freeman with the infield drawn in. Salvador Perez, the runner at third, tried to score on contact and was caught between third and home.
That brought up Hunter Dozier. Gutierrez induced an inning-ending flyout.
“That was a huge inning,” Bell said. "He's done that too since he's been here. He just keeps pitching. I think that's what I was saying, just kind of staying with it, being stubborn, sticking with his plan and never getting rattled. That's the difference. Not letting it affect him too much.”
INDIA BACK: Jonathan India was back in the lineup Tuesday after he was scratched the previous game with right ankle soreness.
"It was just a lot more sore than he wanted it to be and expected it to be," Bell said. "The swelling was in a bad spot. There was no fracture or anything like that. We had it X-rayed, but he just physically could not push off like he needed to be able to play without hurting the team. Otherwise, he would have played."
India was hit by a pitch Sunday and then Javier Báez slid into him when Báez tried to tag from first on a fly ball.
"It's just really an indication of how much these guys want to play," Bell said. "From a medical standpoint, I have to be sure that by putting them into the lineup isn't going to have any sort of long-term negative impact on their health or anything like that. Once I check that box, when these guys want to play like this, it’s really nice. It kind of shows you where they are."
WINKER SITS: Jesse Winker was out of the lineup Tuesday. He's in the first mini-slump of his season with one hit in his last 20 at-bats while striking out five times.
"Probably less about that," Bell said. "I know the last few days or whatever, the hits haven’t been there like they were before. But that will come around. For me, it was more about what’s ahead of him, with the All-Star Game. All these games being important, but trying to pick a day that made the most sense."
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