According to Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, if he could choose one strength of an MLB team, he’d choose a strong starting rotation.
With a strong rotation, Bell said he sees a better opportunity to stay in close games. A good starting rotation can save the bullpen and stabilize roles in high-leverage situations.
For the first month of the season, the Reds had the worst statistical rotation in MLB. Since then, as the Reds have gone 12-8 over their last 20 games, the rotation is arguably the biggest reason the Reds have taken a step in the right direction.
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“We all know how important starting pitching is,” Bell said. “It's been a big part of our team for several years now. We're getting back to making that a strength again this season.”
It helps that ace Luis Castillo returned to the rotation after missing the first month of the year. The Reds have won two of the four games that Castillo has started this season, and he’s been the consistent option the Reds were waiting for at the top of the rotation.
The rest of the Reds’ rotation, especially Tyler Mahle and Hunter Greene, has made crucial adjustments in how they navigate the count. Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson has been stressing 1-1 counts in particular, citing those counts as the turning point for the at-bats that had gone the other way for Mahle and Greene earlier in the season.
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“If you miss the one pitch you could have struck him out with, it’s harder to get back into it,” Johnson said. “Really, what I’m worried about is count management. I’ve always stressed (1-1 counts), but early on it was pretty evident that was where we needed to go. That’s what you need to do with a pitching staff. You’re reactive to how things happen. Then you remedy it.”
Johnson is encouraging more strikes when the count is 1-1. Instead of having the pitcher try to get the batter to chase a pitch outside of the strike zone, Johnson is asking for more strikes, even if more of those pitches get put in play.
“The psychology for the hitters and the pitchers changes whether it’s 1-2 or 2-1,” Johnson said. “Right now, we’re trying to play that psychological game to get ahead.”
With the different approach to 1-1 counts, the Reds pitching staff has had a slightly different identity recently. The starters are allowing more weak contact, wrapping up at-bats earlier and pitching deeper into games.
“(Derek Johnson and I) were looking at 1-1 counts, and that was really bad (before),” Mahle said last week. “It doesn’t really matter if I’m getting (behind) 2-1 on guys. Getting ahead is always good.”
In Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants, Mahle pitched 6 ⅔ shutout innings. He made one of his most efficient starts of the season, throwing just 99 pitches while pitching deeper into the game than he had all year.
Greene is also in the middle of a strong stretch while throwing more strikes early in counts, especially with his slider, and pitching deeper into games. Rookie Graham Ashcraft recently joined the rotation, and he has had early success by forcing weak ground balls.
All of the Reds’ starters have been much more efficient recently than they were earlier in the year. And the Reds are on the verge of getting veteran starter Mike Minor in the rotation for the first time this year.
“Everyone is doing really well,” Mahle said. “It’s really good to see. We started off not too hot. We’ve got a bit of a groove going. We’ll keep it going. We’ll get Mike back, that’s huge.”
Due to the shortened spring training, Bell said the coaching staff “eased” the starting pitchers into the season. With injuries to Castillo and Minor and three rookie starters on the Opening Day roster, the Reds’ rotation hit a rough spot early in the season.
As the Reds improved in May, the better starting rotation has been a difference-maker.
“Good starting pitching gives you a chance to win games,” Bell said. “That's all you can ask for. They've done more than give us a chance.”
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