Detroit Tigers Spencer Turnbull was so exasperated by what he couldn’t do on Sunday afternoon that he almost forget to appreciate what he did.
Turnbull allowed just one run over seven innings -- the longest start by any Tigers pitcher in 2020 -- to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory and a series sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Near the end his day, television cameras captured Turnbull standing on the mound in the middle of what appeared to be a somewhat animated conversation. With himself.
“Little bit of the Bird out there, huh? Talking to himself? He does that,” said Tigers catcher Austin Romine. “He’s locked into the game. He’s very invested in what he’s doing and he expects perfection.
Asked what was going through his head, Turnbull rattled off a litany of less-than-perfect elements to his start.
“None of my mental cures were working. I was just not getting through my pitches at all,” he said. “My slider wasn’t biting at all. My change-up was kind of floating. I threw one decent curveball and it hit (Colin) Moran in the foot...I can’t tell you how my arm-side misses I had today with my sinker. It was a lot.”
So despite all those problems, how did Turnbull manage to make it through seven innings?
“When you can’t blow it by them or snap it off real nasty or make them swing and miss at it, you just try to keep them off balance,” he said. “I think that’s what I did today.”
Through three starts, Turnbull is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA. He’s struck out 18 in 18 innings, giving up seven walks and 11 hits. He’s been the Tigers’ top starter, by far.
What Turnbull calls his “bread and butter” is his fastball, a four-seamer that cuts, a two-seamer that sinks.
“They don’t know which direction it’s going to go, whether it’s going to cut or sink,” he said. “It wasn’t as good as it normally is, but it was enough to get it off the barrel. Call it what you want, but I was able to get through that. Whatever it was, it was enough, so happy to get the win.”
For a perfectionist, that’s about as close to as happiness as you’ll get.
“It’s a credit to him for finding a way to give us a lot of good innings today,” Romine said. “He’ll probably say he would have been better, but I think we’ll take that every time he goes out.”
SIGN UP FOR TIGERS CONFIDENTIAL. Get Tigers news, analysis and opinion in text messages sent straight to your phone from MLive Tigers beat writer Evan Woodbery. Have a question or comment? Just text him. It’s a two-way conversation that takes you inside Comerica Park every day. Get a free 14-day trial here. It’s easy to cancel and your data is always protected.
"day" - Google News
August 10, 2020 at 07:44AM
https://ift.tt/2F5lVUF
On a day in which nothing was working, Spencer Turnbull made everything work - MLive.com
"day" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f7h3fo
https://ift.tt/2VYSiKW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "On a day in which nothing was working, Spencer Turnbull made everything work - MLive.com"
Post a Comment