A look at Braxton Garrett’s breakout July and how it has helped the Miami Marlins
.JPG "Miami Marlins starting pitcher Braxton Garrett delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)")
Braxton Garrett was two batters into his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and already in a jam. The Miami Marlins’ lefty walked Kevin Newman to lead off the inning and then allowed Ke’Bryan Hayes to reach on an infield single. Two runners on, no outs.
The inning easily could have gotten away from Garrett, an implosion waiting to happen. The goal at that point was to minimize damage.
What happened from there.
Michael Chavis struck out swinging on a slider practically in the dirt.
Yoshi Tsutsugo struck out looking on a sinker near the heart of the zone.
And Diego Castilo struck out looking on a well-placed four-seam fastball.
“When runners get on and the inning is a little long, I just try and keep my composure,” Garrett said. “Keep the same look on my face and just battle, just continue to make pitches.”
Garrett did that all night. After needing 28 pitches to get out of the first inning, Garrett finished the night allowing just one run over six innings with seven strikeouts in the Marlins’ 8-1 win over the Pirates at PNC Park.
The only run he allowed was a leadoff home run to Jason Delay in the third inning.
After that, Garrett retired the final 12 batters he faced and needed just 78 pitches to get through the six innings.
“It was simple: He was ahead in the count all night,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You know, all this stuff that we do in baseball with all the numbers and everything, but that good, old fashioned get ahead in the count changes things. for the hitter. He was ahead all night. He changed speeds, mixed his locations and was pretty sharp after that first inning.”
This isn’t some breakthrough outing for Garrett, the Marlins’ first-round pick in 2016. Rather, it’s the continuation of a breakthrough month, one that turned Garrett from an injury replacement in the Marlins’ rotation to another valuable piece among the five-man group that’s headed by Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez.
Through four July starts, Garrett is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (five earned runs over 25 innings), with 25 strikeouts against just five walks. The Marlins are 3-1 in those starts.
His ERA and 0.64 WHIP in July lead all rookie pitchers. His 25 strikeouts are second behind only the Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider (35).
The other three outings this month leading into July:
▪ One earned run allowed on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in a career-high 7 1/3 innings against the Washington Nationals on July 4.
▪ Three earned runs allowed on three hits (including two home runs) and one walk with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings against the New York Mets on July 9.
▪ Six shutout innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Pirates on July 14 while scattering two hits, walking two and hitting another two batters on July 14.
”Every single outing that he’s had so far since he’s been up here, he’s been right on the verge of having phenomenal outings like he’s been having the past couple times,” catcher Nick Fortes said. “It’s just a matter of him identifying situations in games that can make or break the outing. He’s starting to learn when he needs to bear down and make pitches or when he’s able to cruise.”
A more fully developed arsenal has helped, too. He has more trust in himself when he throws his slider, a pitch that has opponents whiffing on 40.4 percent of their swings and has accounted for 30 of his 47 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .179 against his four-seam fastball. He’s throwing his sinker more often and sprinkling in enough of his curveball and changeup to give him five weapons that hitters have to game plan for.
“I’ve just continued to learn how to pitch with my stuff,” Garrett said.
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