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6/08/2013 11:41:00 AM
Gavin Ewbank
Hiroki Kuroda was suppose to be the Yankees second best starter behind CC Sabathia. Through the first six weeks of the season, Kuroda was forced to pick up the slack from Sabathia's slow start.
But as CC picks it up, it's actually Kuroda that's starting to fall off the wagon with his ERA climbing of late, to go along with losing three of his last four starts. Kuroda hasn't won a start since May 17th, so the question arises of what's going wrong?
After starting the season 6-2, Kuroda dropped last night's start in Seattle to a Mariners club he should of had success against. Giving up an uncharacteristically three walks in Friday night's game. He hadn't walked a batter since May 17th, that being a span of over 20 innings.
"His command is usually really good, but he was having a hard time with his slider tonight," Joe Girardi said.
Kuroda struggled with his command for most of the night. He fell behind in counts against a lot of the hitters. He's in a bit of a rough patch right now with just one quality start in his last four outings.
Maybe the biggest issue that he's had over his past three starts is run support. No matter how well Kuroda has pitched, the Yankees have only managed to score a total of two runs in the last three games that Kuroda has started.
At a time where the Yankees are struggling to score runs, as a starting pitcher, you have to basically go out and toss seven shutout innings to even be in a winning position. But last night's start just didn't cut it, when Jeremy Bonderman goes out and fires off six innings of one run ball.
Kuroda is only going though a rough patch. All pitchers go through one at some point in a season. And when your team is struggling to back you up with runs, it's just makes pitching much more difficult.
Up next: Andy Pettitte (4-3, 4.17) takes the mound in game three of this four game set, squaring off against Joe Saunders (4-5, 5.20), with the first pitch scheduled for 4:10 pm ET from Seattle. I'll have lineup and a pitching preview later in the day.
Question: What do you think of Kuroda going through this rough patch? Comment below.
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But as CC picks it up, it's actually Kuroda that's starting to fall off the wagon with his ERA climbing of late, to go along with losing three of his last four starts. Kuroda hasn't won a start since May 17th, so the question arises of what's going wrong?
After starting the season 6-2, Kuroda dropped last night's start in Seattle to a Mariners club he should of had success against. Giving up an uncharacteristically three walks in Friday night's game. He hadn't walked a batter since May 17th, that being a span of over 20 innings."His command is usually really good, but he was having a hard time with his slider tonight," Joe Girardi said.
Kuroda struggled with his command for most of the night. He fell behind in counts against a lot of the hitters. He's in a bit of a rough patch right now with just one quality start in his last four outings.
Maybe the biggest issue that he's had over his past three starts is run support. No matter how well Kuroda has pitched, the Yankees have only managed to score a total of two runs in the last three games that Kuroda has started.
At a time where the Yankees are struggling to score runs, as a starting pitcher, you have to basically go out and toss seven shutout innings to even be in a winning position. But last night's start just didn't cut it, when Jeremy Bonderman goes out and fires off six innings of one run ball.
Kuroda is only going though a rough patch. All pitchers go through one at some point in a season. And when your team is struggling to back you up with runs, it's just makes pitching much more difficult.
Up next: Andy Pettitte (4-3, 4.17) takes the mound in game three of this four game set, squaring off against Joe Saunders (4-5, 5.20), with the first pitch scheduled for 4:10 pm ET from Seattle. I'll have lineup and a pitching preview later in the day.
Question: What do you think of Kuroda going through this rough patch? Comment below.
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