Frustration mounts for Giles on heels of latest torching
OAKLAND, Calif. — Ken Giles trudged out to the bullpen late Saturday morning and began to throw. The embattled Astros reliever is “starting from scratch,” he said, as he tries to recapture the success that enticed the team to pay a steep price to trade for him in December.
“I’m out of whack,” he told the Chronicle before Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics. “I’m not me right now, and that’s the crappy part.
“I’m not the guy I was the past two seasons. I’m somebody completely different on the mound, and I don’t feel comfortable up there. It’s just mechanical work. I don’t feel comfortable up there. I don’t feel right. I’m just trying to push through where I need to fix those things right now.” Reliever, Hinch meet
A day after the pitcher’s latest implosion in a highleverage situation, manager A.J. Hinch met with Giles on Saturday morning and explained he would “ease the burden of the eighth inning off of him a little bit.” Three batters after he entered with a two-run, eighth-inning lead Friday, Giles exited to a tie game, and the Astros went on to lose to Oakland 7-4.
The Astros began the season with veteran Luke Gregerson as their closer and Giles as their de facto setup man, though Hinch planned to use Giles outside the eighth inning when high-leverage situations presented themselves. Plenty have, but Giles has failed to get the job done.
The former Philadelphia closer has allowed at least a run in six of his 11 appearances with the Astros. His 9.00 ERA over 10 April innings is a far cry from the 1.56 ERA he compiled over two seasons with the Phillies.
The hard-throwing 25-year-old righthander already has yielded four home runs, one more than he had given up in 1152⁄ 3 major league innings coming into the season.
“It’s frustrating,” Giles said. “I know what I can do. This league has seen what I’ve been able to do the last two seasons.
“You have high expectations for yourself, and it’s just frustrating that you’re not bringing it to the table, knowing that nobody should be able to even hit the ball out of the infield with the kind of stuff I have. It’s just a frustrating moment for me right now.”
Giles doesn’t presently care about which innings he pitches. He said his focus is “getting myself right.” Mechanical issues
Although his velocity is not at issue, mechanical problems have clearly plagued Giles in the early going, and, in turn, hitters are much more regularly squaring up his fastball. The opposition crushed his heater in April, batting .500 (11-for-22) against the pitch after hitting .255 against it last season and just .220 during his rookie campaign in 2014.
“It just starts with the hands,” Giles said. “If the hands fall apart, then you’re not able to get to the points I need to get the leverage, the speed, the torque. I’m not able to get any of that right now. That’s why guys are able to see the ball longer instead of seeing it for a blink of an eye like they had been.”