Musgrove says he’s found missing piece
TORONTO — Joe Musgrove wound up with a no-decision for his performance at Atlanta on Wednesday, but he felt more comfortable with his mechanics than he had before getting ousted from the rotation for a series of poor starts.
“I feel like my body is timed up with the little piece I was missing,” he said. “It allows me to go 100 percent and commit to each pitch, whereas before I felt weird and I didn’t know if it was going to tighten up each time.”
Musgrove appreciated the chance to correct himself in Class AAA Fresno.
“Up here it’s about winning,” he said. “It’s about performance, and I really haven’t been performing. There’s that pressure, on top of trying to fix the missing piece to my delivery. … It’s a mental break to go down and know I’m there to work on stuff.”
The Astros demoted Musgrove to Fresno after he went 1-4 with an 8.63 ERA over a stretch of five starts between May and late June. When the 6-5 righthander loaded on his right side and pushed off the rubber toward home plate, he felt a nagging pain in his right hip.
“My load last year was a lot lower,” Musgrove said. “I was a lot more powerful last year. It’s been hurting my hip to sit down into it. I’ve had trouble in the past.”
His hesitance to load with conviction wound up sapping velocity and derailing his command. He found an easier way to load after working with the Class AAA staff and his godfather, Dominic Johnson, who Musgrove has worked with since age 15. In his lone start for Fresno, he pitched seven shutout innings and allowed one hit.
Musgrove said the results of his new, comfortable load were evident by his velocity against the Braves. He averaged 93 mph and topped out at 95 mph. He finished with four earned runs in 52 ⁄3 innings. He blamed his mistakes on his own poor pitch selection.
“Last night was the most aggressive I’ve seen him pitch this year,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He threw a lot of fastballs. He attacked the strike zone.”
With the All-Star break at hand, Musgrove wishes he could capitalize on his momentum and secure a starting job.
“I’d like the break to not be there right now to continue to work and show them that wasn’t a fluke outing,” Musgrove said. “I really feel like I found my piece.”
First-round pick reportedly signs
With Friday’s deadline to sign their 2017 draft picks approaching, the Astros agreed to a deal with first-round pick J.B. Bukauskas, according to MLBpipeline.com’s Jim Callis.
Bukauskas, who was this season’s Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year at North Carolina, was taken with the 15th overall selection and will reportedly receive $3.6 million.
At 6-foot, 195 pounds, the righthanded Bukauskas, 20, has drawn comparisons to the Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. because of his size and dynamic breaking ball, which in his case is a power slider. In his junior season, he went 9-1 with a 2.53 ERA. In 922⁄3 innings, he had 116 strikeouts and 37 walks.
Devenski gains new perspective
Chris Devenski went seven years without batting against competitive pitching. He was 19 then, a shortstop at Golden West College and .338 hitter.
Now the Astros’ go-to middle reliever, he had not seen a 97 mph fastball back then. Against the Braves on Wednesday, he saw four scorching heaters in the first at-bat of his major league career.
Devenski approached the plate with the bases loaded and an enormous grin stretched across his face. He did not wear batting gloves.
“I was a little nervous,” Devenski said. “I remember looking at the pitcher. He had an intense look on his face.”
That would be Houston native Sam Freeman.
Manager A.J. Hinch told Devenski to take the first pitch. Freeman unfurled a 94.7 mph fastball.
“Dude, this is coming in hard,” Devenski said of his mindset.”
It would be the slowest fastball Freeman threw him. The next three were clocked at 95.6 mph, 96.1 and 96.9 to get Devenski swinging through for a strikeout.
On Thursday, Devenski stood in the visiting clubhouse before a 7-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays with the same grin across his face as the one he flashed before his at-bat. He had fun. He had a bit more respect for the batters he faces.
“It gave me perspective,” he said.