Odorizzi not sweating a rough start
Veteran hit hard in debut, but he’s confident in plan
Pitchers can often start spring training slow, struggling in their first outings as they work on specific things to get their bodies back in game shape.
Take Steve Cishek, for example. A veteran sidearmer in Astros camp as a non-roster invitee, Cishek has strung together six solid appearances since giving up back-to-back-to-back home runs March 1.
The Astros have to believe Jake Odorizzi will make a similar recovery.
In his Grapefruit League debut for the Astros on Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Fla., Odorizzi didn’t make it out of the first inning before he was pulled for the first time. In twothirds of an inning, Odorizzi allowed the Washington Nationals three runs on three hits, including back-to-back homers from Josh Bell and Ryan Zimmerman.
Odorizzi returned to start the bottom of the second but got only one more out, and he gave up consecutive bombs to Zimmerman and Kyle Schwarber. Manager Dusty Baker said the 30year-old righthander was slated to go three innings in his debut. He lasted only three outs.
But in spring training, the results can mostly be taken with a grain of salt. Odorizzi already knows he won’t lose any sleep over this game.
“Overall, (I’m) healthy, checked the box, got the pitch count up, and we’ll move on to the next one,” said Odorizzi, who joined the Astros as a free agent on a two-year contract. “It’s just about preparing properly, and results are results. I’d feel the same way as I do right now if I just struck out everybody. I honestly couldn’t care less.”
With Odorizzi’s late start to spring training, it’s hardly a surprise he had some struggles in his first outing.
Pitchers and catchers reported to camp Feb. 17, and position players followed four days later. Odorizzi, on the other hand, didn’t sign with the Astros until March 8 and couldn’t report to camp until he passed intake testing, leaving him weeks behind his fellow pitchers and opposing hitters.
Odorizzi is ramping things up just like everyone else, but because he got to camp so late, opposing hitters are further in their preparation than he is.
“I’m behind, obviously,” Odorizzi said. “There’s a week to go in spring training. How do I ramp up safely and properly without overdoing it early on? It’s a long season. I want to be ready.”
In his first start of the spring, Odorizzi didn’t focus on striking out every hitter he saw. Instead, he said his goals included maintaining control of his fastball and throwing strikes. Getting his pitch count up in live action was the first step in his preparation for the season.
“When you come to spring training, the pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters,” Baker said. “In this case, the hitters were five weeks ahead of Odorizzi. (But) he was throwing strikes. He didn’t run from the strike zone. A lot of people wonder why I left him in there. Because he’s got to get his work.”
Odorizzi’s next start is scheduled for Monday, and his plan is to get his pitch count to 60. He said he’ll keep ramping things up from there, and though he won’t be ready by opening day, he’s eyeing the Astros’ six-game homestand starting April 8 for his debut.
By then, the hope is Odorizzi will be pitching at the level he was in 2019.
The shortened 2020 season was a lost year for Odorizzi, who pitched just 13 2⁄3 innings and had three stints on the injured list with Minnesota. In 2019, however, he went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 159 innings, earning an All-Star nod in the process.
The result of a spring training game doesn’t mean much to Odorizzi, as long as he feels ready to go when the Astros return to Houston.
“If you get whacked, you get whacked,” Odorizzi said. “I could care less. You have to work on things. It’s not just, ‘I’m gonna come out here and strike out the world and be in midseason form.’ … I’m honestly happy with how things went today.”