Record-setting Betances on quite a roll
Dellin Betances doesn’t look at stats or trends or stretches. He goes out and pitches and determines how he feels.
Right now, he is feeling awfully good.
Betances has been virtually unhittable for three months. Every time he enters and records at least one strikeout, he extends an American League record. He has three pitches he feels are put-’emaway quality and is equally confident throwing any one of them at any time.
In his outing Tuesday, when Neil Walker made him a winner with a walk-off homer in the ninth for a 5-4 Yankees victory, Betances worked a perfect 1-2-3 top of the inning, recording two strikeouts. His effort in that game?
“Brilliant,” said manager Aaron Boone.
In truth, Boone could have been discussing almost any of Betances’ 35 appearances dating back to May 27. Since then, and before Wednesday’s Game 3 of the series with the White Sox in The Bronx, Betances’ numbers have been video-game quality. In those 35 games, he pitched 33 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs, 12 hits, 14 walks and hitting four batters. He has rung up 58 strikeouts in those games, pitched to an 0.53 ERA and limited opponents to a .110 batting average (12-of-109). Four hit batters, huh? Slacker. “Honestly I’m not a guy that puts much attention into stretches or stats. But this is probably the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Betances said. “I’ve been feeling good all year. Even when I was go- ing through some stuff early on I felt like it was just a matter of results changing and maybe paying attention a little bit more to detail and what I need to do to make sure I wasn’t giving up as many runs as I was earlier. I just feel like I’ve been good with my delivery, repeating my delivery and using both my pitches equally so I think that’s helped me.”
Certainly hasn’t hurt. Again, Betances’ numbers are mind boggling. He has recorded at least one strikeout in an AL-record 34 straight games (currently injured teammate Aroldis Chapman holds the record of 49 straight games with a strikeout, set with Cincinnati from Aug. 21, 2013 to Aug. 13, 2014). Betances has at least one strikeout in 52 of the 54 games he has pitched this season.
That time when he was “going
through some stuff,” as he put it, seems like it came when the U.S. flag carried 26 stars. And Betances has been a Swiss Army Knife reliever. He’s a closer if needed when his eighth-inning set-up man role needs to change for whatever reason.
“The biggest thing is whatever inning you’re pitching in, have a game plan and just trust your stuff,” Betances said. “Obviously I’ve had the chance to do it all and just focusing on the day and whenever your name is called, just try to do your job as best you can.
“The good thing is Aaron Boone’s been communicating with me and [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and [bullpen coach Mike] Harkey. They’ve done a tremendous job in communicating with me and in what situations I’ll most likely be pitching so I mentally prepare myself and have an idea and I’m ready once the later innings come and just prepare myself for that.”
Betances entered Wednesday needing four strikeouts for yet another milestone. He stood on the verge of becoming the first relief pitcher in the history of the game to record 100 strikeouts in five straight seasons. That three-pitch selection of fastball, curve and slider has something to do with it. What’s his preferred out-pitch du jour?
“Both. I throw two different breaking balls so all three,” Betances said. “Right now, any one is.” fred.kerber@nypost.com