Rotation candidates say nerves are a plus

trying to force something, make it happen. I want good ball flight, good spin.”

This spring is proceeding smoother for Cole than a year ago, when a ribcage injury delayed his preparation.

“When he’s been healthy and he’s been strong, he’s been really good,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Most importantly, he feels strong, he feels confident. He went out there today with a plan, he followed it through every pitch of the way.”

In Glasnow’s first spring outing, he struck out six batters in two innings. Friday, he walked two and allowed a run and three hits in 1⅔ innings.

“It felt good, though,” Glasnow said. “In the first [inning], I got a little long. I think the tendency when you come back, especially in the spring, is you go back to exactly what you did in game mode. You stop thinking of things and get competitive. I feel like I got right back on track.”

Glasnow noticed his stride and arm action extending farther than he would like.

“[Friday] was kind of a teachable moment,” he said. “It’s the first time in a game that I needed to make an adjustment.”

Hutchison added a solid outing to his ledger. He, like Glasnow, Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault, is competing for a rotation spot.

“This is going to continue your entire career,” Hutchison said. “I’ve been through this many times. I just go out there and control what I can control and just execute my pitches. I have a lot of confidence in myself and my ability.”

In three scoreless innings, Hutchison struck out four. He ended his outing by getting Adrian Marin to watch a slider for a called third strike.

“You don’t know who you’re facing,” Hutchison said. “Some guys you’ve faced a lot. Other guys, you haven’t. You try to go out there and execute pitches. At this stage of spring training, it can be kind of challenging to come in out of the bullpen and do a lot, get that rhythm going late depending on how the game goes. That’s probably more challenging than anything else. Overall, I thought today was a good step.”

A month remains until opening day, plenty of time for Cole to prepare and the other four to sort themselves out. In the meantime, at least one will embrace the nerves.

“I don’t like when I don’t feel nervous before a start,” Glasnow said. “I think the day I don’t feel nervous before a start is the day I’ll have to retire and go play golf of something.”