Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rookie lefty Peters earns another start after strong debut.
Rookie lefty rewarded after strong debut
MIAMI — Dillon Peters received all of the usual advice in advance of his major league debut last week: be himself, enjoy it, soak it all in and so on.
The guidance he’s getting prior to start No. 2, scheduled for Wednesday against the Nationals, is much different: Don’t change anything.
“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing,” Peters said. “I feel like if you’re pitching well, don’t change it. … That’s what I’m going into it with.”
Peters, a lefty called up by the Miami Marlins on Friday, had perhaps the best debut of any pitcher in Marlins history, shutting out the Phillies for seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight.
Manager Don Mattingly, who prior to that hadn’t committed to anything beyond one game for Peters, is rewarding him with an encore.
So, what’s the difference between a pitcher’s first and second starts? Depends on who you ask. The removal of pregame nervousness or jitters isn’t automatic.
“The first game happened so fast, you don’t have time to think,” said righthander Dan Straily, who debuted with the Athletics in 2012. “The second game, you have five days to [think about it]. More or less, you’re still in awe of the big leagues. It was my sixth day in the big leagues. It was pretty nerve-wracking at the time.”
For right-hander Chris O’Grady, who made it to the majors for the first time in July with the Marlins, it was the opposite. He was still a little nervous, sure, but after having a decent debut, he was more comfortable and confident going into game two.
Pitching coach Juan Nieves says there is no difference.
“Every single one of them is a debut pretty much,” said a smiling Nieves, who also calls all of his starters aces and relievers closers.
Straily had a dropoff between his first two games, from six innings and one run in the opener to and 4
2⁄3 innings and five runs in the second. The key variable was obvious to Straily.
“A bad Blue Jay team,” Straily said, “and a red-hot Angel team.”
O’Grady faced a similar upgrade in opposing talent. He saw the Giants to close out the first half, and the world-beating Dodgers to open the second. The tougher test excited him.
“I felt like I could pitch here,” said O’Grady, who is on the disabled list with a strained right oblique. “I was just excited because I was getting to go up against the Dodgers. I was excited to see what I could do.”
Now Peters faces comparable circumstances, matched up against the first-place Nats (who have the NL’s highest-scoring offense at 5.21 runs per game) after the last-place Phils (third-worst, 4.09 runs per game). That works just fine for him.
“It’s exciting to face anybody in the big leagues,” Peters said. “But yes, I’m really excited to face their lineup and see what we can do against them.”
Chen returns
The Marlins activated left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (partially torn UCL in his left elbow) from the DL Monday, four months after being sidelined with arm fatigue.
Chen will be available out of the bullpen, but it’s not clear how often he’ll pitch. Chen told the Marlins he needs 10 minutes to warm up, Mattingly said, more than a normal reliever.
“Chen’s going to be tough to use, honestly,” Mattingly said. “There’s not many scenarios that I get 10 minutes to get a guy ready.”
Bour report
First baseman Justin
Bour (strained right oblique) will continue to play with Double-A Jacksonville through Thursday, Mattingly said. The Marlins will re-evaluate from there.
In three rehab games, Bour is 3 for 9 with a homer and a strikeout. He played seven innings at first base Monday.