Smyly super for second straight start
Left-hander making most of opportunity with Phillies
PHILADELPHIA >> Since Tommy John surgery two years ago, baseball nearly became a mere memory for Drew Smyly.
An injury that wiped out his 2017 season, a total ligament reconstruction surgery of his pitching elbow in July of that year, and a prolonged rehabilitation that saw him only make one brief pitching appearance in all of 2018 and that was in a Class A game.
Little wonder Drew Smyly’s 2019 was looking like a lost cause. And then the Phillies called, and life changed.
“I feel like a whole new pitcher out there,” Smyly said after a whole new look for the Phillies Tuesday night - a left-handed starter dominating the competition in what became a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. “I said that before I signed here, and I’ve continued to say that. I wasn’t good in Texas. I wasn’t pitching well. But that’s history and I feel like I’ve made some changes and figured some things out mechanically. Now I’m just trying to get on a roll, keep the hitters offbalance and go with it.”
It was Smyly who looked ready to go in Texas, not able to do much with the chance the Rangers were providing him. He missed about a month with arm tightness early, then when called upon to pitch ... really didn’t.
He was finally released on June 25, his record a dismal 1-5 with a 7.69 ERA in 14 outings (10 starts) and 57.1 innings.
He wasn’t forgotten completely, hooking on with Milwaukee and trying to resurrect his career in Triple-A San Antonio. Three games
there somehow clicked on a light-bulb in Smyly. “The secret? “Just a good mix of all my pitches and staying out of the heart of the plate,” Smyly said. “Simple as that. Get ahead and don’t miss over the middle.”
He took a release from Milwaukee after 16 days and three minor league starts and signed with the Phillies, who hadn’t had a real left-handed starter since Adam Morgan decided to go to the bullpen or bust. And hadn’t had an effective left-handed starter since Cole Hamels was traded to Texas in 2015.
Now? Smyly has won a spot in a Phillies rotation in need of as much effective pitching as it can get from either side of the mound. Smyly has surprised, allowing just one run and four hits in six innings at Pittsburgh July 21, then tossing seven innings of pristine, four-hit shutout ball against the Giants Tuesday night.
“He’s been kicked, he’s been down, he’s been in the minor leagues,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “And he’s battled back.”
With the additions of Smyly and another lefty, Jason Vargas, acquired Monday from the Mets and expected to start for the Phillies Friday, the hurt and shaky rotation now has two left-handers.
For Smyly, it’s a combination that he feels can work.
“It’s definitely nice to show all the guys in the locker room and the fans that I can help this team out,” he said. “Hopefully we can all get on a roll together and start winning games down the stretch. But it’s definitely the way you want to start off.”