Bautista, Redmond put Jays in flight
Drabek frustrated by fastball command problems in club’s rain-shortened win
CLEARWATER, Fla. — It was a largely insignificant game, the first of many on the spring schedule. But it did not seem insignificant to Kyle Drabek, who was fuming as he entered the clubhouse and slammed his spikes into his locker.
Such are the pressures of a wideopen race for the fifth and final spot in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation.
One of Drabek’s rivals for the job, Todd Redmond, had just worked two efficient, hitless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. Then came Drabek, who was lifted after 1 2/3 innings, having walked three and allowed a hit and a run. He could not control his four-seam fastball, the foundation of his repertoire.
“I’m just upset with the command because that’s been a (career) struggle and I thought I had it figured out,” he said. “Just get back into the bullpen and start working again.”
Jose Bautista hit an eye-popping homer on his first swing of the Grapefruit League season and the Blue Jays edged the Phillies 4-3 in a game halted by rain in the middle of the seventh inning. In the first inning, J.A. Happ threw 37 pitches and yielded two runs, but he seems assured of a job and was unfazed.
But Drabek brought fresh wounds to the clubhouse. It will be hard to convince those competing for the fifth rotation spot that any misstep will go unnoticed.
“I’ve had it so good in all the bullpens, it’s just frustrating for me to kind of fall back into being wild a little bit,” he said. “I know what I can do, and that’s not me.”
That, however, was indeed Drabek during his big-league career before elbow surgery cost him most of the past two seasons. In 37 career games with the Jays, he has averaged almost six walks per nine innings. He has allowed 1.7 baserunners per inning and his career ERA is 5.37.
But as he rehabbed in the minors last season, he walked only six in 43 innings. Various mechanical changes and a healthy elbow appeared to pay dividends.
“He’s been out for so long, it might be something that takes awhile to build back into,” manager John Gibbons said. “But the stuff’s there. Just get it over the plate and he’ll be fine.”
Redmond did that and was indeed fine: two ground balls, two fly balls, a pop-up and a strikeout.
Positives for Bautista and Redmond. Frustration for Drabek. One spring game down, 30 to go.