Dallas Keuchel looks good facing opposing hitters for the first time since Aug. 27.
Lefthander allows one hit in three shutout innings vs. Nats
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After a round of two-finger salutes to the umpires and his catcher, Astros starter Dallas Keuchel looked like his old self Sunday as he strode to the mound for his Grapefruit League debut against the Washington Nationals at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
The lefthander threw 35 pitches and three scoreless innings, surrendering one hit and notching one strikeout. He showed his team and fan base a sign of reassurance they waited nearly a month to see.
Keuchel had not faced opposing hitters since Aug. 27. Since then, he has nursed an inflamed left shoulder that urged the Astros to shut him down at the end of last season and ease him into a preseason throwing program.
The confidence Keuchel wanted back was clear. So was a sense of relief.
“I was a little nervous going out there,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie.
“Once you get hurt for the first time, you kind of appreciate when you’re actually healthy. I didn’t know what to expect. I’m as strong as ever, but at the same time, I hadn’t really faced competition to where my body was going to give me adrenaline. There was going to be a few pitches let go, percentage wise, and I responded well. I immediately knew I was back.”
The Nationals tested Keuchel with a starting lineup that will resemble the one on opening day. He countered mostly with fastballs and cutters between 87-88 mph. He said that this spring he has improved his accuracy down and away and his effectiveness at pitching inside to righthanded batters.
“Last year, I was all over the place,” he said.
3rd-inning escape
Keuchel retired the first six batters in order. Then Stephen Drew, a lefthanded pull hitter, exploited a shift by squibbing a ball off the end of his bat. The ball curved around third base, and Drew made it to second for a leadoff double.
Earlier last week, Keuchel said he felt prepared but that pitching out of the stretch was “always the last thing to come.” Drew’s double would be Keuchel’s only challenge in the game. He induced groundouts from the next three batters: Matt Wieters, Clint Robinson and Trea Turner.
Manager A.J. Hinch has not officially announced it, but he expects Keuchel will start opening day for a third consecutive season.
“It was encouraging to see him be very efficient with his pitches when he needed to be and get through three innings,” Hinch said. “He had a tough time commanding his fastball, and he didn’t have his good cutter and breaking ball, but that’s probably to be expected given the time of year and that it was his first time in competition.”
Keuchel said he will feel ready as soon as he can last six to seven innings in a start.
Snakebitten staff
With the exception of Joe Musgrove, who is competing for a starting spot, the Astros’ rotation has been stalked by injuries: Charlie Morton missed almost all of last season because of a hamstring tear; Mike Fiers skipped his start Saturday because of hamstring soreness; Collin McHugh may pitch live batting practice Monday for the first time since he had a dead arm in late February; and Lance McCullers has pitched well and said he feels good, but he made only 14 starts last year because of two arm injuries.
Keuchel confessed that discomfort began to fester in his left shoulder around this time last year. Coming off a season in which he pitched 232 innings, won 20 games and received the American League Cy Young Award, Keuchel bit his lip and gritted his teeth through an injury that might have contributed to his 2016 decline. After going 9-12 with a 4.55 ERA in 26 starts, he was shut down in late August with left shoulder inflammation.
He said the pain altered his mechanics and forced bad habits. His average fastball velocity dropped from 89.5 in 2015 to 88.6 mph in 2016, according to FanGraphs.
Keuchel suggested the wear and tear by age 28 exacerbated an injury that might have healed when he was younger. He pushed himself to his limit and then realized he had overstepped it. The pressure on him as the ace of an upand-coming team trying to win its division for the first time in 15 years would suggest he felt encouraged to take that risk.
With a new season three weeks away, fans will see what, if anything, about the presumptive Astros ace has changed. The expectations for him have not.