Wasting little time pitching in
Lyles has helped fortify Brewers’ injury-ravaged rotation
When the Milwaukee Brewers traded for righthander Jordan Lyles on July 29, he was in total freefall with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In his final seven starts for the Pirates, the 28year-old Lyles was pounded for 46 hits, including 11 home runs, with 14 walks in 27 innings. He was 0-5 with a 10.00 earned run average over that stretch, dropping overall to 5-7 and 5.36 with a 1.470 WHIP.
What could the Brewers possibly want with a
pitcher struggling so badly, folks asked? Yes, injuries had devastated their rotation, but the move appeared to be one of pure desperation.
“There was a four- or five-game stretch when it was about as bad as it gets,” Lyles said about his final weeks with Pittsburgh.
But, in what appears to be the ultimate change-of-scenery transformation, Lyles has been nothing short of tremendous for the Brewers through three starts, going 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA. In his lone defeat Sunday against the Rangers, Lyles was at his best yet, allowing three hits and one run over seven innings with nine strikeouts in a 1-0 loss.
Yes, it’s only three starts, but it has been a dramatic turnaround for a pitcher who struggled to record every out over his final two months with the Pirates. What has been the biggest difference? Was there some major adjustment that Lyles made after being reunited with the Brewers, for whom he pitched in relief during the final weeks of 2018 after a waiver deal with San Diego?
According to Lyles, there was no such “eureka” moment, no discovery by the Milwaukee staff of some hidden flaw in his delivery that made him a punching bag at times in Pittsburgh.
“I’m just making better pitches at this time,” said Lyles, whose next turn for the Brewers will come Saturday in Washington. “I had a bad stretch in Pittsburgh where I wasn’t making good pitches.
“I had a hamstring injury (in June) and when I came back from that, I wasn’t executing my pitches like I had before. I just wasn’t pitching as well as I should.”
Not that Lyles has made no improvements since returning to the Brewers. He has been elevating his fastball effectively again, a tactic encouraged on Milwaukee’s staff. Lyles also has been crisper with his curveball, which can be a devastating pitch against right-handed hitters.
“When I came here last year, I started throwing more elevated fastballs,” said Lyles, who signed a free-agent deal with the Pirates last winter after the Brewers declined a club option for 2019.
“It kind of trickled into this season with Pittsburgh. Everything has been pretty similar. It just comes down to being comfortable with Yaz and Manny (Brewers catchers Yasmani Grandal and Manny Piña), and us being on the same page.”
As for the spirit-lifting change from the sinking Pirates to a team fighting for a playoff berth, Lyles said, “Once the game starts, you’re not thinking of those things. It’s game time. A change of scenery helps sometimes.
“I know from being here last year what this ball club is capable of. I think a fresh start was really good for me. I looked forward to working with Yasmani. I played against him for a long time when he was with the Dodgers and I was in the NL West (with San Diego) for a handful of years. So, it’s been a pleasure.
“We’ve only worked once together in three starts but going over scouting reports and stuff like that, I like to hear his point of view. I like to hear what he likes to do, how he approaches certain sequences. And Manny knows what I do well.”
When starters Brandon Woodruff (oblique strain) and Jhoulys Chacín (strained lat muscle) went on the injured list within four days of each other in July, the Brewers were suddenly very short of healthy bodies in their rotation. But the switch of Adrian Houser from relief to starting and the acquisition of Lyles helped fortify that area of the club, even with Zach Davies (lower back spasms) later going on the IL as well.
“He has helped stabilize the rotation,” said right-hander Chase Anderson, whose solid work of late has done likewise. “He has come in and done a good job, and Houser had a really good start last time out (against Texas), also. Those things have helped us a lot. We’re just trying to pass the ball along to the next guy and be as consistent as we can.
“I know things weren’t going as well as he would have liked at Pittsburgh before the trade, but his pitches have been really good in his starts here. He has been executing his pitches and that’s the key. You never know. We’ve made some trades that weren’t big headline moves but have worked out well for us.
“The front office has been good at finding guys who can help. Jordan has been one of them.”
This is not the rotation the Brewers figured they’d be taking into the playoff stretch run but that’s the way baseball is. Expect the unexpected. Lyles certainly didn’t figure on being back in a Brewers uniform this season, filling a key role for a team that has been putting out a seemingly never-ending series of pitching brush fires.
“It feels good to get off to a good start,” said Lyles, who was left off the Brewers’ playoff roster last fall. “It’s just three outings but I’m happy where I’m at right now. We have a chance to make it to the playoffs. I just want to do my best to help us get there.
“Coming back this year and starting has been a little different. The game plan is the same – stick to your strengths, get ahead of guys. Just have a quality outing and let the offense do its job.”
COMING UP
Friday: Brewers at Nationals, 6:05 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Adrian Houser (5-5, 4.00) vs. Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin (9-5, 3.41). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.