ERA amendment has Fiers on roll
A’s pitcher, author of 2 nohitters, riding high since rough April
Mike Fiers’ past three months could be termed The Case of the Incredible Shrinking ERA.
Beginning with a game at Toronto on April 26, the A’s righthander has lowered his ERA in 16 of his past 17 starts.
“It’s just turned into a momentum thing where every time he goes out there, he gives us a good outing,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.
Of course, implicit in Fiers being able to shrink his ERA is 1) he has been awfully good in most of those starts, and 2) he wasn’t particularly good before this stretch, giving him a bloated ERA, which he then could begin whittling.
Fiers gave up six runs in each of three consecutive starts in April. That left his ERA heading into that game at Toronto at 8.28.
Though Fiers said “there’s no excuse” for his earlyseason struggles, he believes they stemmed from the A’s condensed spring
training to get him prepared for the Opening Night start against Seattle in Tokyo on March 20.
“I was rushing to get ready and I didn’t really get to the right feel” physically and mentally, Fiers said.
“None of us panicked about him,” pitching coach Scott Emerson said about Fiers and his rough April stretch. “I sure didn’t panic. I don’t think Mike was in panic mode. Bob wasn’t in panic mode at all. We just figured, let him keep throwing. Let him keep working on his stuff.”
Fiers’ stuff improved in that April 26 start against the Blue Jays as he gave up two runs in seven innings. His ERA shrunk from 8.28 to 7.03.
It was at 6.81 after he allowed three runs in five innings in a loss at Boston on May 1.
“I just had to grind that first month,” Fiers said, “and now get to a point where I feel comfortable going out every start.”
Fiers must have been feeling mighty comfortable May 7. He nohit the Reds that evening at the Coliseum, becoming the 24th pitcher since World War II to throw multiple nohitters (a club that includes new teammate Homer Bailey).
Fiers’ first nono came with Houston against the Dodgers on Aug. 21, 2015. He struck out Justin Turner with a fastball to end that game. Fiers K’d Eugenio Suarez with a curveball to complete his historic night in Oakland.
How he approached those final pitches goes a long way in understanding how Fiers has matured on the mound.
“I think I was a little bit out of my element in the Houston one,” Fiers said. “I’d never been in that situation, so I was just trying to overthrow. I was throwing, like, 89 (mph). It just shows you when you try to throw harder, it doesn’t always work out.
“This one, I just wanted to stay focused and stay calm and make pitches. That’s what I did the whole game.”
That’s what Fiers, 34, has done basically for the past three months as his ERA has kept declining: 5.48 after the nohitter, 4.78 at the end of May, 4.01 at the end of June, 3.54 at the moment.
Beginning with the nohitter, Fiers is 70 with a 2.30 ERA in 15 starts. He has not allowed more than three runs in any of his past 17 outings — and has worked at least six innings in all but two of those.
The Brewers drafted Fiers in the 22nd round in 2009. The Nova Southeastern (Fla.) alum made his bigleague debut with Milwaukee in 2011. For five seasons with the Brewers, Fiers averaged more than a strikeout per inning.
Since then, with the Astros, Tigers and A’s, Fiers hasn’t been that prolific in racking up K’s, but he has become a more effective pitcher.
“Learning the hitters is the biggest thing,” Fiers said. “It’s a catandmouse game up here. You’ve got to study these guys.”
You’d figure Fiers would have been in study mode this week in preparation for his start Saturday night against the Cardinals. He hasn’t faced St. Louis since June 1, 2015.
Studying, though, apparently goes only so far.
“I don’t want to think about it too much,” Fiers said. “It’s just about me being myself as a pitcher, me pitching to my strengths. That’s pretty much what I do every start.”
Emerson appreciates Fiers’ demeanor on and off the mound.
“He comes to work every day and does what he’s supposed to do — and he didn’t let anybody see him sweat,” Emerson said. “He wasn’t sweating in the time that he was struggling early in the season. He just went about his business and didn’t overthink: ‘I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to make a change.’
“He just did what he does, and it all worked out for the best.”