Mckenzie needed trip to minors to succeed on mound in Cleveland
It was in June that Triston Mckenzie's command issues had snowballed to the point of him not being able to get through the first inning. That now seems more like three years ago than three months considering his recent stretch.
On June 12, Mckenzie couldn't find the strike zone and was taken out before escaping the first inning against the Seattle Mariners. He was subsequently sent down to Columbus.
Last week against Kansas City, Mckenzie allowed just one run on two hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. In doing so, he became just the third player in baseball history to log three consecutive starts of at least six innings pitched with two or fewer hits and no more than one walk, joining German Marquez (2021) and Jake Arrieta (2015).
“The one thing you realize is that he went down there and he worked on his craft,” said acting manager Demarlo Hale. “He made adjustments, and upon his return, you see the results.
“Those adjustments have been really, really positive. I think he's starting to understand that there's work to be done and that he has to continue to have a certain mindset and approach and continue to grow. He's just really starting to grow into a major league pitcher and being consistent.”
It wasn't a fun few months for Mckenzie while he battled his command demons, which seemed to be
more mental than physical. But that time with the Clippers also might have been necessary. It forced Mckenzie to completely hit the reset button..
Instead of allowing one walk to snowball into three or four, Mckenzie has discovered an aggressiveness that hasn't always been there. That, above all else, has been the catalyst for his emergence in Cleveland's rotation.
“I feel like the game of baseball, especially
at the Major League level, it tells you what you need to do to be successful,” Mckenzie said. “You go out there and you give up hits on fastballs down the middle, the game's telling you like you probably shouldn't throw it there.
“I feel like the struggles I had early on allowed me to be the pitcher I've been for the last couple of starts and hopefully I just keep improving.”