Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
Streaking
Tommy Hanson (Atlanta Braves)
Think of the 22 year old’s recent, 10-day stint down in the Single-A Carolina League like taking a high performance car into the shop: a powerful engine sometimes needs a tuneup.
After racking up a record of 4-0 in his first six games, Hanson (5-0, 3.00 ERA) struggled in a 7-6 loss to Colorado, prompting a procedural move to demote him and help the team adjust its roster and add another reliever. During the time in the minors he faced no batters, but worked off the mound with pitching coach Roger McDowell at Turner Field.
And the move has helped Hanson get his mojo back. In his most recent start, an 11-3 win over San Francisco, he allowed just three runs on five hits over seven innings and struck out 11 batters.
"I think this is the best my arm's felt," Hanson told the Associated Press. "I felt like I was running out of gas but I wanted to battle through. I always want to stay in the game."
Edwin Jackson (Detroit Tigers)
The right-hander appears to finally be reaching his potential. The 25 year old entered the season with opponents batting better than .271 BA against him in more than 100 games. But as he's improved his command, his numbers have gotten dramatically better. Opponents are batting a miniscule .212 BA against him this year and Jackson is third in the AL with a 1.08 WHIP (walks + hits over innings pitched).
Jackson has yielded three or fewer earned runs in every start since May 5, including just six total in 20.1 innings this month. In his most recent outing, a 2-1 loss to the Yankees, Jackson went seven innings, allowing only a pair of solo home runs.
"Strikeouts will come, but you want quick outs all the time," Jackson told the Associated Press. "You have to pitch to contact."
Slumping
J.D. Martin (Washington Nationals)
The best news Martin had to take away from his first career start last week, was that there's plenty of room for improvement.
The 26 year old was hammered in his major league debut, yielding five runs on eight hits over just four innings. On the plus side, he did record his first major league strikeout. But only one.
The light-hitting Padres aren’t as talented as his first opponent – the Mets – but let’s just try to see if Martin can make it past the fourth.
"My cutter was spinning a little bit," Martin told the Washington Times. "But besides that, besides my balls being up a little bit, I felt OK.”
Gio Gonzalez (Oakland Athletics)
Things can’t get a whole lot worse for the left-hander.
The 23 year old was pitching so poorly that when he was demoted to the bullpen, yielding a run in only one inning was enough to get him put back in the rotation. But he should have stayed with the relievers.
Gonzalez (1-2, 9.33) was tagged for 11 earned runs on 11 hits in just 2 2-3 innings against the Twins. During that debacle, he also gave up four home runs and walked four.
