Keegan Thompson’s self-assessment, shortly after pitching the deepest right into a begin in his big-league profession, took on a big-picture vibe.
The right-hander threw a career-high 6⅓ innings within the Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday evening at Wrigley Field, counting on early-innings effectivity. However, he wasn’t happy with how his outing ended. Manager David Ross went to the bullpen as soon as Thompson surrendered back-to-back one-out singles within the seventh.
Two batters later, Jonathan India related for a three-run homer off reliever Rowan Wick to increase the Reds result in 5-0. It started a stretch of three consecutive hits Wick allowed, ending his evening after just one out.
For Thompson, it was the second time in three begins he pitched into the seventh. He was on the verge of tallying his third straight high quality begin. He has 24 strikeouts and solely three walks over 24⅓ innings in that stretch.
Next up: determining the best way to shut out the seventh.
“I felt good tonight, but late I got maybe a little tired there,” Thompson mentioned. “But I’ve got to find a way to dig down and make those pitches there at the end and get through that inning.”
Thompson’s plan to make {that a} actuality focuses on conditioning, restoration and persevering with his work within the days between begins. Closing out later innings is without doubt one of the subsequent steps in Thompson’s improvement as a big-league starter.
Ross mentioned the objective was to get Thompson by means of the seventh. He entered the inning at 81 pitches.
“Whether he was running out of gas a little bit, you could see at the back end of the sixth where his stuff was starting to tick off,” Ross mentioned. “He received the remaining (between innings) and received that first-pitch out within the seventh after which simply wasn’t in a position to shut it out. I attempted to assist him out with that.
“Just continue to be able to be efficient and finish that goal to go even deeper — tonight was a career high for him, so I don’t want to be negative in that. But, yeah, there’s always growth and I’ve seen him continue to grow every time he takes the mound.”
Thompson’s effectivity began together with his fastball command earlier than incorporating his secondary stuff as he confronted the Reds hitters for a second and third time. He completed with 11 known as strikes on fastballs.
He additionally flashed a slider he has been engaged on between begins in bullpen periods the final three to 4 weeks, getting three whiffs on the Reds’ three swings in opposition to it.
“Tempo is confidence,” Ross mentioned. “When you’re coming right at guys, the rhythm at which he’s established that fastball, like, here I come. I think it’s always on the attack. … Pace really puts you on your heels as an opposing offense.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com