Tommy Henry Moving in Right Direction
Diamondbacks 2, Rangers 0
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Mar. 8) — Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Tommy Henry, one of the youngsters vying for the fifth spot in the rotation, pitched four scoreless innings to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 2–0 victory over the Texas Rangers Wednesday afternoon.
Henry said after his outing that he felt “a little better than the last one,” noting that he feels like he’s said that every time out. “That’s the whole point of it — for me to keep building, keep competing, and try to get on my feet a little bit more each time. I think we’ll all be in a good spot by the end of spring training.”
Manager Torey Lovullo did not hold back on the praise for his young pitcher. “Tommy was fantastic,” he said. Earlier he explained why he felt that way. “It was a very well-pitched game, not just by the zero that was put up there. We love shutouts. But Tommy was aggressive with a three-pitch mix. He seemed like he could throw the breaking ball at any time to get him back in the count, giving us four unbelievable innings.”
Lovullo believes strongly that pitching sets the tone for the game, noting that Henry did exactly that. “When the pitching is sloppy, we look sloppy. I know that we’ve had a couple moments over the past two games…. But this was how we expect it to be done. And then the bullpen came in behind him and was lights-out. It was great to see. We got to keep doing that, keep the pace and keep attacking the zone the way we did today.”
Tommy Henry on His Outing
Henry pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits while walking none and fanning three. His offspeed pitch was working better for him, with Henry saying “command of it was the key.” He added that he felt like he had his “timing pretty dialed in.” This allowed him to trust his breaking ball to get him back into a lot of counts, he said.
Henry had an unusual strike happen that came, in part, due to the pitch clock nearing zero. On 2–0, with the pitch clock at three, Henry began his windup as the batter started to step out of the box. The changeup caught the zone for a strike, drawing some minor grumbling from the Rangers. Henry said, “I had to shake (catcher Gabriel Moreno) off a few times in order to get to that pitch. And I could see it was three…two…I think it must have thrown (the batter) off.” He concluded with a chuckle, “But we got the shot off before the shot clock went off.”
Some pitchers get distracted by the pitch clock, but Henry does not. “I just roll with it. With runners on, I can use it to my advantage sometimes. If I come sat early, I can use it as an opportunity to long-hold, which makes runners uncomfortable and the hitter uncomfortable. So, if you kind of play the game, you can use it to your advantage at times.”
Looking Ahead
The Diamondbacks have an off-day Thursday that will be closed to the media. On Friday, the Diamondbacks have a B-game during the day, where Madison Bumgarner will pitch. In the night game on the road against the Cincinnati Reds, Brandon Pfaadt will start. First pitch at Goodyear Ballpark will be at 6:05 pm.
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