ALLENTOWN – On any given night, many different factors can go into why a pitcher has a tough outing on the mound. Walking too many hitters, a lack of control or command, and being unable to get into a rhythm are all possible outcomes. Andrew Painter pinpointed exactly what the issue was after his tough start on Tuesday night.
“Today it was mostly the slider,” Painter said.
That slider was not effective for the fifth-ranked prospect in all of baseball, leading him to surrender a season-high six earned runs on eight hits in five innings of work in an 8-1 loss to the Worcester Woo Sox. Most of the damage against Painter was against that slider, which did not have its usual bite.
“The slider was too over the plate, and guys were ready for it. I think I was just doing them a favor,” Painter said postgame.
On the night, Painter threw 40 fastballs, 25 sliders (Statcast picks up his slider as a cutter at times), eight curveballs, and no changeups.
Snowballing with the slider
Painter was scheduled to throw five innings or 75 pitches, and he was right at that mark. The defense led to the first two runs to score. In the first inning, Óscar Mercado had a bad read on a shallow fly ball, allowing it to fall softly into center for the second straight single to open up the game before Worcester manufactured the first run of the contest on a sacrifice fly.
After a scoreless second, Painter’s issues facing a lineup for the second time reared their ugly head in the third inning. Leadoff man Nick Sogard ripped a double to start the inning, but erased himself on the bases heading to third on a groundball hit in front of him. A pair of fielders’ choices scored the second run for Worcester with a Rodolfo Castro throwing error on the second, trying to get the lead runner out at third base. Instead, the throw landed in the IronPigs dugout to make it 2-1.
The snowball then started down the mountain. Nate Eaton clobbered a slider that broke over the heart of the plate for a 2-run shot, making it 4-1. Three batters later, Nathan Hickey smacked an RBI double off the right field wall on a center-cut slider.
In the fourth, it was another slider that just spun in the zone that the number 9 hitter, Tyler McDonough, deposited over the right field wall to give the WooSox a 6-1 lead.
Second time troubles
The right-hander has not had much issue going through an opposing lineup the first time through, holding opponents to a .220 batting average with 15 strikeouts and allowing just four earned runs. However, come the second time around, opposing hitters are figuring out a gameplan against Painter, hitting a healthy .320 with 14 strikeouts and scoring 9 total runs.
“I think all the damage has been done on mistakes I have left over the plate. I need to work more east to west and switch the look up, I think if I do that, I’ll be in a better spot,” Painter said.
Painter did close out the outing, retiring the final six batters he faced, racking up three of his four strikeouts in that stretch.
Interestingly, he threw nearly 70 percent of his pitches for strikes (57 of 73), which is typically a good sign for any pitcher. Pounding the zone typically leads to success. However, Painter was unable to generate many whiffs, getting seven swings and misses facing 21 batters.
“Tonight, when your stuff gets kicked in and to be able to get through that, I was scheduled for 5 innings and 75 (pitches). There was a lot of takeaways from tonight. It could have been a lot worse if I didn’t get through five.”
The start marked the second straight allowing four earned runs or more after lasting four innings last week at Charlotte, surrendering four runs. In his first four starts, he allowed 5 earned runs and pitched to a 2.81 ERA. Over his last two trips to the mound, he’s given up 10 earned runs and has an 11.25 ERA in those two starts. His ERA has swelled to 5.19 in 10 starts between Low-A Clearwater and Triple-A.
Painter certainly has the stuff to be a frontline starter at the next level. For now, class is still in session for the righty, still learning to navigate Triple-A lineups.
“Location. First year back from Tommy John, a lot of ups and downs. Trying to find that middle point. Over the last couple starts, I’ve gotten myself in trouble walking guys and making a few uncompetitive two-strike pitches. If you’re in the zone a lot, over the heart of the plate you are going to get hit a lot.”
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
