Welcome back to another edition of The Anatomy of An Inning. My name is Jacob Roy, and I pretend to know pitching better than the pitchers themselves. If youre new here or need a reminder of what this is all about, I take an inning from the previous week or so and break it down, one pitch at a time. Each pitch should have a purpose, Im looking at each individually to try to go beyond the box score and tell the full story.
Its Tanner Houck week inside my brain! Thats right, I was so convinced Houck would never excel as a starting pitcher that his newfound success in the rotation has consumed my every waking thought. I already covered many of the changes Houck has made thus far in theory, but today Im taking a look at how it works in practice. Lets finish the Tanner Houck analysis saga so I can go back to obsessing over the rest of the pitching staff instead of just one guy.
Well go to the second inning of Houcks start on Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians. Houck retired the side in order in the first inning and is returning to the mound for in a tie game. Keep in mind that this is Houcks second meeting with the Guardians in as many weeks, so the hitters have some level of familiarity with his arsenal.
Houck starts Naylor off with an offspeed pitch (Im calling it a changeup until someone confirms otherwise) for called strike one. I adore this pitch call. Last season, you would have almost never seen Tanner Houck throw a changeup behind or even in the count. First-pitch strikes tilt the tables in favor of the pitcher, and hes able to get one here with an offspeed pitch. This isnt the best execution as its right down the pipe, but hitters arent typically looking for first-pitch changeups so hes able to get away with it.
Beautiful slider for strike two. This time, Houck starts the pitch in a similar spot to the previous one, but instead of dropping straight down, it runs in on the hitter. Its also about five miles per hour slower than the changeup, giving Houck three velocity bands to work with. Here, Naylor is a bit early and a bit over the ball as he swings for strike two. At 0-2, Id continue to work down in the zone, with either another slider even further away from the strike zone or a changeup low and away.
Perfection. Houck goes to the changeup, and Naylor cant make contact. To me, the swing looks like Naylor is expecting a slider as he falls away from the ball before lunging at the pitch as it breaks away from him. Houcks newfound ability to locate his offspeed pitch makes all the difference here. Previously, lefties didnt have to think about the slow ball as, more often than not, it wasnt landing in the zone. Now, he has pitches breaking both ways to give lefties pause in bad counts. Great execution by Houck to start the inning.
Houck again tries to execute the first pitch changeup for a strike, but this one falls below the zone for ball one.
Heres a good slider for strike one. Brennan fouls it off, but its a weird, almost defensive swing from Brennan whose timing is off. 1-1.
At 1-1, Houck goes back to his changeup and locates it nicely on the outer part of the plate. Much like Naylor, Brennan has to lunge at this one and can only foul it off. In a 1-2 count with Brennans timing off, Id continue to mix my pitches and avoid doubling up.
Houck does double up and it gets away from him to even the count at 2-2.
Heres a slider that gets away from him and runs the count full. To this point in the season, Brennan has seen three fastballs from Houck, none of which were in two-strike counts. After letting two off-speed pitches get away from him, this would be an opportunity to throw one past him.
Heres another slider off the plate, but Brennan reaches out and fouls it off. I still like the sinker here.
Oops. I guess thats why Im behind a keyboard and not calling pitches. That and I lack the arm strength, hand-eye coordination, and overall athleticism required to play catcher at a Major League level. Anyways, this pitch is well located, but Brennan is ready for it and punches it to left field.
Well, that works. Its a sinker on the hands of Freeman, and all he can do is hit it into a fielders choice for the second out. Houcks sinker has a nice deviation between the observed and spin-based movement, meaning it drops more than one might expect. Over the last three years, when he gets the sinker near this spot to righties, it ends up on the ground fairly frequently.
Thats the rule for most same-handed matchups; sinkers inside typically result in ground balls. Houck is no exception, and he executes the book perfectly here to get a quick out.
Florial had a doozy of a time matching up with Houck in the last meeting, striking out in all three of his at-bats. He saw one sinker in three trips to the plate. Id expect more of the same from Houck in this meeting.
He starts off with the first cutter of the inning for a questionably called strike one. Its in a good spot where even if Florial does swing and connect, hell have a hard time keeping it fair. Given Houcks matchups with Florial last week, I wouldnt throw any fastballs now that Houck is ahead in the count.
Heres a changeup from Houck that Florial fouls off. This is probably the worst pitch so far with the ball being left middle-in. Fortunately, it still counts as a strike and Houck is ahead 0-2. Again, I wouldnt throw any fastballs.
Houck opts to go with his slider and leaves it up slightly. Florial again fouls it off to keep the count at 0-2. The story remains the same in my eyes; Houck should go to either his slider inside or his changeup away.
Its a slider this time and its a very good one. Florial thinks about it but ultimately holds up. Again, I would go with the slider inside or the changeup away. I prefer the slider because Florial just spat on one and is probably thinking he wont get another, but either or is a good option.
Beautifully executed. Houck buries a changeup low and away and Florial is completely fooled. Its nearly a perfect mirror for his changeup, and it makes it incredibly difficult for hitters because Houck can start the pitches in the same spot and have them break in opposite directions, at different velocities. Its almost a guessing game for lefties, and Florial guesses wrong this time.
Ive written about Tanner Houck more in two weeks than you should read in a season. If youve made it this far, thank you. At the end of this outing, things got away from Houck a bit, and the Guardians broke through for a couple of runs. Still, Houck managed to make it through six innings and keep the Red Sox in the game, something he rarely did in past seasons as a starter.
Ill reiterate one more time: the keys to Houcks success this season are his changeup, and his mechanical changes. The changeup gives him a new velocity band to work with and a pitch to keep lefties off balance. The command keeps him in control of at-bats, as well as allows him to execute pitches like the above sinker to generate quick outs. I was a Houck doubter before, but these adjustments have changed my tune in a hurry.
Read more:
Red Sox Pitcher Tanner Houck Has A New Arsenal - Anatomy of an Inning - Over The Monster
Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith
