San Francisco Giants outfielder Randy Winn pondered a question about the sinkerball and made a funny face.
“Man, that’s a tough pitch,” he said. “Sometimes the only thing you can do is pound it into the ground and hope for the best.”
Saturday night at Coors Field, the sinker will be the center of attention when Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb squares off against the Rockies’ Jason Jennings.
“Those guys are two of the best, no doubt,” Winn said. “That could be a very quick game.”
Webb brings a 9-3 record and a 2.72 ERA to Coors. Jennings arrives with a 6-6 record and a 3.85 ERA. Though both are labeled sinkerballers, they come in very different shades.
Webb’s sinker is a two-seam fastball that reaches the plate just above a batter’s knees then suddenly plummets, often turning the batter’s swing into an embarrassing lunge.
“I don’t have his kind of sinker, a pitch that just drops off the table,” Jennings said. “Webb’s is a violent sinker. Mine drops just enough to miss the barrel (of the bat). When I’m on, the ball will run away from the barrel just enough. It’s a more subtle pitch.”
Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated dubbed Webb “The One-Pitch Wonder.” But one of the big reasons he’s going to Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Pittsburgh is because he’s become a more diversified pitcher.
“In the past, I’ve been throwing two-seam fastballs mainly for three, four or five innings before throwing any type of off-speed pitch,” Webb said. “Now I’m throwing curves early in the game and early in the count and trying to keep the hitters off balance. It just gives them a little something more to think about.”
Because Webb throws his pitches from the same plane, a hitter doesn’t know if he’s getting the 83 mph curve or the 92-mph two-seam sinker that drops off the table like a bowling ball.
And humidor or no humidor, Webb has no qualms about pitching at Coors Field.
“If I keep the ball down, I’m going to get groundballs and the thin air doesn’t really affect me,” he said. “As long as I keep it down, I’ll get the groundballs and I can’t really get too hurt there.”
The only Rockies hitter to have had much success against Webb is Todd Helton, who is 10-for-27 (.370) with two homers. All-star slugger Matt Holliday is 4-for-16 (.250) with no homers and four strikeouts.
“He’s a tough day at the office and it’s going to be a battle to score runs off him,” Holliday said. “And he’s throwing that curve more and that makes him tougher. But I think what makes Webb so good is that he has good command on both sides of the plate. And his sinker has so much action on it, it’s hard to square it up.”
Whereas Webb mixes in a few curves, Jennings relies on a tight slider to throw off hitters.
“J.J. probably uses his slider more than any of us sinkerballers to keep guys off balance,” Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook said. “When he’s busting guys with that slider, he’s tough.”
Jennings is looking forward to Saturday’s sinker spectacular.
“You always like to test yourself against the best, and he’s one of the best,” he said. “It’s like pitching to Barry Bonds. Until you go against the best, you never know how good you are.”
Asked for the secret to hitting Webb, or Jennings, Winn pondered for a moment, then replied, “Just hope they leave the ball up over the plate, and when they do, take your best swing, because chances are they won’t leave it up there again.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
