PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard has broken Rockies’ hearts before, so snapping a streak came as no surprise. Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia slugger sliced a double into the right-center gap, chasing home Cole Hamels and Chase Utley.
The Rockies’ starters had not allowed an earned run in 17 innings, an impressive statistic, abbreviated as it might be. It spanned four games and a rainout. Until Sunday, Tyler Chatwood was the last rotation member to be tagged for an earned run. He was also the guy standing on the mound when Howard belted his line drive at Citizens Bank Park.
Lost in that symmetry was Chatwood’s critical accomplishment: He pitched five innings. Yes, that sounds like hollow praise, but it is an important step in the evolution of the quasi-five-man, piggyback pitching staff.
The relievers have made this experiment work with their strong performances, which included another fine outing by Adam Ottavino in Sunday’s first game (two innings, no runs, one nasty slider).
“The bullpen is pretty darn good, and it’s going to get even better if we get more from our starters,” manager Jim Tracy said after the team’s fourth-consecutive one-run loss in Game 1.
But as the relievers have logged innings and strung together zeroes, something odd has happened. Complacency has appeared to set in with the starters. Multiple times over the last few weeks, rotation members have talked about having done their job after four-inning outings. The score was close so they met their requirement, right?
Not exactly.
“They need to be mindful of taking that next step,” Tracy said. “We want them to get deeper into games.”
The 75-pitch count wasn’t designed to create four-and-door exits. A starter shouldn’t take comfort, regardless of the score, if he’s leaving after four innings. (Remember, five-and-dive was created as a derisive term, not praise.) Alex White, Drew Pomeranz and Chatwood, specifically, have fallen into this trap, even if inadvertently.
During their starts, they often have a 20-pitch inning. Immediately, the bar is lowered for how long their outing will be. Going deep is replaced by survival instinct. With no chance at making it to five innings to qualify for a win, the starters essentially become relievers, just trying to keep the team within striking distance before they leave.
The fallout is that four inning-appearances by the starting pitchers have somehow escaped scorn. That shouldn’t happen.
The starters need to provide length, not just be satisfied with keeping the score close. The system was implemented to encourage efficiency, to get over the mental hurdle of pitching to contact. Limiting damage is an admirable skill, something that the starters have done remarkably well over the last few weeks. But they have been thrown life rafts, their numbers camouflaged by the relievers’ ability to strand baserunners.
Tracy has talked repeatedly about not wanting to take the starters out prematurely. But if they are going to work longer, they have to throw more strikes, or induce quicker outs. Who knows what happens if they do this? Perhaps the elastic waistband extends to 80 or 85 pitches?
Chatwood, in this regard, took a leap forward against the Phillies. Showing resolve after Monday’s sour outing in Atlanta, he allowed two runs in five innings Sunday. He still threw too many balls — 34 in 75 pitches — but preyed on the Phillies’ aggressiveness. Even in the Phillies’ run-scoring third, Jimmy Rollins swung at a first pitch after Chatwood walked Cole Hamels.
“We are trying to be more efficient,” Chatwood said.
If the starters are going to experience significant gains, they must continue to challenge themselves. In some ways, they have been like quarterbacks who throw interceptions that don’t lead to scores because of a stingy defense. The line in the box score is protected, but hardly safe if this pattern of behavior continues.
It’s difficult, without question. However, as this experiment continues, the starters’ mind-set must change: They have to focus on going longer, even with fewer pitches at their disposal.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1294, trenck@denverpost.com or
