WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s “Radford University Day” at Nationals Park on Saturday. It would be a nice time for Eddie Butler to turn his season around.
The right-hander played college baseball at nearby Radford before the Rockies selected him with a supplemental first-round pick in the 2012 draft. Butler grew up in Chesapeake, Va., so he will have plenty of family and friends in attendance Saturday.
Butler has not won a major-league game since May 30, going 0-3 with an 8.41 ERA in four starts. In his last outing, the Mariners torched him for seven runs on seven hits — including three home runs — in four innings at Coors Field.
“I have to attack the zone with all of my pitches,” Butler said Friday. “That was my big downfall the last time. The only thing working was my fastball. I have to get better consistency with my off-speed pitches.”
When Butler arrived in pro baseball, he used his fastball inside to attack hitters. Now he’s trying to learn how to pitch down and away.
“That’s a big, tough thing for me, because I always used to throw inside,” he said. “The last start, I didn’t throw quality pitches outside, they were either up or in the middle of the plate.”
Butler (3-8, 5.45) is clearly struggling in his second summer in the majors, but he insists he has made strides.
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“My confidence is good, I’m at a much better place than I was earlier in the year,” he said. “(Getting flustered) has been a big issue and that’s something we’ve been working on. My biggest issue in my whole career is keeping my head right if something doesn’t go my way. Keeping that under control will be the biggest thing for me.”
Manager Walt Weiss said he has seen progress.
“I think he’s a guy that is pretty hard on himself, even during his bullpen sessions,” Weiss said. “That’s something that we have tried to work with him on. And he has improved. There is an awareness now and he tries to catch himself. I feel like he has gotten better. There are growing pains for any young pitcher in this league, and that’s part of it for him.”
Chad Bettis progresses.
Right-hander Chad Bettis, on the disabled list with elbow inflammation, threw a 48-pitch bullpen session Friday, using all of his pitches and experiencing no discomfort.
“I feel good, no pain, so I’m moving forward,” Bettis said.
He’s scheduled to join Double-A New Britain (Conn.) and pitch a simulated game Tuesday. If that goes well, he will make a start next Saturday for New Britain and throw 60-65 pitches. After that, he will move up to Triple-A Albuquerque before rejoining the Rockies’ rotation, likely during the last week of August.
“This is probably the best-case scenario, to be honest with you,” Weiss said . “You are always concerned when a pitcher goes down with elbow inflammation, but the way things have been going you are kind of prepared for the worst. But we got good news when his tests came in.”
Yohan Flande pitching Sunday.
An off day Thursday gave the Rockies the chance to tweak their rotation. Left-hander Yohan Flande, originally scheduled to pitch Saturday, was bumped to Sunday. He pitched in emergency relief in Colorado’s 11-inning win over the Mariners on Wednesday. The off day allowed Weiss to move Butler’s start to Saturday. … A group of Rockies, including Weiss, Drew Stubbs, Nick Hundley and Kyle Parker visited injured veterans at Walter Reed Military Medical Center.
Looking ahead
Rockies’ Eddie Butler (3-8, 5.45 ERA) at Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg (5-5, 5.16), 5:05 p.m. Saturday, ROOT; 850 AM
The Rockies are running into some of the best pitching in the National League on their road trip to Washington and New York, but they catch a bit of a break Saturday. Strasburg, who has been sidelined six weeks with an oblique injury, is coming off the disabled list and might be a tad rusty. The right-hander is having the worst season of his career. His ERA (5.16), WHIP (1.49) and batting average against (.289) are red flags. Before the oblique injury, he missed four weeks because of tightness in his neck. In his final minor-league rehab assignment for Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, he struck out 11 batters in just 5 innings.
Sunday: Rockies’ Yohan Flande (2-1, 3.54 ERA) at Nationals’ Max Scherzer (11-8, 2.31), 11:35 a.m., ROOT
Monday: Rockies’ Jon Gray (0-0, 4.50) at Mets’ Jonathon Niese (6-9, 3.51), 5:10 p.m., ROOT
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
