It's really nice to get that first one. Very nice. I felt like I could have gotten it a couple of times. ... I try not to get discouraged. I knew that I was pitching well enough to win, and it was just not going my way. |
It's swollen a little bit right now and a little bit tender, but I wouldn't even say I'm hurt. |
It's very disappointing. We're battling and barely coming up short. We've still got to go out there tomorrow and grind. |
Last year was a little confusing because I wasn't sure if I would be a starter in Triple-A or a reliever in the big leagues. I think I'm more efficient this spring because I'm just starting. I've always been a starter up until last season. |
My back was a little stiff coming in, but I only threw one bad pitch - on the triple. It was belly-button high. I loosened up by the end of the inning and had my slider and fastball working. I was basically just throwing to the glove at that point. |
Pretty shaky on my part in the fielding. But my fielders really picked me up. I made it a lot harder on myself. |
This was very satisfying for me. We won, we won the series and I went seven innings, allowing one run. |
We have four or five young guys who are looking for spots in the rotation. That competition will be good for us. There's a lot of hope for next year, a lot of good young arms. We've needed pitching and I think we've got it on the way. |
We'll definitely have a couple of good laughs and smiles about it. |
You don't want to make excuses, but yeah -- I still thought I could get it done. I didn't feel nearly as bad as I do now. |
You get a little more leeway pitching in these 'B' games. You feel like you get to work on things a little bit more. I threw a couple of changeups in situations that I wouldn't have, but it is really good right now for me to throw them and get used to that, to get a feel with that. |