The Los Angeles Dodgers had their three-game winning streak snapped in a 7-6 walk-off loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, which saw Bobby Miller make his first start off the 15-day injured list.
The right-hander struggled with consistency in his return to the big leagues as he allowed five runs on six hits over 6.1 innings pitched. Miller immediately ran into trouble in the first inning by giving up a three-run homer to Michael Toglia.
Miller had retired the first two batters before yielding a two-out single and walk that extended the frame. The 25-year-old believes it would have been a different game if not for the free pass and poorly-located fastball, via SportsNet LA:
“Adrenaline was pretty high in the first inning. Got a couple quick outs but two-out walk, didn’t really like that. And then the next guy, I just missed a fastball down the middle. I’d like to think if I throw it in a different spot, I only let up two runs instead of more, and it’s a completely different ballgame. So really it just comes down to that one pitch pretty much.
“Fastball was a little flat today but that doesn’t give me an excuse when I throw a fastball down the middle like that. That really kind of bit me.”
There were some positives to take away from Miller’s start as he got several ground ball outs and pitched into the seventh inning:
“I was getting a lot of ground balls, so I started leaning more toward the two-seam. Four-seam wasn’t too great today, so I leaned a lot more toward the two-seam. It was getting a lot of success, besides a couple times I just missed it down the middle. Other than that, changeup was really good. Curveball and slider weren’t great, but I was pretty efficient. I’m still glad to go into the seventh inning and save our bullpen a little bit.”
It is never an easy task pitching at the hitter-friendly Coors Field, especially for a second-year player making his first start in more than two months.
But Miller at the very least was able to provide some length and give the Dodgers bullpen a breather. He also found some success with his offspeed pitches and two-seam fastball that he can build on in his next start.
In four starts this season, Miller is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.44 WHIP and 10 strikeouts per nine across 18 innings pitched.
Bobby Miller felt ‘really good’
Although he did not get the results he wanted, Miller was excited to make his long awaited return to the Dodgers and didn’t beleive some struggles while on a rehab assignment were indicative of his health.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
