The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense propelled them to a 15-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, also providing James Paxton with an easy route to eating some innings.
Paxton was also on top of his game against the Rangers, registering six whiffs to go alongside his heavy dose of four-seam fastballs and knuckle curveballs. He stayed within the strike zone, throwing 51 strikes of his 87 pitches.
“The curveball was really good,” Paxton said. “I was able to get some swing and miss on that. Use that in some counts to get out. You know, that walk in the second inning just came back to bite me with the sac fly there. But, yeah, my curveball was good, fastball felt good today too.”
The 35-year-old improved to 6-1 with a 3.92 ERA and 5.15 FIP with a .235 batting average allowed. Among National League starters, Paxton ranks within the top 40 in the lowest earned run average.
Paxton described that outing like a bounce back start to get himself in the right direction after some recent hiccup outings.
“You know, it felt great,” Paxton said. “I was executing better, hitting better spots. And the bats were pretty fun today, so that was cool, too.”
Paxton received more run support in one game than fellow Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow has received over his last 5 starts combined.
The offense maintained their groove following their series against the New York Yankees, making it easy on him to fill up the strike zone.
“Yeah, the bats are hot,” Paxton added. “I mean all those homers, it’s fun to watch on the bench. It’s great to see.”
Does James Paxton make a possible Dodgers postseason rotation?
If all things click right in the health sector for the Dodgers starters, Paxton is on the fringe of that group. The unfortunate thing for the veteran left-hander is his volatility and lack of big strikeout stuff.
He’s different from Gavin Stone in that, where the strikeout rate isn’t high, the hard contact rate for Paxton isn’t at a comfortable point. The Dodgers have plenty of options aside from him, but if they choose to keep him on the roster, he can be in the bullpen as a possible long man.
Paxton’s walk rate is also concerning, and following his Tuesday start, he’s walking 4.83 hitters per nine innings.
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