Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda received another spot start Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and he was brilliant, tossing seven shutout innings while giving up just four hits and striking out six without issuing a walk.
The start was just Maeda’s third in the month of June, as he was demoted to the bullpen after a stretch of subpar outings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Maeda’s performance earned him another opportunity to start.
That’s in relation to the 29-year-old pitching with a renewed mindset after being removed from the rotation. “He’s been aggressive, attacking and filling up the strike zone,” Roberts said.
“When you’re like that, with his mix, it puts hitters on the defensive. The fastball was really good, command was good, slider and curveball were sharp.”
Maeda, who came over from Japan before the 2016 season, is accustomed to having a set routine. Last season he was forced to pitch more regularly than he did overseas, and now this year has found himself adjusting to a new role.
Roberts believes that getting away from the thought of needing such a set routine may have served Maeda well. “A lot of times Major League players feel they have to have a certain routine to have success,” Roberts said.
“Even talking to Rick Honeycutt, when he made the move to the bullpen, once he realized what he needed to do or didn’t do to get ready, I think Kenta has shown himself there’s still a way to prepare.”
Tuesday’s outing was just the third time this season that Maeda got passed five innings in a start. On the season he’s now 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA, 3.88 FIP and 1.13 WHIP in 14 starts (12 games).
With Brandon McCarthy currently on the disabled list, Maeda has an opportunity to regain his permanent spot in the rotation if he can continue to produce impressive results.
“It’s a performance game. I think Kenta understands what he can control, he’s taken charge of that and getting good results. Again, the credit goes to Kenta.”
