When Brandon McCarthy returned from Tommy John surgery last season he compiled a stretch of four consecutive strong starts before beginning to lose his way. A fifth start yielded mixed results, and the right-hander struggled mightily in the five games (four starts) that followed.
McCarthy was placed on the disabled list at one point, though the time off to sort through mechanical issues and recover from hip trouble did not solve matters. He later admitted to battling a case of the yips. Having earned the fourth spot in the Dodgers rotation this season, McCarthy made his 2017 debut Thursday.
He allowed just two runs on four hits, had four strikeouts in six innings, and was credited with the win. McCarthy joined Clayton Kershaw as the lone starters to pitch into the sixth inning this season.
“Brandon, when he’s right, he’s pitching 93-95 mph, using all quadrants and his entire mix,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s very intelligent, has a lot of weapons and can execute a gameplan.”
McCarthy retired 12 of 13 batters faced through four innings. The lone hit was only due to Joc Pederson getting a poor read and jump on a ball that carried over his head for a leadoff double in the second inning.
“The takeaway was I was able to work quick, kind of keep them on their heels, and let the defense do the work behind me,” McCarthy said of his outing. “I wanted to really attack and be aggressive, and I was able to do that for the most part.”
The strong showing further validated McCarthy’s remarks after his final start of the spring that he was executing and pitching well. “I felt like I was ready to go, so it’s nice to go out and not have things go haywire,” he said.
“It was good to get the first one out of the way. It kind of set a template for where I would like to be going forward.”
While the timeline for a full recovery from Tommy John surgery can vary case by case, the veteran doesn’t believe he’s still in the stage of piecing matters together. “I’m 33, if I’m still building-blocking at this point, I’m too old for that,” McCarthy explained.
“I’ve got to come with my best stuff and have it as often as I can. There’s little things I can tinker with and keeping working on and develop as the season goes on, like anybody else. But in relation to coming back from Tommy John, there’s no real building process. It’s full-go.”
