It wasn’t long ago there were whispers Kenta Maeda was in danger of losing his spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation. After another subpar outing, manager Dave Roberts met with the right-hander in effort to uplift his spirits and go over potential changes.
Maeda responded with seven strong innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was his longest start since also going seven frames on July 10, 2016, and matched Maeda’s career-high for innings pitched in a start.
The improved results were a byproduct of Maeda incorporating a cut fastball into his repertoire. He used the pitch again Friday night, but overall wasn’t quite as sharp.
The 29-year-old was disappointed by only completing five innings but added he’s seeing continued improvement, via Michael Duarte of NBC:
“It was an interesting night,” Maeda said through a translator after the game. “In terms of the result, five innings is a little too short for me, but I’m getting a better feel for my pitches with each outing.”
Despite not having his best command in the series opener against the San Diego Padres, Maeda struck out the side in the second and third innings. The string of six consecutive strikeouts matched a career best.
Maeda allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, walked three batters and finished with eight strikeouts. He was lifted after issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. While Meada didn’t factor into the decision, he lowered his ERA nearly one full run to 5.81.
After allowing at least three earned runs through his first four starts, Maeda has now allowed two earned runs or less in back-to-back outings. What’s more, he hasn’t surrendered a home run in his past two starts, after allowing at least one in his previous four games.
Next is a scheduled start on Wednesday in the three-game series finale at Dodger Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
