NewsWest benefiting from new-look change
Florida (64-55) at Houston (57-62), 8:05 p.m. ET
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
08/19/09 12:15 AM ET
HOUSTON -- Demotions can be upsetting and painful at the time a player is sent down, but some good can come out of them when handled properly. Thus far, it looks as if Marlins rookie Sean West made the most of his nearly four-week stint at Double-A Jacksonville. The 23-year-old, who was optioned after a rough outing at Arizona on July 11, was recalled and inserted into the rotation on Aug. 8. The primary reason West was sent down was to polish up his changeup and slider. The 6-foot-8 left-hander has a fastball in the 94-mph range, so velocity isn't an issue. What was hurting him was the lack of command on his offspeed pitches. Once word was out that he was only throwing his fastball for strikes, big league hitters waited on the pitch and did some damage. West has shown improvement with his offspeed pitches in his two starts since returning to the big league club. On Aug. 8 at Philadelphia, he worked four innings, but had pretty good stuff in a no-decision. He struck out four and walked two that day, giving up three runs (two earned). A high pitch count, 93 pitches, led to an early exit. The Marlins did pull out a win that day. On Thursday, West collected a win, beating the Astros at Land Shark Stadium. The lefty was solid in six innings, allowing one run on five hits. He didn't walk a batter and he struck out three. The changeup was effective, as he threw 92 pitches, 62 for strikes. "I was pretty satisfied with it," West said of his changeup. "I was trying to go seven [innings]. I wanted to kind of pick the bullpen up. I threw a lot of changeups. That was my go-to pitch." "The two weeks [in the Minors], I was really, really comfortable with [the changeup]," he said. "That was one of my best pitches when I first got drafted. That was my out pitch. But my slider has come a long way since then. "The fastball is there. Those are the two pitches you focused on between starts [slider and changeup]. In the bullpen, that's what I was focusing on more, the changeups. It's going to be a good pitch for me later on down the road." In his two August starts, West is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings. He has seven strikeouts and two walks. It's a big contrast from his numbers in two July starts, when he was 0-2 (8.44 ERA), and allowed 10 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. He walked seven and struck out three in those games. West grew up in Spring, Texas, in the Houston area. He grew up following the Astros, and even ran the bases as a kid at the Astrodome. Now, he will make his first start ever in Texas. About 35-50 of his family and friends are expected to watch the start. "I saw a few games in the Astrodome," West said. "I never saw one here at Minute Maid." He'll likely have to make some adjustments on Wednesday, because he is drawing successive starts against the same team. The Marlins take on the Astros in the second of three games at Minute Maid Park. After winning 6-2 on Tuesday, they are in position to take the series. In Tuesday's victory, the Marlins extended their streak of collecting at least 10 hits to 14 straight games. The last team to have more is the 1937 St. Louis Browns, who had 15. The Major League record is 18. Pitching matchupFLA: LHP Sean West (4-4, 4.57 ERA)
West didn't walk a batter in his Thursday start against the Astros and struck out three. This will be his 13th start, but the rookie has yet to face the same team twice. HOU: RHP Yorman Bazardo (0-0, 5.06 ERA)
This will be Bazardo's first start with the Astros and third of his career after spending most of the season at Triple-A Round Rock. He allowed five runs (three earned) in his Astros debut on Aug. 8 and has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings in two outings since. He was 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA in 23 games (20 starts) at Round Rock this year before being called up. Bazardo appeared in one game with the Marlins in 2005 before getting into 14 games with Detroit in 2007 and '08. Tidbits
Burke Badenhop, on the DL since Aug. 2 with a right trapezius strain, threw two innings in a Gulf Coast League game in Jupiter, Fla., on Monday. He will pitch three or four innings for Class A Jupiter on Saturday. ... Andrew Miller, on the Minor League disabled list with a sprained right ankle, is throwing a simulated game on Sunday. The lefty will throw 60-65 pitches. ... With a single in the first inning, Hanley Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games. That matches his season high and is one shy of his career best (14 -- registered from June 24-July 7, 2008). ... Dan Uggla can check Minute Maid Park off the list. In the fourth inning on Tuesday, Uggla went deep in Houston for the first time in his career. Uggla now has homered in 23 parks in his four-year career. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FS-F HD On radio
• WAXY 790, WAQI 710 (Español) Up next
• Thursday: Marlins (Josh Johnson, 12-2, 2.85) at Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 11-7, 3.05), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Marlins (TBA) at Braves (Javier Vazquez, 10-8, 2.99), 7:30 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Marlins (Chris Volstad, 9-9, 4.61) at Braves (Tommy Hanson, 8-2, 3.05), 7 p.m. ET
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
