'Little things' keeping Heaney from fully turning corner

ARLINGTON -- If you ask Bruce Bochy, Andrew Heaney’s turnaround started in Atlanta, where the left-hander allowed three runs in five innings in the Rangers’ loss to the Braves to open that series.

That night wasn’t perfect, and neither was his next start against the Mariners at home, when he shouldered a loss, but he again showed consistent signs of improvement. On Wednesday night against the Nationals, Heaney looked exactly like the pitcher he had shown flashes of over the last month.

The 32-year-old dealt seven innings of one-run ball at Globe Life Field, needing just 74 pitches to do it. He was masterful as he delivered his first quality start of the season, but the offense let it go to waste with a frustrating day at the plate as the Rangers fell to the Nationals, 1-0.

Despite outhitting Washington, 6-5, Texas proceeded to go 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while stranding 11 men on base. The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs twice. They didn’t score both times.

“What a great job he did,” Bochy said. “It’s a tough loss for him. It's hard to pitch better than what he did tonight. He did his job. We just couldn't get there and we couldn't get the hit. Couldn’t get productive outs there. You're not gonna see that very often, when you create that many opportunities. It was just missing tonight. It’s just one of those nights.”

Heaney is now 0-4 on the season, and he joined Jon Gray (two times) as the only Texas pitchers in the last two seasons to suffer a loss in a start of seven or more innings and one run allowed.

Dating back to when pitches began to be officially tracked in 1988, Heaney’s 74 pitches are the fewest by a Rangers pitcher in a start of seven or more innings, besting the 75 pitches thrown by Mike Jeffcoat in seven innings on Aug. 30, 1989, at Minnesota.

For all intents and purposes, Heaney outdueled Nationals starter Trevor Williams, who allowed five hits and four walks. But Williams expertly navigated through traffic all night -- twice escaping bases-loaded, no-out jams -- while one of the few times Heaney allowed traffic, the runner came around to score.

Heaney allowed back-to-back one-out hits from Ildemaro Vargas and Alex Call in the second inning to get Washington on the board, but the southpaw was virtually untouchable afterwards, facing just one over the minimum over his last five innings.

“I'm happy with how I threw the ball the last three times out,” Heaney said. “But it's the little things and this game is extremely difficult. I'm not gonna wear myself out about that, but definitely that's the difference in the game. Sometimes you’ve got room for error. Sometimes you don't.”

With Max Scherzer nearing his return from offseason back surgery and Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle both gearing up for a summer comeback from Tommy John surgery, it seemed Heaney would be bound for the bullpen at some point this season.

Who knows what will happen in the coming months, but Heaney has no doubt shown he can be consistent enough as a starter to remain in the rotation.

Since making some mechanical adjustments going into that start in Atlanta, Heaney has looked more confident and determined on the mound. His stuff and his command have also picked up, allowing him to feel more comfortable in every pitch he throws. In all, he’s looked like the best version of himself.

“Sometimes it takes a little bit of getting into the flow of the game to kind of trust it and be comfortable with it and then build upon that,” Heaney said, referencing his start in Atlanta again. “Now I feel good and I need to go out and execute the pitches.

“Like I said, the last three starts have felt really good. I feel like I've been in the zone better and been in control. … The mechanics feel good, I’m attacking the zone, getting quick outs -- all the things that you want. Now, it's like, ‘How do I put guys away better? Where are the places that I can really hammer down on just the tiny little details of the game?’ … Again, it’s the little things.”