With chance to make Nats' rotation, Kuhl calm and collected

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Chad Kuhl has been through Spring Training enough at this point to know that ultimately it's about getting ready, and results aren’t everything. But an opportunity is an opportunity, and there’s a big one in front of him right now.

Kuhl took the first step toward seizing it on Sunday when he tossed five sharp, efficient innings in the Nationals’ 2-1 win over the Tigers at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Nothing’s written in stone, but in the wake of Cade Cavalli’s season-ending elbow surgery that’s slated for next week, Kuhl is the favorite to take the vacated spot in Washington’s rotation. He’s never made any secret of his preference for starting, and if he continues to pitch like he did Sunday, there’s every reason to think that will be his role when the season gets underway in less than two weeks.

“I like what I saw today,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He’s been improving every chance he got out here. Now he’s getting an opportunity to go start some games for us, and he’s done well.”

Kuhl insists that despite the rotation opening, nothing changes in his preparation or how he views his day to pitch. And this wasn’t his first start of the spring, so it’s possible he could have earned a spot in the rotation regardless.

“To be honest, I never really put too much stock in spring games or outings or anything like that,” he said. “We had talked, and for me, it’s just trying to really do what I can do to focus on getting better, focus on the things I can control.”

Still, the math can’t be denied. There is now an opening that didn’t exist a week ago. And Kuhl did everything he could to stake his claim to it on Sunday.

The right-hander permitted a pair of hits in the first, then just two more in the four innings after that. He struck out five against one walk and worked efficiently, getting 15 outs on 69 pitches. Both hits in the first came with Kuhl behind in the count, but after that, he frequently got ahead of hitters.

Beyond the pitches or the results, Kuhl maintained his composure and didn’t make too much of anything. He calmly escaped from the first-inning jam with minimal damage, allowing just one run, and he worked around at least one baserunner in every inning but the fifth. He looked like the pitcher who had a strong first half for the Rockies last year, rather than the one who struggled with injury and ineffectiveness after the All-Star break.

“You try not to look at results,” Kuhl said, “but you notice the way guys are swinging, you look at swings and misses. The elimination of what I call those big misses -- out-of-the-zone, east-west misses, way-too-high misses. It’s just a lot better, and I’m on the right track.”