McKenzie struggles with control in return from IL

CLEVELAND -- When a pitcher has been out for an extended period of time, especially one who was only able to make two starts in the first 154 games of the season, it’s hard to know how they’ll look when they get back on the rubber for the first time.

Guardians starter Triston McKenzie went through this once already this season. He was shut down after his final outing in Spring Training because of an upper teres major muscle strain. It took until June 4 for him to get his first start of the season and he was electric against the Twins, fanning 10 batters while allowing just one hit in five frames. But after his next outing, he had to get shut down again and waited more than three months to get another chance.

This time around, he saw the opposite results. McKenzie allowed three runs on one hit in 1 2/3 innings, walking six of the 12 batters he faced in the Guardians’ 5-1 loss to the Orioles on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field.

“It was a challenge from the very beginning, whether it’s release point or his head getting a little bit off kilter,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “He just wasn’t commanding anything and paid for it.”

With the Guardians already having been eliminated from postseason contention, the biggest focus of Sunday’s game was making sure McKenzie made it through his outing without injury. When he came back from his teres major muscle strain in June, he sprained his throwing elbow, which prompted the next wave of rehab.

He consulted with multiple doctors to make sure he didn’t need to have surgery and when it was set in stone that he was going a non-operational route, McKenzie was determined to get back on the mound this season.

If nothing else, McKenzie did that, throwing 52 pitches without pain. If he can be painless again in his next and final outing of the season, it’s an encouraging sign for the Guardians heading into the offseason, having the ability to pencil him into their starting rotation plans in 2024 with less concern. The problem on Sunday was that only 19 of his 52 pitches were strikes.

“I still feel good now in terms of a health standpoint,” McKenzie said. “I was just really unhappy with how the outing itself went. … I don’t think I commanded the zone with my off-speed [pitches] as well as I should have. And the fastball just wasn’t in the zone as much as I would like.”

His velocity was down a tick (91.6 compared to 92.9 mph) from what he averaged in his first two starts this season and what he averaged in 2022, but he was still able to reach 94 mph in his 1 2/3 innings.

“I think my velo was there,” McKenzie said. “I don’t think I was scared to throw any of my pitches. I just think I just didn’t command the zone and they’re out there just taking balls.”

In the first inning, McKenzie got leadoff hitter Gunnar Henderson to ground out, he walked Adley Rutschman and then recorded back-to-back outs on a flyout and groundout. But when he returned for the second frame, he completely lost the zone.

Here’s the quick breakdown of the inning for McKenzie: Walk, popout, walk, RBI double, RBI groundout, walk, walk, walk (scoring a run). After the free pass allowed the Orioles to score their third run of the inning, Francona walked to the rubber to pull him.

“I remember when he made his first start in Minnesota and we’re like, 'Man, I wonder what you’re gonna get,' and I think he punched out 10,” Francona said. “That’s probably not what you can expect [every game]. Today was the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe somewhere in the middle.”

McKenzie has been through a lot this season. He simply wanted to return to the rubber and pick up right where he left off. Instead, he was left with an internal battle of whether to be happy he made it to this point or frustrated with the results.

“I think that’s the fine line that we toe, especially going out there and wanting to compete and wanting to win,” McKenzie said. “It’s hard for me to go out there and not be 100 percent in terms of feeling like I can hit my spots consistently. But at the end of the day, I’m happy that my arm feels good now, and I think we move forward from there.”