Lakeland, Fla. — Pretty sure we can put PitchCom-gate to bed now.
After calling all his pitches in his previous spring start, Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 3.1 scoreless innings Wednesday in the Tigers’ 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals and he worked in true collaboration with all aspects of game-calling.
“It’s always going to be between the catcher and I with the scouting report — all together,” said Rodriguez, who allowed four singles while striking out six. “Today was simple. I was calling some pitches, (catcher Eric Haase) was calling some pitches, we had a really good plan and we executed.
“I feel like that’s the way to use it.”
Manager AJ Hinch made it clear after Rodriguez’s previous start that using the PitchCom to call pitches was never meant to be one player’s responsibility, nor would it be going forward.
Message received.
“That’s the way I think every time,” Rodriguez said. “Just execute my pitches, have really good scouting reports on the hitter, see where they’re at and execute the pitch.”
It was Rodriguez’s third spring start and his final tune-up ahead of his start on March 14 for Team Venezuela against Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic.
“I feel like I’ve already been on a big stage, the World Series,” he said. “I know how that environment is going to be. I know that stadium will be packed. I’ve been in places like that. Just going to be another game for me; that’s always my mindset, no matter what kind of game it is.
“Just execute my pitches and get good results for my country.”
He got very good results Wednesday, mostly on the strength of a nasty two-seam-fastball/cutter combination, consistently jamming and confusing the eight right-handed hitters the Nationals stacked against him.
He got four called strikes with each pitch. And then when the Nationals adjusted, he went to his four-seam fastball, which produced three swings-and-misses and five called strikes.
It was an artful performance. And he didn’t even take two of his pitches out of the bag — no sliders, and just two changeups.
“You saw me last time throw a lot of (four-seam) fastballs,” he said. “That’s my mindset. The hitter is going to tell me how my plan is going to go. Sometimes, you have a plan and the pitches aren’t working the way you want. You’ve got to go to the next pitch.
“Today, it was the two-seam.”
From the workload, the four up-downs, to having to make pitches with runners on base, it was exactly the test Hinch wanted for Rodriguez at this stage of camp.
“We wanted him to get as close to 55-60 pitches as we could,” Hinch said. “He was very effective again. Like we’ve said over and over, he’s come in really ready to make pitches.”
Throwing 56 pitches and working into the fourth inning is an accelerated pace for three spring starts, especially leading into a high-intensity start in the WBC. Hinch, though, doesn’t foresee having to taper Rodriguez’s workload when he gets back to camp.
“I’m not worried about Eduardo,” he said. “He’s handled a huge workload in the past. I don’t know that you can taper him a ton. Maybe we’ll repeat a certain number of innings in his starts. But, we know he’s not going to throw a complete game for Team Venezuela. His workload there won’t be a lot, other than from an intensity standpoint.
“But, for conditioning purposes, he’ll be fine.”
Into the fire
Non-roster lefty Zach Logue has been a starting pitcher throughout his pro career. He played the role of fireman-closer Wednesday.
Hinch summoned him with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth and he struck out the Nationals’ Jacob Young. Logue worked the ninth, too, allowing a run and stranding the tying run at second base.
“It’s not always easy to do that with guys because they’re so used to their routine,” Hinch said. “Coming in and throwing strikes is the guy. Like we’ve said, if you want to impress us, throw strikes. He’s done that.”
Logue struck out Young with his firmest four-seamer of the day (93.7 mph). He effectively mixed a cutter and curveball, as well, getting three swings-and-misses on four swings and two called strikes with the curve.
It hasn’t been determined how the Tigers will use Logue. Most likely, he will be vying for a rotation spot at Triple-A Toledo, but there’s a lot of camp left for him to change the narrative.
Game bits
… Nationals center fielder Victor Robles left the game on a cart in the second inning after he chased down and caught a 410-foot blast off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. Robles crashed hard into the wall. He suffered a contusion on his left knee. Apparently, there is a pipe between the padding and the wall, and that’s where his knee hit.
… Austin Meadows drove in the first Tigers run with a sacrifice fly, and minor-league camper Diego Rincones slapped an RBI single in the eighth for the second run.
… Alex Lange threw his third scoreless inning of the spring. He got three swings-and-misses on three swings and misses on three curveballs and two whiffs on three changeups. When he’s landing both, and throwing it off a 96-mph two-seam fastball, he’s almost unhittable. Last year, the average velocity on his changeup was 90 mph. On Wednesday, it was 88. That extra 2 mph differential off the heater is significant.
Twitter: @cmccosky