TREVOR BAUER: SPRING TRAINING WEEK 4 RECAP

TREVOR BAUER: SPRING TRAINING WEEK 4 RECAP

March 22 vs. Seattle Mariners

Trevor Bauer’s outing against the Mariners started exceptionally well. Through the first inning, Bauer was locating his pitches well and had his fastball working for him. He struck out the inning’s first two hitters and got the third to ground out, setting the side down in order on 14 pitches. 

The second and third inning looked about the same for Bauer. Through the first two innings of the game, Bauer had struck out four batters. He worked his fastball in on the hands of right-handed batters a bit, and as we all saw, Will Smith’s frame job was on point that night too. Bauer set the side down in order in the third on 13 pitches.  He also sat down the first nine batters he faced.

In the fourth inning, the Mariners picked up their first hit of the game with a ground ball base hit back up the middle. But again, Bauer would strikeout the next batter he faced to end the inning. At this point through four innings, he had only surrendered one hit while striking out five. Bauer looked tremendous, and his stuff looked like it was working very well for him. 

Then the fifth came around. The Mariners had their first runner in scoring position when they led the inning off with a double. From that moment, the rest of the inning completely got away from Bauer. He gave up four straight hits (two doubles, two home runs) before getting the first out of the inning. He gave up another solo home run, and that’s when Roberts decided he’d seen enough, and Bauer was pulled from the game with one out in the inning.

When the game was over, Bauer spoke to the media about his outing.  He didn’t seem concerned one bit. Bauer was quoted saying, “I got exactly what I wanted out of tonight. The fifth inning, I was just throwing pitches, and there really wasn’t any thought about sequencing.” A lot of fans weren’t happy with this answer which I totally understand, but at the same time, it’s also only spring training. We hear it repeatedly that these players feel like they play too many games and that they’re working on mechanics and staying healthy for the upcoming season. If Bauer can locate his fastball and breaking ball like he was in innings one through four, there shouldn’t be much for concern.

Bauer’s final line against the Mariners: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 3 HR

March 27 vs. Cleveland Indians

Bauer’s outing against the Indians on Saturday didn’t start great, but he finished up much better than he began. The leadoff hitter reached on a throwing error from Ríos before Bauer struck out Hernandez on a nasty breaking ball. Followed by an 11-pitch walk and a double, the Dodgers were down 2-0 in the first. He’d rack up his second strikeout of the inning before hitting Naylor with a pitch. Because of the new rule for spring training this year, Bauer didn’t even make it out of the first inning after laboring for 33 pitches. Vesia came in and was able to complete the inning.

Bauer came back out in the second inning and looked much better – retiring the side on 13 pitches. The third inning went even better for him when he set the Indians down in order on six pitches. He would also take his first at-bat of spring and hit a grounder back up the middle that almost made its way to the outfield for a base hit, but Bauer did move the runner to third on the ground out. 

Bauer mowed through the Indians again in the fourth inning, striking out Jake Bauers looking and retiring the side on seven pitches. In the early innings of this one, Bauer’s breaking ball didn’t have much break to it outside of a couple. He continued to leave it hanging over the plate, and his frustration with himself was obvious. In the fifth inning, he had his breaking ball working beautifully. He had another 1-2-3 inning and struck out two Indians on his breaking pitch.

The sixth inning was Bauer’s final of the outing, and after giving up a solo shot to Hernandez, he had some fun with Jose Ramirez at the plate. Bauer went back to pitching with one eye closed against his former teammate and even took it one step further by telling Ramirez what pitch was coming. Bauer would go onto win the battle blowing a fastball by Ramirez (which he knew was coming) and then yelling and throwing his arms into the air to celebrate beating Ramirez at the plate. I’m all for players having fun while playing, even in a pointless spring training game. Bauer would finish out the sixth inning and end his night after 90 pitches.

One big takeaway from all of this is the fact Bauer isn’t walking batters. Over these last two outings (10 innings), he has only walked one batter. Bauer will make his next start on Friday against the Colorado Rockies when the games start to matter. If his breaking ball doesn’t break in Colorado, he could find himself in a lot of trouble. Let’s all hope that’s not the case, and the Dodgers start the season with a couple of wins under their belts.

Bauer’s final line against the Indians: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

For Bauer’s week 3 recap, click here. For Bauer’s stats this spring, click here.

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY sports