Jake Irvin appeared in his first two games as a reliever this spring, but the 27-year-old right-hander struggled, giving up two hits, four kills, two hits and one run, forcing a timeout in the first inning, but then giving up just one run. I forgave him.Total of 5 hits, 2 walks, 7 runs allowed, 6 earned runs, 1 run allowed. 2⁄3 He took the mound for the second time in the inning.
“He was a little faster and flying open,” Davey Martinez said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNafter Irvin threw 50 pitches in one inning. 2⁄3 IP in second appearance.
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire, Getty Images
“We have to get him to relax a little bit,” the Nats captain continued.
“He’s working on a lot of different second pitches. I’m going to sit down and talk to him: His next game, just get the ball in the zone and move on.”
Coach Martinez decided to send Irvin out as the No. 3 starter after piggybacking on starter Mackenzie Gore, making the decision to start the southpaw before Irvin pitched his first two innings.
“Irvin is coming out of the bullpen,” the manager explained.
“Now we just have to cheer him up. Now I want him to start. [Gore and Irvin are] both [pitching] On the same day, [a day] When I get off, I have another day off, so it’s going to be good. ”
Irvin, a 2018 fourth-round pick, will start 24 games for the Nationals in 2023, hitting .255/.340/.431 with a 4.61 ERA, 5.31 FIP, 54 walks, and 99 strikeouts in 121 IP. I left a mark. He performed well late in the season, posting a 2.65 ERA, 4.64 FIP, and .226/.300/.387 batting average in six games from early August to early September.
He ended his first appearance in the majors after struggling in consecutive games.
Irvin told MASN’s Bobby Blanco. He didn’t focus on his performance after the first two games of the year, focusing solely on earning a rotation spot in 2024.
“Right now we’re just trying to compete and build our team,” Irvin said.
“A big focus for me this offseason was the changeup and the new cutter we added, so we’re working on that a lot. But overall, it’s just getting hitters out.”
Despite his improvement last season and the fact that he started 24 games and was able to establish himself in the majors, Irvin is taking nothing for granted and is betting on a spot in the ’23 Nationals’ rotation. He said he was fighting.
“Nothing will be handed to us,” he said. “And at the end of the day, we have to go out there and compete and still show that we have earned the role.”
He hoped the restart would be a little easier considering he has started 85 of 89 games as a pro.
“I’m not used to coming out of the pen. It’s different for me. But it’s one of those things you have to deal with. Take the ball whenever your name is called. But yeah. Well, it’s a good place to start.”
Irvin, who was given his first chance to start on Thursday, pitched four scoreless innings, throwing 51 pitches, 37 of which were strikeouts, and he struck out five batters without allowing a walk.
He threw 45% of his fastballs (23 of 51 pitches), averaged just under 96 mph with his four-seamer, 13 curveballs (25%), 8 cutters (16%), and 7 sinkers (14%). mixed. Good pitching from a right-handed pitcher.
“It was good to get back into that routine again,” Irvin said of the restart. Quoted by Mr. Blanco of MASNafter eventually losing 3-1 to New York. mets.
“The goal is to get into attack mode and keep attacking all night, and I think we did a good job.
“(Catcher Drew Millas) and I had a really good game plan and we executed really well.”
“Jake was good,” coach Davey Martinez said. “He was very good, very talented. His fastball was alive. He threw the ball over the plate most of the time. His cutter was good. He didn’t throw a changeup today. I just wanted to practice my cutter.”
Irvin was really happy with the result of the cutter he threw.
“The cutter is going to be a weapon,” Irvin said. “I’m really excited. I pitched really well today and built a lot of confidence by throwing to batters. I know that’s something we want to emphasize in the future and we showed a lot of that today.” I’m glad I was able to take advantage of it.”
“His fastball was really good,” Martinez added. “He was able to get his breaking ball down for a strike. That’s really good. It’s a good outing.”
