Spring Training 2010
Maloney throws 3 scoreless
By C. Trent Rosecrans, CNATI.com Posted March 14, 2010 7:19 PM ET
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Matt Maloney didn't hurt his cause in the race for the Reds' fifth starter on Sunday, throwing three shutout innings in the Reds' 5-5 tie against the White Sox.
Making his third appearance of the spring, Maloney made his first start in Arizona.
"It felt good to get out there and get into the routine of starting and get a good rhythm going," Maloney said. "I've been starting my whole career and it's what I'm accustomed to doing, so it's nice to be able to get into the routine that I'm used to."
Maloney relieved Mike Lincoln in the first spring game, pitching 1.2 innings, striking out two. He didn't fair as well on Tuesday, when he gave up four hits and four runs while getting just two outs.
Sunday, he struck out the first batter he faced, White Sox outfielder Jordan Danks. He finished with two strikeouts, allowed three hits and walked two batters in three innings.
"I wanted to get my innings in, that was the thing last time, I couldn't get through my inning," Maloney said. "It's just not doing my job, leaving the ball up and pitching out of the zone. I tried to really focus on keeping the ball in the zone and not overthrowing."
What was working best for Maloney on Sunday was his pickoff move. Twice in just two innings, the lefty erased base runners by throwing over to first.
Maloney said his pickoff move hasn't been one of the best parts of his game, but has been working on it. Both pickoffs were called by the bench, he said.
Maloney is one of several pitchers vying for the fifth spot in the rotation. Another, Mike Lincoln, starts today against Oakland, opposite Ben Sheets. Justin Lehr threw one inning on Sunday and allowed a hit and a run, while walking one. Kip Wells gave up a walk in his inning of work. Another fifth starter candidate, Aroldis Chapman, will start Wednesday afternoon against the Brewers.
"It's a good competition, there's a lot of dynamics between the pitchers, they have different stuff and I just try to go out there and do what I do. We'll see where that takes me," Maloney said. "I'm just going out and doing my job, that's all I can do. I've learned from my last two years that the more I think about something I can't control, the worse off I'm going to be. I'm just taking it day-by-day and doing my job the best I can."
Brandon Phillips picked up his first two hits of the spring, including a home run, and three RBIs.
"He's been hitting the ball well. It' not like he'd been topping the ball," Dusty Baker said.
Jordan Smith pitched the ninth and allowed four two-out runs, including a game-tying RBI triple by Alejandro De Aza. It started with a two-out walk. After the Reds played a "B" game earlier in the day, a 4-3 victory over the Indians, the team was out of pitchers once the game was tied, as were the White Sox. So when the Reds failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, the teams settled for the tie.
"If you're going to learn to be a closer, (Smith) learned a valuable lesson there," Baker said. "When you've got a big lead and walk that guy in the ninth and he had another guy 0-2 and came inside on him, you've got to make him go the other way and make him hit the ball out of here to tie the game up. There's some lessons to be learned out here. This young man doesn't like getting hit. We know he has the stuff. That was a valuable lesson for him."
Categories: Cincinnati Reds, Featured Stories, Spring Training 2010
Tags: Dusty Baker, Jordan Smith, Justin Lehr, Kip Wells, Matt Maloney
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