Stat Line: 8 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 4 SO, 2 BB
Last night, Jon Niese recorded his first win since May 9th in the New York Mets 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. During this article, I will explain how the variance in Niese fastball movement and velocity led to his success yesterday evening.
Two-seam, Four-seam and Cut Fastball
Niese looked like a mid-90’s Tom Glavine, commanding his fastball well on both sides of the plate and keeping the ball low in the strike zone which resulted in an extremely successful 76.2% ground ball rate. Brandon Belt was the only Giants hitter to lift a ball with hard contact as he lined out to Mets centerfielder Juan Lagares in the fifth inning.
Most impressive was the constant mix between Niese’s repertoire of fastballs, as he threw 13 two-seam fastballs, 27 four-seam fastballs and 28 cut-fastballs (also referred to as cutters). Although each of these fastballs varies in movement, they all have very similar spin, which makes it difficult for a hitter to decipher the difference between them.
Additionally, each fastball contains diverse late and sharp movement as a two-seam fastball with move back towards the pitchers throwing arm side while a cutter will move away from the pitchers throwing arm side. A four-seam fastball will stay straight and accelerate throw the strike zone with maximum possible velocity.
Sixth Inning Scares
Niese bit the bullet during the sixth inning after giving up back-to-back two-out walks to load the bases for perennial All-Star Buster Posey who had a .500 batting average with two homeruns and 10 RBI this season with the bases loaded coming into that at-bat.
Niese has continued to struggle in the sixth inning this season as Niese has walked seven hitters and allowed nine earned runs over 11 innings pitched resulting in a 7.36 ERA.
Stat of the Night: “Get Ahead, Stay Ahead”
Niese only went to a two or more balls count in five of the 29 Giants plate appearances. Additionally, Niese threw a first pitch strike against 19 of the 29 Giants hitters he faced (65% first pitch strike rate).
Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.
