Seth Lugo limited damage by pitching out of tight spots but took the loss against Toronto on Saturday.
It was a tale of two halves for the duration of Seth Lugo’s start on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field. A crisp, quick start with just 17 pitches used in the first two innings gave way to a scuffle over his last couple of frames.
In total, Lugo did a great job of damage control and pitching out of some tight spots. He went 5.1 innings and allowed three runs (one inherited runner scored in the sixth). He allowed seven hits and one walk on 91 pitches. Lugo also racked up five strikeouts.
After setting a great tone early, Lugo lost command of the strike zone at a critical juncture.
He had three-ball counts against four batters between the fourth and fifth inning. That included falling behind to the first two batters in the fifth (Alejandro Kirk and Joe Panik).
He pitched more off his fastball tonight against Blue Jays hitters (40 four-seamers, 30 two-seamers). But most importantly, he was able to get early contact.
Another note is that Lugo wasn’t missing most of those pitches in the fourth and fifth by a lot. In any event, the Blue Jays were able to take advantage enough to get the runs they needed that ultimately sealed the win.
Lugo is pretty much stretched out at this point and he has to continue to remain in the rotation at least for the rest of this year. He will have two more turns scheduled in the rotation for the 2020 season. He is currently lined up to face Atlanta and Tampa Bay.
