In November, the day after the Braves got Shelby Miller (and pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins) from the Cardinals in a trade for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden, Miller did a conference call with Atlanta reporters. He was asked about his dramatic statistical improvement late in the 2014 season.
“About halfway through the year I started mixing in a sinker, at the All-Star break,” he said. “I felt like that really took me to the next level as far as pitching, mixing that pitch in. … I think I’ll definitely bring that to the table and be the best pitcher I can be (with the Braves), more than a thrower. I’m here to pitch; I’ve been a thrower in the past.”
The best pitcher he can be? It looks as if Miller is well on his way. He threw a three-hit, 99-pitch shutout against the Phillies on Tuesday, with one walk and eight strikeouts, becoming the first major league pitcher this season to throw a nine-inning complete game in fewer than 100 pitches.
Miller is 4-1 with a 1.66 ERA in six starts for the Braves, with two earned runs or fewer allowed in each. He’s clearly been the top performer in a rotation that otherwise has not lived up to expectations, its other members posting a collective 4.79 ERA in 22 starts.
Through Wednesday, Miller ranked third among National League qualifiers in ERA, fifth in opponents’ average (.178), tied for fifth in opponents’ slugging percentage (.296), and sixth in opponents’ OPS (.551).
The sinker helped reverse Miller’s fortunes last summer. He had been a Cardinals rookie phenom, posting a 1.98 ERA and .202 opponents’ average in his first 20 games (15 starts) from September 2012 through mid-June 2013, while collecting 112 strikeouts and 23 walks in 100 innings.
But from mid-June 2013 through mid-August 2014, he slipped to 15-14 with a 4.17 ERA and .254 OA in 42 games, and had 162 strikeouts with an alarming 102 walks (and 31 homers allowed) in 226 2/3 innings.
Things began to click again once he got comfortable throwing a sinker, which made his other pitches more effective.
“Justin Masterson came over from Cleveland and was with us (Cardinals) for that time, and I just picked up on what he was throwing,” Miller said. “He’s a guy who’s had a good sinker in the past, and I just kind of tried his grip out and was comfortable with it, and I really started throwing that pitch a lot. I started going deeper into games and being a little bit more efficient.”
Go back and re-read those stats from Miller’s 42 games through mid-August 2014. Now consider what he’s done in 13 starts since: 6-1 with a 1.88 ERA, .184 opponents’ average, 63 strikeouts and 22 walks in 81 1/3 innings.
In his past 11 starts he’s 6-1 with a 1.58 ERA, and his team failed to score while he was in during the five games he didn’t win in that period.
The sinker has helped Miller, 24, regain his status as one of the game’s elite young pitchers.
“It just makes the hitters have to think about more pitches,” said veteran A.J. Pierzynski, who caught some of Miller’s starts last season in St. Louis and has caught three of his best this season, including Tuesday. “When you only have a couple of pitches to worry about as a hitter you can start to eliminate things. But when you have three or four things going through your head — he might throw this, he might throw that — it just changes your demeanor as a hitter.
“And he’s done a great job of doing that and continuing to get better.”
Well-traveled Braves veteran Kelly Johnson recalled facing Miller before he developed the sinker.
“What I remember is definitely more straight heater (four-seam fastball),” Johnson said. “I don’t know where he was last year when I saw him, as far as physically or mentally. But you see the talent that has been hyped and people have talked about forever. It’s in there, and he’s showing it. It’s so nice when you get guys who get on the mound and throw strikes and work quick. They just continue to feed off their own momentum and execution.”
Learning, growing. The sinker was instrumental in helping Miller get his groove back.
“Yeah, it was a pitch that I definitely kind of ran with pretty quick,” he said. “I’ve been told my whole career, through Adam Wainwright and guys who’ve come through the (Cardinals) system, that it’s a pitch I was going to need in the future. So I just started using it, and it was a huge help to me. Big-league hitters will adjust to (four-seam fastballs).”
Johnson homered, drove in four runs and got his 1,000th career hit Tuesday. But the night still belonged to Miller.
“Shelby threw unbelievable,” Johnson said. “That’s how you pitch. That’s textbook. You could tell right away that he had ‘A’ stuff. It certainly makes it easy to play behind him when you’re not on your feet too much out there. Come back in and get to raking. Fun night to be part of that.”
With Miller under contractual control through 2018, the Braves hope to enjoy plenty more similar nights.
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