Mike Minor has gotten plenty of advice – from teammates, coaches and even family members. A chance to clear his head might be the biggest benefit of a skipped start as the left-hander prepares to return to the Braves rotation.
Minor is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Dodgers after he missed a turn last week amidst his struggles this season. He is scheduled to face Hyun-Jin Ryu.
“I’ve worked in the bullpen on a couple on mechanical things but, other than that, I think it’s more in my head – just going after hitters and making better pitches,” Minor said Sunday.
Minor (4-7) has a 5.42 ERA this season after he allowed five runs in five innings at the Padres in his last outing. In his past 10 starts, he has a 7.33 ERA and .357 opponents’ average while allowing 85 hits, 12 home runs and 17 walks in 54 innings.
“I felt like I slightly changed some things and then (will) try to make better pitches and attack guys and throw better breaking pitches,” Minor said. “I have struggled a little bit lately because I feel like I’ve been trying to place them a little bit more instead of throwing. I think if I just take care of that then I can turn things around.”
Minor went 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA last season. He missed the start of the season after developing shoulder tendinitis in spring training. This came after urinary tract surgery prior to spring training. Minor is hoping to finish the season strong in his final eight or nine starts.
“It’s more about having the confidence,” Minor said. “I’ve talked to a lot of guys – teammates, coaches, family members – but it just comes down to me executing pitches. I think a lot of it has just been in my head, whether I should do this or that, the way I have been attacking hitters or throwing inside or what I should be doing. I think I should do my own thing. That’s what I did last year.”
