There was good and not so good aspects of Bubba Chandler's season debut here tonight at Great American Ball Park.
The good: Zero hits allowed, six strikeouts, a fastball that averaged around 99 mph and 13 pitches that reached triple digits.
The not so good: A career-high six walks for a guy who struggled with command in the minors before walking just four batters in 31 1/3 innings in the big leagues late last season. A positive development before he again struggled with command at times this spring.
Ultimately, Chandler did what he had to. He limited the Reds to an unearned run in the third inning and, despite loading the bases with three walks in the fifth, ended his outing with an ERA that remains at 0.00. Like BraxtonAshcraft did in game one of this series, he put his team in a position to compete for a win.
"I just wasn't executing," Chandler said. "The confidence was probably not where it needed to be. We had a great lead. My job is to go out there and three up, three down, quick innings, let our boys get back in and hit. I think as the game went on, it was more about trying to go do something, rather than just going out there and doing it. Picking the leg up, putting it down and having fun and get back in the dugout quick. I hate that I kinda had us out there for a little longer than we should have been. But everybody played great. Excited we got the win.”
THE ASYLUM
Chandler's odd season debut
There was good and not so good aspects of Bubba Chandler's season debut here tonight at Great American Ball Park.
The good: Zero hits allowed, six strikeouts, a fastball that averaged around 99 mph and 13 pitches that reached triple digits.
The not so good: A career-high six walks for a guy who struggled with command in the minors before walking just four batters in 31 1/3 innings in the big leagues late last season. A positive development before he again struggled with command at times this spring.
Ultimately, Chandler did what he had to. He limited the Reds to an unearned run in the third inning and, despite loading the bases with three walks in the fifth, ended his outing with an ERA that remains at 0.00. Like Braxton Ashcraft did in game one of this series, he put his team in a position to compete for a win.
"I just wasn't executing," Chandler said. "The confidence was probably not where it needed to be. We had a great lead. My job is to go out there and three up, three down, quick innings, let our boys get back in and hit. I think as the game went on, it was more about trying to go do something, rather than just going out there and doing it. Picking the leg up, putting it down and having fun and get back in the dugout quick. I hate that I kinda had us out there for a little longer than we should have been. But everybody played great. Excited we got the win.”
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