Sunday brought the successful end of the Dodgers Home Opener series against the Cincinnati Reds. So successful, in fact, that the Boys in Blue swept the Reds in the four games they played at home in front of large Dodger Stadium crowds and extended their current winning streak to six games.
Spirits were high for the 41,167 on hand for the Easter Sunday afternoon matchup, which included the season’s first Viva Los Dodgers festivities. Fans enjoyed Mariachi music in the Center Field Pavilion before the game began.
Mariachis aside, 32-year-old / nine-year MLB veteran left-hander Andrew Heaney making only his second start in a Dodgers uniform was the subject on everyone’s minds, though. Evidently, something clicked for Oklahoma City, OK native and first-round draft pick in 2012 by the Miami Marlins out of OSU while building up for his Dodgers debut against the Minnesota Twins when the team was in Colorado facing the Rockies; this despite some less-than-ideal weather.
“If you have to pick one point where the light went off and just feeling good with the throw and making it his own and understanding the shape of his breaking ball, that was kind of the marker,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters.
Heaney’s line score after his April 12 Dodgers debut, where the Dodgers beat the Twins rather handily by a final score of 7-2, was pretty impressive on its own: one run on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts over his 4.1 innings of work, leaving him with a perfect 0.00 ERA.
Roberts expected Heaney to go deep into Sunday’s game, and he did not disappoint in his second start. His command of the breaking ball was a contributing factor to yet another outstanding outing, again leaving the game with a perfect 0.00 ERA. His line score against the Reds speaks for itself: no runs and only one hit, with three walks and 11 strikeouts after his 6.0 innings pitched.
“It was just a really good outing,” Roberts explained after his team’s 9-1 rout of the Reds. “Eleven punchouts. I just heard that it was his third-highest ever. It was just really good to see him build on that last outing, and today was really fun to watch – complete command.
“I think that speaks a lot to the breaking ball,” Roberts continued. “The breaking ball that he throws looks like a fastball. He can strike it, but also you’ve got a swing and miss at the fastball too.”
Heaney had a lot to say when it came to his pitches on Sunday. When asked if he had ever had two pitches to play off each other in the past like that, he acknowledged that he had not. Regarding his double-digit strikeouts, the 15th time he has done so over his nine major league seasons, he chalked that up to confidence.
“I think confidence is growing with that breaking ball,” Heaney said. “Today felt better than the last time out. I think it’s kind of one of those things that you don’t want to try and get too far ahead of yourself. You got to stay within yourself and know what you can do. I’m getting more and more comfortable with it, and that’s a good feeling.”
The Los Angeles offense showed up in full force to back up Heaney in the fourth inning. The team batted around and scored seven runs before the final out of the inning was recorded. Dodgers third baseman/designated hitter Justin Turner and first baseman Freddie Freeman agreed that “hitting is contagious,” adding that offensive bursts like that help bolster their pitcher’s confidence. When asked postgame what might have been different about Heaney today, Turner had his own take on the breaking ball topic.
“He’s got a new little slider, a pretty fun little toy that seems to be really, really effective,” Turner quipped.
Dodgers infielder Max Muncy referred to the trust they have in the Front Office, also mentioning the confidence Heaney is finding in himself.
“The last two games, you’ve seen what he can do. You know, obviously, that’s something our Front Office knew, which is why they signed him. They knew that was in there,” Muncy said. “I think it’s just getting him to believe in himself, which he definitely knows right now. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do going forward the rest of the season.”
So what’s next for the left-hander as he continues to build momentum? He plans on adding another pitch to his already potent breaking ball/fastball sequence.
“Haven’t really even mixed in the changeup all that much,” expressed Heaney. “So I think that’s kind of the next step for me is to kind of get a little bit more into a three-pitch mix, but I think the two play off each other really well.”
At the end of the day, Roberts summed it up best:
“I don’t know how the line score’s going to read going forward. He’s going to give up a run at some point,” Roberts stated matter-of-factly. “But I think that it’s going to get better because the more throws you make with the breaking ball, the more comfort you have with that. He’s getting really in sequence with the catchers. All of that stuff, and as every start that he makes, he’s building more confidence.”
Here’s to Andrew Heaney getting even better!