Contreras’ winning formula? Trust in his slider

PITTSBURGH — Roansy Contreras has extra belief in his slider this 12 months in comparison with final 12 months, and on nights like Thursday, that belief was rewarded. 

Contreras not solely allowed one lone run throughout 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts within the Pirates’ 4-3 win over the Reds at PNC Park, the tenth consecutive high quality begin by Pittsburgh’s rotation, however he additionally generated a career-high 14 whiffs along with his slider, the most recent demonstration of the 23-year-old’s evolution. 

“I feel pretty comfortable with the slider right now as my second pitch,” Contreras stated via crew interpreter Stephen Morales. “That’s given me the boldness to throw it any time in any depend.” 

Along with producing so many swings and misses, Contreras crammed up the zone along with his slider, totaling a career-high 9 referred to as strikes. It shouldn’t come as a shock, then, that each one eight of Contreras’s strikeouts got here through the slider — seven swinging, one wanting. Contreras wasn’t afraid to spam sliders both; towards the Reds, there have been 4 cases during which Contreras threw a minimum of 5 consecutive sliders.

“In my opinion, I feel like he didn’t have his best stuff tonight. It still looked the way it did,” stated third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. “Whenever he obtained behind, he was in a position to get that floor ball and in the end got here up with some large strikeouts. It’s simply enjoyable to see him throw every time he’s on the market. I really feel like we develop each time he takes the mound.”

Added Reds supervisor David Bell: “He has a great fastball, however his slider was glorious. It was powerful hitting. You do have to offer them credit score.”

After throwing 50 sliders within the collection opener, the pitch now accounts for 45.7 p.c of these Contreras has thrown this season. In 2022, by comparability, Contreras threw his slider 34.2 p.c of the time. While the soar from ‘22 to ‘23 is stark, this development of elevated slider utilization dates again to final summer season.

In June 2022, his first full month on the Major League stage, Contreras threw his four-seamer 50.9 p.c of the time and his slider 29.3 p.c of the time. In September 2022, in contrast, Contreras threw his four-seam fastball 42.4 p.c of the time and his slider 43.3 p.c of the time. That was the the primary month during which he threw extra sliders than fastballs. In his first 4 begins this season, Contreras is continuous to construct on that system.

“Trust is the key word there; trust the ability to execute pitches at any time,” said manager Derek Shelton. “I think he has that trust in the slider now, that he can go to it as a strike pitch and it’s not just a chase pitch.”

“That’s probably the evolution of baseball right now,” stated catcher Austin Hedges. “You’ve got to be able to spin the ball whenever you can. Guys in this league hit fastballs. If you can’t hit a fastball in this league, it’s tough to play in the big leagues. When you’re behind in the count and fastball counts, if you can be able to rip a slider, that’s how you last in this league. He showed today that he’s got the ability to do that.” 

The solely little bit of hassle Contreras discovered himself in on Thursday got here within the seventh inning, the place he obtained a lift from his protection and his bullpen.

After permitting a single to Jake Fraley and strolling Tyler Stephenson to start the inning, Contreras induced a 5-4-3 double play, with third baseman Hayes making a Gold Glove-caliber slick cease on one finish and first baseman Carlos Santana making a textbook choose on the opposite finish. Jason Vosler ended Contreras’ night time with an RBI single, the one blemish on his line, however Robert Stephenson got here on in aid and struck out Nick Senzel to finish the inning. 

“I kind of just blacked out,” Hayes stated of the double play. “Athleticism kind of took over. I actually watched it back. I didn’t really realize what I did.”

“That’s why he’s one of the best defenders on the planet,” Shelton stated. “There’s probably two guys in baseball that make that play.”

With Thursday’s outing, Contreras has thrown back-to-back high quality begins for the primary time in his Major League profession, after having simply three final season. He continues to develop along with his slider in tow, and with a full season’s workload forward of him, will probably be price watching what number of strides he makes.