Dodgers veteran Masterson posts seven zeros
Through injuries limited his time on the mound over the past two seasons, Justin Masterson knew the kind of pitcher he wanted to be again. He flashed that form Monday.A healthy Masterson allowed one hit and one walk over seven innings during his longest start in almost exactly two years as
Through injuries limited his time on the mound over the past two seasons, Justin Masterson knew the kind of pitcher he wanted to be again.
He flashed that form Monday.
A healthy Masterson allowed one hit and one walk over seven innings during his longest start in almost exactly two years as Triple-A Oklahoma City blanked Memphis, 3-0, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
"It's just nice to be able to go out there and have consistency, to actually have an idea of where the ball is going and to be able to repeat that," said the right-hander, who's won 64 games in the Major Leagues. "I'm grateful to be in that spot right now, and hopefully it continues. You never know as things continue to go, but I'm thankful. I feel good."
Box score
If the 32-year-old righty carries on what he did against the Redbirds, the Dodgers will be thrilled. Masterson (2-1) yielded a one-out double in the first inning to Chad Huffman before retiring 17 of the next 18 batters. Memphis' Luke Voit reached on a fielding error by shortstop Charlie Culberson in the fourth, but was stranded at first.
The bounceback outing signaled good things to the San Diego State University product.
"I came out my last game, and my first inning was really, really good," he said of his loss to Nashville on April 18, when he allowed three earned runs on five hits over four innings. "Then the next three innings were uncomfortable, not really together, so the goal today was to make sure that we stayed consistent. I went out from the get-go, the double was a slider that just hung up in the zone. My boy, Chad Huffman, just crushed it to the wall. After that, I just started pounding the sinker."
Masterson didn't have much time between innings to worry about things other than keeping his strong night going. Across from him, No. 28 Cardinals prospect Chris Ellis took a shutout into the fifth.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword because you want your team to score, but you also want to get right back out there," Masterson said. "That doesn't always go hand-in-hand. The fact that the other guy's pitching well too makes it nice for that rhythm."
Bobby Wilson led off the fifth with a home run to left field, and top Dodgers prospectCody Bellinger added a run with an infield single. Ike Davis' sacrifice fly in the sixth plated the final run for the Dodgers.
"The boys ended up putting it together," Masterson said. "Everything kind of went the way it was supposed to in the game of baseball, which doesn't always happen, especially this early in a season."
The native of Jamaica issued his only walk to Tommy Pham leading off the seventh, but later worked out of the inning after Pham stole second base by getting Harrison Bader to ground out to shortstop and Paul DeJong to fly out to right field.
Monday's effort was Masterson's first seven-inning performance since failing to record a decision on April 25, 2015 with Boston at Baltimore.
"I'm just really trying to take the time to repeat my delivery, do what I need to," said Masterson, who struck out five. "We were under control. The sinker was moving really good. That's pretty much the tale of the tape. It was going left-right, up-down sometimes.
"I was able to throw it a little bit harder, throw it a little bit softer, just keep their guys [on] their toes. And honestly, I had some really good defense. That's, as a sinkerballer, what makes you look best."
Masterson was a 2013 All-Star with Cleveland, going 14-10 with a 3.45 ERA and three shutouts before being derailed by injuries. He tore his oblique at the end of that season and battled various shoulder ailments over the next two years. He signed with the Red Sox in 2015 -- "even with a shoulder that wasn't the best" -- and put up a 5.61 ERA in 18 outings.
Then he went back to the drawing board in the Pirates organization.
"Last year was a time when I was able to just try to rehab, work through some bad habits that I created pitching hurt for two years," said Masterson, who made 25 appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis and one with Class A Advanced Bradenton. "The goal was to hopefully try and have the fruits of that work from last year to show this year. So far, it has."
Steve Geltz allowed one hit over the final two innings for his first save of the year.
Tyler Maun is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @TylerMaun.
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