Guardians News: Triston McKenzie Throws Two Scoreless Innings In First Spring Training Start

Triston McKenzie pitched two scoreless innings in his first start of spring training.

A year ago during spring training, Triston McKenzie felt some discomfort in his shoulder. This ended up spiraling into a season in which he only made four starts for the Cleveland Guardians. 

Sticks is looking to have a bounce-back season in 2024 and that all starts with ramping up for the year in spring training. 

McKenzie made his first start of camp on Wednesday afternoon and looked pretty sharp in the short appearance. Sticks pitched 2.0 innings, gave up just one hit, issued zero walks, struck out two, and gave up zero runs. 

The stats are all great, but there's a mental side to the game too which is just as important. For McKenzie, he was just glad to be back on the mound pitching with his team behind him.

"It's always good to get out there and compete with the guys," said McKenzie following his start. "Especially after last year, it's good to get out there and feel good for a game and have some of the guys behind me and just have some resemblance of normality."

Stephen Vogt complimented McKenzie's command and also his ability to manage trouble when he got it on the bases. 

"Triston threw the ball well," said Vogt. "He had all of his pitches working. The way he controlled the running game was incredible, he's really put an emphasis on that. Couldn't be happier with that first outing for Triston."

Mar 16, 2023; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Triston McKenzie against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training game at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

McKenzie's last full season was in 2022 where he finished the year with a 2.96 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in 191.1 innings pitched. Cleveland's rotation could easily be one of the best in baseball if they can get him back to that level for 2024.