Cleveland Baseball Insider

Triston McKenzie Continues To Impress Against The Houston Astros

Triston McKenzie's dominant performance against the Houston Astros continues his season trend of consistent pitching.

Tommy Wild

In this story:

Triston McKenzie is turning into something special and it's so much fun to witness! 

Overall, the Guardians' pitching has not been what everyone thought it was going to be this year. Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale have both struggled with command, and Cal Quantrill and Zach Plesac have both been fairly average. But Triston McKenzie, who was considered the fifth starter in the rotation before the season began, might now be considered the team’s ace.

McKenzie’s dominance was on display last night as he cruised through the Houston Astro’s lineup. He pitched a total of seven innings and had three strikeouts, one walk, three hits, and one earned run. The only run he gave up was to Alex Bregman, who hit a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the seventh. 

This performance is even more impressive considering that this is almost the same Astros lineup that played in the World Series just a few months ago.

After the game, Tito said “…he really pitched well, he really did. He was aggressive with his fastball, good off-speed, basically really pitched.” Tito is right about the fastball, McKenzie through it for 57 percent of his pitches which shows the command he had over the zone. 

Catcher Luke Maile added that "(McKenzie) is taking care of himself. The guy with the ball, if he executes, it doesn't really matter who's back there." 

Last night was not an anomaly for McKenzie though. He has been pitching at a high level the entire year. Including last night’s game, McKenzie now has a 2.70 ERA and a WHIP of 0.90 on the season. His opponents' batting average against him is a .181 which ranks fourth in the American League. 

McKenzie ended 2021 strong and it appears that this has carried over into 2022. With the rest of the rotation being shaky, McKenzie continues to give the team consistent and dominant outings.

Don’t be surprised if in a short time he is considered to be the Guardians’ new ace.

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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