Chris Assenheimer
The Chronicle-Telegram
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Mitch Talbot finally offered up a positive pitching performance Tuesday at Goodyear Ballpark, easing some fears within the Indians organization, including his own.
After struggling mightily in his first three exhibition appearances, Talbot, the Indians’ third starter, rescued his sinking ship a bit by allowing just a run on six hits over five innings of Cleveland’s 9-7 win over the Brewers at Goodyear Ballpark.
Talbot struck out three and didn’t walk a batter, but more importantly, he relocated his confidence.
“The first couple (outings), you’re like, ‘whatever, it’s spring training,”’ said Talbot, who entered his fourth start Tuesday after allowing 14 runs, 15 hits and four walks over his first three outings covering 6 2/3 innings. “But when you can’t throw a pitch that you’ve thrown over and over again, it makes you a little nervous that you’re never going to find it. Once you find it, there’s a little weight off your shoulders. It’s kind of like getting your first win.
“I was wondering what was going on.”
Manager Manny Acta must have had the same thoughts after watching one of his top starting pitchers from last year perform brutally out of the gate.
“Mitch was better today,” Acta said. “He was up in the zone early but got into a nice groove. It was a good outing for him. “Everybody wants to perform every day. I don’t think it’s easy to go through all of spring training struggling, and then try to turn the switch on at the end. It was good for him.”
It appeared Talbot was en route to another shoddy start when Milwaukee’s leadoff hitter, second baseman Rickie Weeks, started the game with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly two batters into his outing.
But Talbot didn’t allow a run the rest of the way, finishing his outing with gusto by retiring the last six batters he faced.
The second-year starter, who went 10-13 with a 4.41 ERA in 28 starts as a rookie in 2010, chalked up the early struggles to a bad release point. Talbot said he was releasing the ball too soon, which prohibited him from finishing his pitches, and as a result, caused them to elevate.
He located the problem while warming up to start the fourth inning.
“That’s kind of where I found it. I got that feel,” said Talbot, who allowed four of his hits over the first two innings. “Belch (pitching coach Tim Belcher) said to work as hard as I have all spring in these last two innings. For whatever reason, I reached out, and there it was.
“The slider was tighter. Everything was better.”
Talbot, 27, came out of nowhere to win a job in Cleveland’s rotation last year, following a sparkling exhibition effort. He carried that into the regular season, where he was one of the American League’s top rookie pitchers, ranking second in wins, third in starts, strikeouts (88) and innings (159 1/3) and fourth in ERA.
Talbot came to camp this spring with a job locked up, no matter how well he pitched during the exhibition season.
“Luckily for me, I have that spot where they expect me to find it,” Talbot said. “Last year, I might have wound up in the bullpen. That would have been a big difference for my season.”
Talbot doesn’t have to worry about that, and if his effort Tuesday is any indication, he can put his sorry start to spring training behind him as well.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
