Josh Tomlin vs Los Angeles Angels (September 8th and 14th, 2010)

On September 8, 2010, Josh Tomlin and the Cleveland Indians took on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 7:00 EST start.  If you are like me, a baseball junkie, you were happy to have an early evening to conclude the West Coast Trip. after several late nights  Of course, the game ended up going 16 innings and ending with a Tribe loss 4-3 on a sac fly after the calender had flipped to September 9, 2010 on the East Coast.  Tomlin would have an opportunity to face the Angels again last evening (September 14, 2010) in Cleveland.

The lineups were essentially the same for both Tomlin starts, with the only difference being Howie Kendrick and Hideki Matsui  rather than Kevin Frandsen and Reggie Willits.  Let's take a look at how Tomlin approached each starts.

Tomlins final line on September 8, 2010 was 6 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, and he allowed 2 HR. Tomlins final line on September 14, 2010 was 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 7H, 1 BB, 4 K, and he allowed 0 HR.

On September 8, 2010, Tomlin would work 6 innings and throw 88 pitches.   He would throw 63% (56 pitches) for strikes.  The pitching breakdown was as follows: fastball 50%, the sinker 11.3%, the changeup, the changeup 6.8%, the curveball 9.1%, and the cutter 22.7%.  Tomlin would have a swing and a miss of 7.9% and he would get the majority of the swing and misses on his cutter.

On September 14, 2010, Tomlin would work 6.2 innings and throw 100 pitches.  He would throw 66% (66 pitches) for strikes.   The pitching breakdown was as follows: fastball 38%, the sinker 22%, , the changeup 9%, the curveball 12%, and the cutter 19%.  Tomlin would have a swing and a miss of 7% and like his last start versus the Angels,  hewould get the majority of the swing and misses on his cutter.

As evident by the similar swing and miss percentage, Tomlin wasn't any more crafty on the September 14th start compared to the September 8th start.   It appears as if the biggest change between the first start and the second start was in the amount of fastballs thrown,  Tomlin was able to keep the Angel hitters (and arguably a better lineup) off balance by  attacking the same lineup with a different arsenal.   Tomlin was rewarded with a victory when his bullpen was able to keep the lead and the Indians won 4-3.