Royals’ Game 3 starting pitcher Yordano Ventura‘s fastball can reach 100 mph.
He pitched seven scoreless innings in Game 6 of the World Series last year, with the Royals facing elimination. However, he’s winless in four postseason starts in 2015.
Ventura, 24, started the regular season just 5-7, but rebounded to go 8-1 down the stretch.
“I just kept working hard, the same work ethic every single day, same thing, kind of pushing through it, knowing it was going to turn around eventually,” he said about his season’s rocky beginning.
He has made four starts this postseason, during which he’s allowed 10 runs and 20 hits, while striking out 21 in 17 innings.
“I feel ready to go. This a great spot to be in, 2-0,’’ Ventura said Thursday. “But, I also know that we are coming into their park. The fans are going to show up and they play good baseball here. We are confident, but we’re ready to just get it done.’’
Ventura’s teammates told Newsday that he often gets fired up in unfriendly ballparks, which they take as a good sign for his start Friday at Citi Field (Oct. 30, 2015).
“I don’t know why, necessarily, but he’s got a lot of mettle, a lot of heart,” Ben Zobrist said, talking to reporters this week. “No matter what’s going on around him, he’s ready to do his job.”
Matthew Cerrone
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Ventura can be flamboyant. He irritates opposing hitters with big fist pumps and colorful celebrations when he’s successful. It has resulted in a few bench-clearing brawls when he’s on the mound. I have to think everyone will keep their cool tonight. However, down 0-2, if the Mets are losing and this kid is doing well, and being cocky about, it’s not going to be pretty.
In terms of his game, the kid has an electric, upper-90s fastball and a hard, 12-6 curveball that breaks so much it frequently hits the back of the plate. It’s nasty, and doesn’t have a high arc, it’s just tight, straight and then rolls right off the table. In the minors, they called him Lil’ Pedro, because, with such a small, wiry frame, incredible break on his pitches and dominant velocity, he is reminiscent of Pedro Martinez. The missing ingredient, though, is that he doesn’t always have command of his stuff, and certainly not like Pedro always did. He can often be up in the zone, and gets visibly frustrated with a small strike zone.
In all seriousness, I think Mets players and fans need to use this to our advantage. Yordano gets flustered. He’s emotional. And, he doesn’t always react well, frequently coming unglued and losing his grip on the game when things get difficult. So, if the Mets get on base, it might be smart to antagonize Ventura, take leads and dance around the bases, especially if on third. They should step out of the box a lot and throw off his rhythm. And, if he’s wild, put the bat down, take pitches and force him to get on track. Lastly, in the stands, we need to be loud and rowdy, taunting him and creating fever pitches to try and rattle his cage. In most cases, this is hyperbole and doesn’t really matter. However, in the case of Ventura, it might help…
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