Sam Garewal’s first appearance as a member of the Hyannis Harbor Hawks came at home against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox on July 15. The lefty allowed one hit and one walk but got out of the inning unscathed.
Hyannis ended up losing that game, 5-4, after a ninth-inning rally came up just short, with the Hawks coming ever so close to their first walk-off win of the season.
Sixteen days later, Garewal made his fifth appearance of the summer, this time taking on the Bourne Braves. He entered in the seventh inning with Hyannis trailing 3-2 at the time. Garewal had a stellar outing, allowing one hit over two innings pitched, with five of the six outs he recorded coming on strikeouts.
Also, in a case of déjà vu, Hyannis had a chance to get a walk-off win. This time worked out differently, as the Harbor Hawks finally got the elusive walk-off win with a 4-3 victory over Bourne, vaulting them into third place in the West Division.
Second-year Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker was impressed by what he saw from Garewal in his latest relief appearance.
“It feels like everything we called, he threw exactly where we wanted it,” Karraker said. “He had three pitches working, it is like playing a video game when you are doing that. It was really fun to watch him go.”
Garewal, who attacks opposing hitters with a fastball, split changeup and gyro slider, felt the command of all three pitches working against Bourne hitters, which resulted in the five strikeouts. He singled out his split changeup as his best pitch of the night.
“[The] changeup was feeling way better than usual,” Garewal said. “It was getting some good depth, was able to throw it to righties quite a bit, and it was working really well.”
Garewal arrived in Hyannis as the team was in the middle of a spiral in July, joining Stanford University teammates Ryan Speshyock and Charlie Bates on the Hyannis roster. He was looking to improve his command on the mound after a struggle of a season at Stanford in which he posted a 8.20 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings for the Cardinal, spanning 16 appearances.
So far, the results are speaking for themselves. Garewal has a 1.23 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for the Hawks in five appearances, allowing just one run on three hits and five walks in 7 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 10 hitters as well and has emerged as a reliable late-game reliever for Karraker and the Hawks, which is doubly important with the team in the middle of the Cape League playoff race.
Garewal has been trying to fill up the strike zone in Hyannis, and he’s been feeling good with the results.
“I have been in the mentality of trying to drown [opponents] in strikes and thinking my stuff is good enough where, if I just throw it down the middle over and over again, eventually they will fall down to it,” Garewal said.
Garewal hasn’t exactly been trying to force his way into high-leverage situations in games but is happy to get the ball whenever Karraker calls his number.
“I just like to pitch, whenever it is. It is a chance to compete,” Garewal said.
With three games left in the regular season before the playoffs begin, Garewal is going to have chances to compete for the Hawks, who need as much reliable pitching as they can get in such a tightly packed West Division. The quest to lock up a playoff spot continues against the Harwich Mariners on Friday night.
Michael Najarian can be reached at mikenajarian379@gmail.com and on X @MichaelNaj3.
