The Y-D Red Sox lost their second straight game on Sunday, falling to Harwich by a final score of 7-1.
Scott Pickler kept a short leash on starter Ty Bayer, pulling him after just one out. Bayer threw only 15 pitches, loading the bases and allowing one run to score. Tyler Pitzer came on in relief and ended the inning with two quick outs, limiting the damage to just one run.
“It’s always tough in those situations, wanting to get more out of your starter, obviously, but we didn’t get that. We had to roll with the punches, and he came in there and did his job. I think the competitive nature with him is always there,” Y-D pitching coach Michael Stanford said. “The fact that he came out there and gave us what he did for as long as he could was very impressive. He came up to me and wanted to go back out, but we weren’t going to push him.”
One of the strongest arms out of the bullpen has been Pitzer, who recently committed to Mississippi State. He’s already making waves in the Cape Cod Baseball League, earning Pitcher of the Week honors at the end of June.
In addition to earning Pitcher of the Week, Pitzer was named to the CCBL team that faced the Major League Draft League at Citi Field. He recorded two-thirds of an inning in the game, enjoying the opportunity to pitch in a big-league stadium—an experience he didn’t take lightly.
“It was awesome, playing with guys from all around the Cape, and then playing against another summer league in a Major League Baseball field,” Pitzer said.
The right-hander struck out 32 batters over just 28.1 innings with the South Carolina Gamecocks, posting a 10.16 K/9 while using his fastball effectively as a putaway pitch. His .380 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) suggested some bad luck, as his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) was 199 points lower than his ERA.
He logged 4.2 innings against the Mariners on Sunday—his longest outing of the calendar year. With Y-D in need of length from its pitching staff, Pitzer delivered. He threw 64 pitches, the most by any pitcher in Sunday’s game.
“I felt great. I talked to [our pitching coach] Stanford for a while about expanding my outings and getting more innings,” Pitzer said on Sunday. “Today I was finally able to do that, and I thought I did pretty well.”
Pitzer struck out four batters, using his pitch mix to keep the Harwich offense in check. He allowed just four baserunners, lowering his WHIP to 0.83 for the summer.
“Having all the confidence I can have and knowing I have the ability to get through as many innings as I needed to [really helped]. My fastball command was really good today, the cutter and slider were ok,” said Pitzer. “I think commanding the fastball and everything in the zone was what worked today.”
Sunday’s outing wasn’t a rare phenomenon, as Pitzer has been one of the best relievers in the Cape this summer. Among qualified pitchers, Pitzer has the second-best ERA (0.75) and fifth-best WHIP (0.83) in the CCBL. He’s been Y-D’s most effective reliever out of the bullpen.
“We really thought he did his job, and we were happy with that, and he was happy with it too. Overall, it’s exciting to see him come into a situation where it’s a little bit quicker than we expected, but he got thrown into the fire and did his job,” Stanford said after the game. “Coming in with the bases loaded and getting two quick outs to get us out is really big.”
Y-D’s bullpen has been a strength this season, despite the constant roster turnover that makes consistency hard to come by. Pitzer, however, has been a steady presence, giving coach Pickler a reliable arm to turn to in high-leverage situations.
