Trivino's Recent Surge has Melvin Excited About Athletics Bullpen Possibilities
Managers are in the habit of saying positive things about the players on their roster if they can. It’s part of the job description.
Usually it’s in response to a question from the media. One way to know that a player has excited the manager is if he talks about a player without a question being asked.
Such was the case Tuesday night in the wake of the A’s 10-3 win over the Texas Rangers. In response to a question about reliever Jordan Weems, A’s manager Bob Melvin talked about having Weems back as part of what has been an exceptionally productive bullpen.
And he raved about the pitcher who was in the game before Weems pitched the ninth. Lou Trivino pitched the seventh and eighth innings, giving up one hit, walking no one and striking out three.
Melvin was truly excited about a right-handed reliever who was a major player in the 97-win season of 2018 for the A’s but who fell on hard times last year and began 2020 with a 9.00 ERA in his first four games.
“And Lou, those two innings, too,” Melvin said after beginning to talk about Weems. “You know that is big. We had a little bit of a beat-up bullpen.
“Lou is looking more and more like what we saw in 18. He’s more confident on the mound. His velo is great. He has good movement. He’s throwing his off-speed stuff, which makes his fastball play out much better. So yes, Jordan looked awfully good and so did Lou. You can never have too many guys to count on in the bullpen, especially hard throwers like that, which we don’t have a ton of.”
Trivino threw 27 pitches, two-thirds of them strikes, displaying everything from a 96-mph fastball to a 76-mph curve, mixing his cutter, sinker and changeup as needed. It was the sixth consecutive impressive game for the right-hander, who has hasn’t allowed a run in 8.1 innings, giving up five hits and fourth walks, allowing a .167 batting average while striking out 11.
Back in 2018, Trivino came out of nowhere to become one of Melvin’s go-to guys late in games. He went 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA with four saves and a 1.135 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). Last year his control faltered, his strikeouts plummeted, his ERA (5.25) and WHIP (1.553) both soared.
The last two weeks have gotten both his 2020 ERA (3.38) and WHIP (1.125) back under control. Along the way, Trivino may have provided Melvin with another late-inning option. His last five appearances have begun in the seventh inning or earlier, but in 2018, 26 of his 69 appearances came in the eighth inning or later, particularly down the stretch.
And now, were it not for one misplaced Aug. 10 pitch that the Angels Shohei Ohtani hit for a three-run homer, Trivino might have a scoreless August going. To get there, he’s reined in his cutter, and supplemented his fastball with his curve and changeup. The cutter was his best pitch in 2018, and it may yet be that again.
But he said he got in the habit of leaning on it, or as he phrased it, “I overexposed my cutter.”
Now it’s just part of the package – of his 27 pitches Tuesday, he mostly threw hard stuff. Mixed in were just two cutters, along with a couple of curves and four changeups.
“Right now, I feel my changeup is really good coming out of my hand,” Trivino said, saying he’s not trying to over-think his pitches. “I can throw my curveball for the most part where I want. I feel like I have a pretty good mix there, and I feel confident.
“I've been feeling really good; my arm is feeling good. I'm kind of getting back into the form where I know I can be like I showed in 2018 and early 2019. I’m just hoping that continues and I can do anything I can to help this team win.”
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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