ARLINGTON – TCU’s midweek pitching committee convened again Tuesday night and, in a departure from what has been the season norm, an orderly, 5-3 baseball game broke out.
“I don’t think we’ve won a game like this,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, rummaging through his memory after beating UTA at Globe Life Park.
“We’ve been talking about it. We haven’t won a real baseball game. We either lose by a bunch, or we win by a bunch.”
Schlossnagle was mostly correct. In 10 of their 13 victories, the Horned Frogs have scored in double digits. They’ve also lost by 10 runs (Rice) and 11 (Long Beach State).
Playing Tuesday night in a real major league ballpark, however, with a big-league setting that included, thanks to the Rangers, Globe Life Park’s scoreboard, video board and even PA announcer Chuck Morgan, the game transpired as routinely as a 5-3 contest with 12 pitchers can be.
Schlossnagle is still trying to figure out who his regular Saturday starter will be. Until then, Tuesdays will have to be a pitching-by-committee thing.
Spencer Arrighetti was TCU’s starter Tuesday, pitching two innings, followed by Haylen Green, Charles King, Cal Coughlin, Augie Mihlbauer and Marcelo Perez.
“The formula you saw tonight on the mound is probably what we’ll have to be, at least in the midweek games, until someone steps forward and takes over a starting role,” Schlossnagle explained.
The plan two weeks ago was to use senior Jared Janczak for the Tuesday night starts while he works his way back from off-season surgeries. That idea has been scrapped for now.
“We have a great relationship with the Hogan Center in downtown Fort Worth,” Schlossnagle said, explaining Janczak’s efforts at recovery. “They do all the biomechanical analysis — Dr. John Conway, Mike Macko and all the guys down there.
“Janczak is on some pretty heavy anti-inflammatories for a week, so we’re shutting him down throwing-wise and spending some time on his body. He’s going to spend some time on his delivery, some time on his biomechanics, and he’ll maybe be back in a couple of weeks.
“But he’s not prepared right now, and it’s not fair to keep running him out there the way it has been lately.”
The other piece of bad news is that designated hitter Porter Brown, the team’s leadoff hitter in the early going, may be lost for the season with a shoulder issue. He dislocated the shoulder last Friday and an MRI showed what Schlossnagle said was “some pretty extensive damage.”
“So he’s got to talk to his parents,” the coach said, “and we’ve got to make some decisions. If he comes back, it won’t be for another 3-4 weeks. But more than likely, his season may be over. We’ll see.”
Ready or not, Texas comes to town this weekend for a three-game series to open Big 12 play. At least TCU goes into the series with a four-game win streak.
“Yeah, but I wish we were healthier,” Schlossnagle said. “I wish Porter Brown was with us. I wish Janczak was feeling great.
“I feel good about where we are offensively. I think we have a pretty good idea of what our lineup needs to look like. I think we’ll get [shortstop] Hunter Wolfe back on Friday.
“We’ve just got to figure out that third starter on the weekend. [Jake] Eissler needs to give us a little bit better outing this weekend, and I think he will. Obviously, we’re fired up about [Nick] Lodolo. But the bridge to [closer] Perez has to be cleaner.”
He’s talking about the committee.
“Yeah, Tuesday by committee it’s going to have to be,” Schlossnagle said. “And I’m OK with that, as long as we get two or three solid starts on the weekend. If we don’t get at least two good, six- or seven-inning starts on the weekend, then we’re in trouble.”
The Frogs’ Friday night starter, Lodolo, has been outstanding and has a 1.36 earned run average in his five starts. Opponents are batting only .136 against him, and he’s struck out 46 in 33 innings.
Eissler will start Saturday against the Longhorns at Lupton Stadium, with lefty Brandon Williamson going Sunday.
In Tuesday’s game, third baseman Conner Shepherd stroked a three-run homer into the right-center field bullpen in the fourth inning, and the TCU bullpen/committee made the lead stand.
A key stop by TCU first baseman Jake Guenther in the sixth inning saved at least two runs. Schlossnagle correctly called it, “the play of the game.”
An otherwise orderly, normal game, as it turned out. For a change.
