Santana, clearly having the upper hand in this one, is in complete control of the game. You can just see the confidence he has with every pitch he throws. But what is it exactly that is making him able to silence the formidable Yankee lineup? Well, the main reason is that he is keeping the hitters off balance. This has been mention a few times in the broadcast and it is definitely a good point. Santana doesn’t have that 96mph fastball to blow guys away so he relies on his other pitchers to get guys out. He’s throwing his changeup for strikes and getting hitters to chase his slider out of the zone. He has always had a fantastic changeup and he is using it perfectly tonight. By starting guys off with a changeup for a strike, he is automatically causing them to wonder what’s coming next, and then when it’s the fastball, they can’t catch up to it.
Sabathia, on the otherhand, is not as sharp. His biggest problem, which I’m sure he will describe after the game, is that he is not getting ahead. He is constantly battling back in the counts, and he is forced to come into the zone when he’s behind. He is missing up in the zone with the fastball, and appears to be guiding his breaking ball instead of snapping it off. Against any big league club, this is a bad recipe and proves to end his night after 5 innings giving up 5 earned. When good hitters have an idea of what pitch is coming, its going to be a long night for the pitcher.
If there is one thing you can learn by watching this game, its that if you can keep the hitters of balance, you can beat any team. You don’t need to throw 96mph to get guys out. If you have command of all your pitches, you can be successful. If you can start hitters with an off-speed pitch consistently, you will greatly improve your chance of winning. Most hitters aren’t looking for off-speed on the first pitch, and 90% of the time, they’re going to take it for a strike. This gets you ahead in the count, and shows the batter that you can throw your stuff for strikes.
