Efficiency is Key — Griffin Canning is Back
After months of uncertainty in the world of baseball, the 2020 MLB season is on the cusp of beginning. The Los Angeles Angels faced their first opponents in an exhibition game against the San Diego Padres on Monday, July 20th, 2020.
The Angels sent sophomore Griffin Canning to the mound for the first time since his Spring Training was cut short by a UCL injury. Since then, Canning resorted to PRP injections to treat his injury rather than Tommy John surgery, leaving many wondering if he could recover and perform well. Tonight Canning told fans one thing: I’m back.
Canning flew through 6 scoreless innings against a dangerous Padres lineup that included Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Tommy Pham, Eric Hosmer, and more. Canning displayed confidence in his strike throwing ability, throwing 61.84% of his pitches for strikes, as well as utilizing his arsenal wisely.
Tonight, Canning threw slightly less four seamers and sliders, while seeing an uptick in curveballs and changeups. Canning’s increase in curveball usage seems to have paid off as he threw 12 of his 17 curveballs for strikes. Canning’s choice to increase his curveball and changeup usage showcased his refined use of strategy to beat out opponents. Many of the best hitters on the Padres lineup struggled to hit breaking balls and changeups in the 2019 season. For instance, Manny Machado, averaged .306 against fastballs in 2019. However, he averaged .211 against breaking balls and .135 against changeups in the same year. Using this data and a refined sense of the game, Canning attacked hitters with his curveball.
Efficient outs led to 6 innings of shutout baseball for Canning as he threw between 10 to 12 pitches for each of his first 5 innings and 20 for his final inning. Had this been a regular season game, Canning could have potentially thrown into the seventh or eighth inning although his 20 pitches in the sixth inning showed signs of slight fatigue. A large part of this efficiency is due to Canning’s ability to force hitters into groundout and popout situations, which he did for all but five of his outs.
Canning was backed by an impressive defense that complemented his groundball inducing pitching style. With an infield highlighted by fan favorites David Fletcher (2B), Andrelton Simmons (SS), Tommy La Stella (1B), and Matt Thaiss (3B), it seemed near impossible for Padres hitters to reach base effectively. This strong defense didn’t translate to the bat as the Angels offense struggled to score runs, with the only run coming from an error committed by Padres starting pitcher Garret Richards. Reminiscent to past years, the Angels didn’t have trouble reaching base, but did have trouble driving in runs. This will be an area that must be refined if the Angels hope to win games and reach the postseason.
Even with the struggling offense, the Angels pulled through with a win and hope to do so again tomorrow night against the cross town rival Dodgers. Canning’s performance tonight highlights a bright spot in an Angels roster that is ready to showcase new players and veteran players alike with one goal in mind: becoming champions once again.