Oakland Athletics: Ushering in the Jesús Luzardo Era, pitch by pitch

Seventh Inning

Luzardo would come back out for the seventh with the Athletics still leading 5-3. Though some of the debut jitters might have subsided, Baby Jesús would have to go up against the top of the Houston order.

George Springer. Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley.

All batting over .300. All having hit 20+ jacks this season. This was a big test.

George Springer would take a fastball outside before taking a rip at a 93-mph pitch left up in the zone. He got solid contact, but the ball went well foul.

Luzardo made the necessary adjustment, keeping the ball low with another 98-mph two-seamer that dropped out of the zone with plenty of movement. It ended up setting up a high-80’s changeup that sat at the paint for a called strike.

Going for a knockout pitch, Luzardo threw a wicked slider at 85 that almost dug into the back heel of Springer. He was able to hold up in time, but boy did he seem uncomfortable after seeing those two breaking balls thrown in succession.

The 3-2 pitch was a changeup outside the zone that was rolled over for a slow groundout to Marcus Semien. Luzardo’s utilization of pitches outside proved to be a big component of his game and was also a great indication of the kind of movement he was harnessing.

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Not to mention another changeup almost touching 90. Lord.

With one down, Jose Altuve stepped to the plate. While the former MVP surely wasn’t afraid of taking on a pitcher making his MLB debut, Luzardo had the upper hand.

In a veteran move — possibly made by the excellent pitch-calling of Sean Murphy — Luzardo broke off a first-pitch slider that resulted in a weak pop out to Matt Chapman.

While the at-bat was short, Ray Fosse made an excellent point about Altuve’s proclivity of swinging early in the count and looking for fastballs. Altuve was likely thinking that a young pitcher like Luzardo would lay one in there to get ahead in the count.

But Luzardo was a step ahead.

Michael Brantley would be up next. Although he’s a lefty, Brantley has been mashing the ball no matter who’s been on the mound and especially against the A’s. His batting average may sit in the .330’s but it sure feels like .800 when he faces Oakland.

Luzardo would throw a 97-mph two-seamer outside, making sure to avoid the heart of the plate where he knew Brantley could do damage. The second pitch was another slider, this time high in the zone, but enough to keep Brantley from swinging at the strike.

On the 1-1 pitch, Luzardo would come in with a two-seam fastball on the inner part of the plate, which Brantley spun on and took to deep center field where Mark Canha was waiting.

The last pitch made fans hold their breath for a moment, but the inning as a whole was a success.

A 10-pitch inning against three more-than-capable hitters.