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- Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Shane Drohan struggled with control in his major league debut against the Boston Red Sox.
- Drohan walked four batters and only threw 28 of his 63 pitches for strikes in the Brewers’ 5-0 loss.
- He cited issues with gripping the baseball and a tight strike zone as contributing factors to his performance.
BOSTON – Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook tries to minimize his expectations any time a pitcher is making his big-league debut because the emotions of the day make it impossible to know what’s coming.
“No matter who it is, I always have this feeling of I’m not sure how it’s going to go,” Hook said. “You hope for the best and prepare for the worst and hope he’s able to settle in in some shape or fashion.”
In that regard, Shane Drohan didn’t necessarily underwhelm, simply because there was no set way to see what direction it would go when he took the mound at Fenway Park against his former organization April 8. But it still didn’t go great.
Drohan never settled in, instead finding himself stuck in a third inning that was closer to the line of worst-case scenario for Hook and company than anything else in the Brewers’ 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Drohan, who aside from an efficient second inning, had difficulties finding the zone all afternoon as he didn’t make it out of the third. He walked three in the third and four total, having a tough time managing both a tight strike zone, balls he couldn’t quite find a good grip on and not being at his sharpest in general.
The combination of framing behind the dish and home plate umpire Brennan Miller’s calls certainly didn’t help, with five pitches that clipped the zone being called balls.
“There were some calls that were pretty close, but what are you going to do?” Drohan said.
Drohan also had a few breaking balls slip out a split-second earlier than expected, attributing it to the mudding being applied to the balls differently.
“I had some trouble today with the balls,” he said. “Not rubbed up too well, but that’s just part of it. You have to power through it and get the job done.”
Nevertheless, the final results weren’t pretty, as Drohan threw only 28 of his 63 pitches for strikes.
That was the second-lowest strike percentage (44.4%) by a Brewers pitcher (minimum 50 pitches) in a single game since 2008 and the lowest by any pitcher who threw at least 50 pitches in a game in all of baseball so far this year.
“Not great,” Drohan said. “Definitely need to be better with fastball command. I felt like I did some good things, threw some good cutters, threw some good breaking balls. I just need to be around the zone a little bit more.”
Drohan’s control wasn’t stellar from the jump, but it was at its shakiest in the decisive third. His misses weren’t necessarily massive, but they were consistent, teaching a tough lesson about how thin the margins are against big-league hitters.
Ceddanne Rafaela began the inning by smacking a 3-1 cutter to left for a hit, then a communication error as catcher Gary Sánchez, who had no chance at making the play, fielded Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s bunt put two on. Drohan got Roman Anthony to roll over to first but followed it with consecutive walks to Andruw Monasterio and Willson Contreras, the second of which brought home the game’s first run.
Second baseman David Hamilton couldn’t field Wilyer Abreu’s potential double-play grounder, scoring another run, then Drohan gave up a sacrifice fly and walked Caleb Durbin.
“I want him to learn that, hey, there’s a real fine line between good and great,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “And this could have been great.”
It was a tough result for a meaningful day for Drohan against the team that drafted – and then traded – him. Drohan made a strong impression on the Brewers during his first spring with the team, even making a push to be on the opening day roster with his performance.
Murphy delivered a message to Drohan pregame that was along the same lines as he gives most players before their debuts: You’re here to play for the name on the front.
“I know it’s a big day for you. I’m not so interested in that,” Murphy said. “It will come and go. Your parents are all here, everybody’s here, everybody’s happy. Get all the hotel rooms and tickets. But you got a responsibility.”
It didn’t quite work out as hoped.
Drohan showed some flashes in the second inning, striking out two and setting the side down in order, but never showed fantastic feel for his four-seam fastball. Add in that he largely scrapped his slider – his best pitch – because he couldn’t get the feel for it on a cold, blustery afternoon, and it’s a recipe for a rough entry to the major leagues.
“I know he’s better than that,” Murphy said. “…The walks [are] what did him in.”
