Date: 04/15/12
Ubaldo Jimenez lasted only five innings in his second start of the season, allowing nine hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and four earned runs against the Royals.
Photo Courtesy of Baseball-Birthdays.com via Flickr.com
Despite an uptick in velocity from his previous start, Jimenez consistently struggled with his command, leaving everything belt-high or better. His fastball showed solid life, hitting 96 on several occasions and provided solid separation for his changeup, which showed decent fade and deception.
Jimenez lacked feel for either of his breaking balls. He routinely left both his curveball (78 MPH) and slider (84-86 MPH) belt-high and the results could have easily been far worse. He also dropped down, to a low three-quarter arm slot, to throw a slurvy-type breaking that would catch batters off-balance.
Outside of poor command and lack-luster results, Jimenez struggled holding runners on. He made a conscience effort to keep them close, but it clearly wasn’t enough and the Royals ran at will.
For the day, he threw only 16 of 27 first-pitch strikes and 70 of 112 total pitches for strikes.
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