By Jack Ankony
A towering fly ball collided with the center field wall, and AJ Jones had given up a run just five pitches into the Dogs’ Sunday afternoon contest with the Houston Apollos.
After striking out Ian Yetsko to end the first inning, Jones walked off the mound with four earned runs to his name. As Jones stepped into the Dogs’ dugout, pitching coach Stu Cliburn greeted him with a constructive message.
“If you don’t give up any more runs, we’re going to come back and win this game,” Cliburn said.
Cliburn noticed Jones was striding too far to the right, which made him throw across his body. This resulted in Jones leaving his fastball and slider up in the zone.
With this tweak in his delivery, Jones kept the ball down and shut out the Apollos over the next four and two-thirds innings of Sunday’s game. And Cliburn was right: The Dogs’ bats heated up late in the game to steal a 6-4 win from Houston for the series sweep.
The Dogs’ three most effective late-inning relief pitchers, Paul Schwendel, Kevin Marnon and Tyler Ferguson, along with starter Connor Grey, were signed by MLB organizations in June, which has forced Cliburn and the Dogs to adapt.
“We had to find out who [the closer] was going to be, and now look at what Kinley has done for us,” Clibrun said. “He’s stepped up … and is now one of the top relievers in the league.”
Kinley has dominated in 34.1 innings this season, recording a 1.83 ERA with 38 strikeouts and eight saves.
Jones was signed by the Dogs on June 22 and was immediately thrust into a starting role after graduating from the University of Central Florida in the spring. And through tireless work in the bullpen with Cliburn, Jones headlines a group of newly-signed pitchers that have allowed for a smooth transition.
For Cliburn and manager Butch Hobson, advancing players to the next level often supersedes winning. So when four pitchers were signed to MLB organizations, Cliburn and Hobson were glad to see them move to a higher level, but knew replacing them would take a deep search.
With over 100 years of combined experience in professional baseball, Hobson, Cliburn and hitting coach Joe Dominiak hit the phone lines and got to work. The three often analyze videos, pick the brains of coaches from around the country and get a feel for the personality of potential signees.
The foremost quality they look for in pitchers is the ability to throw strikes. High velocity is a positive for Cliburn, but a lack of command is the ultimate dealbreaker.
Three signings that exemplify these qualities as bullpen arms have been John Baker, Jase Dalton and Brendan Smith. All three relievers were college graduates in the spring and have made their professional debuts for the Dogs.
Cliburn’s vast experience has aided these young pitchers in making the transition from the collegiate to the professional game. Cliburn tells them to compete with the catcher’s glove and maintain a good rhythm.
“The man with the stick up there is not even up there,” Cliburn says to the young pitchers. “You don’t have to be any better or try to be any better than what got you here.”
Baker was called upon for one and two-thirds innings of relief on Sunday versus the Apollos and got five outs in just 21 pitches thanks to his command. Dalton is the most recent Dogs’ signings and has tossed six and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing four hits and zero walks.
Smith’s underhand delivery is deceiving to opposing hitters and has helped him gain trust for late-inning appearances. Smith entered Saturday’s game with the bases loaded and calmly forced outs from the first two batters he faced. Across 17 and one-third of an inning, Smith has a 4.15 ERA with 14 strikeouts.
Cam Booser has flashed major-league potential with his 100 mph fastball. He struck out six batters in his first two innings of work for the Dogs. But after allowing three runs to Milwaukee, Cliburn has instructed Booser to develop a more keen command of his slider and cutter.
“[Major league hitters] are going to time that fastball,” Cliburn said. “Everyone in the major leagues is throwing 96-97 out of the bullpen, and hitters are going to turn it around up there.”
After a series sweep of the Houston Apollos and an 8-3 win over Gary SouthShore, the Dogs approach one of the most important series to this point of the season. The Dogs will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Milkmen, who are tied with the Dogs for first place in the division.
Another Dog will make his professional debut in the series opener on Tuesday. Christian Day was signed by the Dogs on Tuesday after graduating Delta State University in the spring. Cliburn, also a Delta State graduate, caught a glimpse of Day’s repertoire for the first time before Sunday’s game against Houston.
Standing with his arms folded across his chest, Cliburn nodded in approval as Day spun curveballs and zipped fastballs into Ryan Haug’s glove. In his first bullpen session with Day, Cliburn tinkered with Day’s release point and emphasized finishing his motion.
Cliburn said Milwaukee has a dangerous lineup from top to bottom, so it will be important for Day to mix in his newly-improved changeup and command both sides of the plate.
Milwaukee has seen Dogs pitchers in nine games this season but will be up against a fresh arm on Tuesday. Cliburn said this could be to Day’s advantage because the Milkmen have never seen him pitch, unlike the majority of the Dogs’ pitching staff.
“We’re throwing [Day] right in there against the fire against the first place team,” Cliburn said. “And that’s good. He doesn’t know their guys and they don’t know him, so it’s going to be an exciting series with Milwaukee.”