By Jack Ankony
It was three pitches and three strikes for Dogs starter Michael Bowden in game one of an Opening Day doubleheader. A veteran of the game, Bowden was locked in from the second he took the mound, which made him an easy choice for Dogs manager Butch Hobson.
“He’s a strike-thrower,” Hobson said. “He doesn’t walk anybody so that’s number one. He knows how to pitch.”
While the bright-yellow mustard costumes worn by the thousands of fans at Impact Field today may have distracted a younger pitcher, Bowden’s MLB experience and comfort on the mound allowed him to control the pace of the game. Over 5.1 innings, Bowden allowed five hits, two earned runs and two walks while striking out seven en route to a 5-2 Dogs win.
Other than a solo home run by Jared Walker on a fastball in the sixth inning, Hobson said Bowden did an excellent job. Walker is currently tied with Dogs shortstop Johnny Adams for the league-lead in home runs with five.
Bowden’s effort in the home opener is representative of the quality pitching that Hobson has gotten out of his starters. In game two of today’s doubleheader, Connor Grey came out and proved just that. After striking out two batters in the first inning with his devastating curveball, it was clear that Grey was locked in.
Hobson thought Grey got squeezed on the inner half of the plate a number of times tonight, which led to throwing more pitches than necessary. Grey struck out five batters across 4.1 innings and could have gone deeper in the game if it weren’t for pole-scraping home run by L.T. Tolbert that stays in the majority of ballparks in the American Association.
When his curveball is working like it was tonight, Hobson said Grey can be very dangerous. And when the weather warms up, Hobson said Grey may become even more effective as he gains a better natural feel for his changeup.
Especially after their experience together in 2017 in Kane County, Hobson is confident in Grey’s ability. Hobson managed the Cougars in a season where Grey walked just one batter across 47 innings.
After seeing each piece of his starting rotation, Hobson feels optimistic about the group. Outside of today’s starters, Garrett Christman sparkled for six innings on May 27, and Jordan Kipper has shown ability to command the strike zone with 12 strikeouts. The Dogs are still waiting on Greg Harris to recover from a shoulder injury, which leaves room for another boost to the rotation when he is ready.
And most of all, Hobson and the Dogs were glad to get back to Impact Field after a nine-game roadtrip to start the season. The Dogs fell 5-3 in game two today, but had every chance to sweep the doubleheader.
The Dogs stranded two runners in the fifth inning, and an uncharacteristic error from Adams allowed two Sioux City runs to score to take the lead.
“I thought we performed well tonight, just that one pop-up, and Johnny feels terrible about it. You won’t see that often from him,” Hobson said. “But that’s the way this game goes sometimes and we’ll come back tomorrow ready to go.”