Colby Lewis really needs to catch a Marlin

This season Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Colby Lewis has been trying to make his comeback from hip-resurfacing surgery.  He’s worked very hard to make his comeback and many doubted he would be able to do it.

Basically he’s the only major league player to ever do it.  Many have say that the old Lewis is gone, and recently it appears so.  He’s still pitching well enough to keep the Rangers in the game, but he’s not as magical as he was in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

His postseason heroics will be remembered for years and people should also remember how hard he worked to make his 2014 comeback.

Over his 10 starts this season, Lewis hasn’t had a quality start yet.  He does have a decent 4-4 record, but he has a high ERA of 5.77 this season.  What makes things worse for Lewis is that 3 of his last 5 starts he’s given up 5 or more runs.  Also, for the season opposing batters are hitting .338 off of him.

That might all sound bad, but Lewis is still able to pitch well.  He’s lost a little bit on his fastball and that’s caused it to not have the same movement as it did prior to his injury/surgery.  But he’s still able to locate the ball well.

The problem for Lewis is that after the opposing team has seen him pitch a few times they start to figure him out and make good adjustments.  You can see this after the 3rd and 4th innings of a game.

May 25, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Rajai Davis (20) slides back to first safe ahead of the throw to Texas Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis (48) after he hit a single in the first inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Also, Lewis isn’t doing well after his pitch count reaches about 85.  That might be because he’s getting wore out or just figured out.  I don’t think this is a huge problem for the Rangers this season.  If they can have Lewis eat up 4-5 innings per outing and possibly back him up with Joe Saunders or Scott Baker that should be good enough for them to win ball games.

Today Lewis will take on the Miami Marlins.  He’s had a few rough outings recently and he needs to have a good game.  He needs to have a quality start.  If he’s able to keep his pitch count low and keep them off base he should set himself up for a win and a quality start.  The Marlins are doing about as well as the Rangers this year and this match up should give him the chance he needs.