Changeup closes the deal for White Sox' Reed
A gifted young White Sox pitcher dazzled the New York Yankees on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Actually, two rising stars teamed up on the Yankees.
Chris Sale got the ball rolling and piled up 13 strikeouts in 7 innings while allowing just 1 run.
Addison Reed finished the job for the Sox.
Sale has been attracting deserved attention throughout his first season in the starting rotation.
Jake Peavy, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios also have been lauded for coming back strong from subpar 2011 seasons.
Other White Sox players such as A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Alejandro De Aza, Jose Quintana and Dayan Viciedo have taken turns basking in the media spotlight.
As for Reed, the rookie right-hander has quietly developed into a standout closer.
“He's not afraid, and that's one thing I love about him,” Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He goes out there, he's a competitor, and he has a lot of guts.”
Reed, who has converted 23 of 26 save opportunities, also has a new weapon.
In addition to throwing a fastball frequently clocked at 98 mph and a biting slider, Reed finally got a good feel for his changeup.
He used the change to strike out New York's Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira in the ninth inning Wednesday while closing out the White Sox' 2-1 win.
“Three or four weeks ago, it might not have been the best pitch to call in that situation,” Reed said. “It's a pitch I've been working on honestly since the end of last year. That was the main thing I worked on this whole off-season, even up until today.
“I'll continue to work on it. I feel like it's come a long way and hope it continues to get better.”
There is huge pressure pitching in the ninth inning to begin with. Trying to command a difficult pitch like the changeup is a good way to add even more stress and get beat in the process, but Reed is getting the hang of it.
“He's had confidence in that pitch,” Pierzynski said. “That was kind of his pitch the whole time. He also developed a better breaking ball since he's been here. He's now a three-pitch guy, and he has the ability to throw strikes.”
Reed endured some predictable struggles over the first half of the season as he learned how to become a major-league closer.
But after posting a 4.06 ERA and saving 13 games before the all-star break, Reed has a 2.70 ERA and 10 saves (including 8 in a row) in the second half with 39 games left on the schedule.
Reed also leads all major-league rookies in saves, and when he closed out the Yankees on Monday night to earn his 22nd save, he set a White Sox rookie record for closers.
“I feel good,” Reed said. “A big part of the reason why is I don't think any of us feel like a rookie because of the way they treat us up here. They don't treat us out of the ordinary. They don't treat us bad.
“In the past, I've heard rookies are usually kind of treated a little differently. But they treat us awesome up here, and we all feel a part of the team.”
sgregor@dailyherald.com