Miller’s homecoming ends badly after electric start at Wrigley
McHenry native Bobby Miller celebrated his 25th birthday with a notable task, the first Chicago start of his big-league career.
Miller took the mound for the Dodgers Friday at Wrigley Field and at first, it appeared he would match his previous outing, which featured 11 strikeouts and just 2 hits over 6 scoreless innings against the Cardinals.
Against the Cubs, the 6-foot-5 right-hander struck out Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger, all swinging, in the first inning. His last pitch to Bellinger measured 98.8 miles per hour, according to StatCast.
The second inning was a different story. Dansby Swanson homered into the front row of the left-center field bleachers. Then Miller gave up 2 singles, 2 walks, uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch, then left the game after Suzuki poked a 2-run double to right field to cap the 5-run inning.
“First inning he was obviously very good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “Just the second inning, it seemed like he couldn't command anything on the secondary side. The breaking balls, the changeups were just non-competitive. He was working behind a lot and they made us pay.”
Miller didn't disagree with his manager's assessment and vowed to put in the work needed to correct the problem.
“Second inning was just pretty unacceptable,” he said in the visitors clubhouse. “I just didn't feel like the best out of the stretch today. No worries, next bullpen I'm just going to do a ton of work out of the stretch and treat it game-like like I always do and move onto the next.”
Asked what specifically felt off about pitching from the stretch, Miller replied, “I just was kind of guiding my offspeed to the plate. I wasn't really ripping it like I normally do. You really feel for the bullpen on games liked that when the starter doesn't really set the tone in the best way.”
Cubs first baseman Michael Busch, who walked and scored in the second inning, played with Miller in the Dodgers minor leagues.
“Really good kid,” Busch said. “His work ethic is off the charts. He's developed so much, even though I believe he was a first-round pick (in 2020). He's come a long ways and he's only going to get better.”
Steele takes small step:
Craig Counsell provided this injury update on pitcher Justin Steele, who suffered a left hamstring strain on Opening Day in Texas.
“He's throwing,” Counsell said. “We haven't stopped throwing at any point, so that's probably been the best sign. He did kind of a simulated catch, up-down on his start day Wednesday. Beyond that, we're still in the same time frame.”
Translated, that means Steele threw casually and took some breaks to simulate a change of innings. And he's not expected back until May.
Edwards returns to Iowa:
Pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. is back with the Iowa Cubs after opting out of his minor-league deal near the end of spring training. Edwards memorably took the mound for the Cubs at the start of the 10th inning in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series before being relieved by Mike Montgomery. He pitched for Washington the past two years.
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