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Davies has made a habit of reading hitters

Zach Davies never hit 90 miles per hour on the radar gun when he shut out the Padres for six innings on Tuesday.

After the game, he explained his strategy of "reading" the opposing hitters and basing his pitch combinations on what the hitter does.

"My game has always been the mental game," Davies said. "I never really overpower guys, I never really have the stuff that everybody in the game nowadays has. So command, keeping hitters off balance and trying to be deceptive is the way I play baseball.

"Early on, late high school, early on in the pros, that's kind of when I focused in on it and found success in that. There's never a time that you stop learning in baseball, so I continue today to learn swings, learn hitters, learn their approaches."

Davies said he watches a lot of video, not only of himself, but other pitchers that are similar.

"Reading hitters, reading the way their approach is within the game, certain situations with guys on base, with nobody on, the score - whatever the situation is during the game, that's something I've studied going back to high school and continue to today," he said.

Davies spent last season with San Diego after five years in Milwaukee. But he didn't make a big deal about beating his former team.

"I was happy to get through six, try and keep us in the game and let the offense do the work," Davies said. "Whoever we're playing, I don't hold grudges. It's a business. I know that trades happen and I move on."

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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