HOUSTON – Protecting a one-run lead for four innings on Saturday, with relief ace Grant Taylor unavailable after working a career-high 2 2/3 frames on Friday, there were no easy answers for White Sox manager Will Venable.
Unless the answer was a lot of Sean Newcomb.
“I was talking with [general manager’ Chris Getz about it yesterday, about how valuable these guys are,” said Venable. “[Newcomb] leads the way. That prototype of pitchers, where he’s really good, he takes the ball all the time and [is] giving me two or three innings when he does pitch. It’s special.”
For the third time this year, and the second-straight outing, Newcomb posted three scoreless innings, helping push the Sox to 24-20 in one-run games. Newcomb’s logged 11 outings since he last allowed an earned run, spanning 20 1/3 innings. The streak has dropped his season ERA to 2.19, while working the third-most relief innings in the American League.
“You come out of the game and you see him coming in, you feel good about it,” said Sox starter Sean Burke.
An exciting young offensive core has powered this Sox team to the AL Central lead. But Jordan Leasure and Mike Vasil were lost to season-ending elbow injuries after being valuable setup men last year. Free-agent signing Seranthony Domínguez washed out as closer before being flipped at the deadline. Fireballer Jordan Hicks spent most of the first half battling a lat strain and searching for the right arm slot.
Protecting the leads of the AL’s best offense would be a tricky problem without a 33-year-old left-hander signed to a one-year, $4.5 million deal just before last Christmas, putting together arguably his finest season.
“Numbers-wise, can’t argue that,” Newcomb told the Sun-Times. “I’d say it’s a continuation of what I started doing with the A’s when I got to a full-time bullpen job last year.”
Newcomb posted a 1.75 ERA in 51 1/3 innings for the A’s, after being designated for assignment midseason by his hometown Boston Red Sox, who had been using him as more of a spot starter/swingman. He credits that experience for why he has the stamina to maintain his performance even while on pace for over 90 innings this year.
What deserves possibly more credit is that in his 10th MLB season, on his fifth MLB team, after plenty of years dogged by injury and/or struggles, Newcomb is unfazed by anything.
“It’s been a new mindset I’ve had with pitching since I got back to playing consistently,” Newcomb said. “Just approaching every pitch the same way, no matter what it is.”
At a long-limbed six-foot-five and throwing from a lower arm slot than earlier in his career, Newcomb splits the plate horizontally with his slurve and a new sinker. That east-west dynamic has helped make the letter-high four-seam fastballs he peppers in to change eye levels one of the most effective pitches in the sport.
Part of Newcomb’s extended relief excellence are tools usually reserved for starters. When the situation calls for a groundball, or when it calls for a strikeout, Newcomb can hunt for either. When he misfires a four-seamer, he gets back into the count with a sinker, or vice-versa. Forget about his curveball, changeup or cutter, and that’s when they might appear.
For all the problems he’s solved in relief, maybe he would have done pretty well in that rotation job he wanted and competed for in spring.
“I haven’t weighed that in my head,” conceded Venable. “You have the argument to make that case. At the same time, he’s been so good and helped us win so many games, we are utilizing him well.”
But Newcomb is set to hit free agency again this winter, a forum where starting is markedly more valuable than relieving. Surely he’s more convinced in his ability to do the former than ever?
“No, same as always,” said Newcomb, true to his mindset.