CLEVELAND — When the Guardians optioned Joey Cantillo to Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 17, they issued a challenge to the left-hander. The club needed to see him attack the zone and throw strikes more frequently.
Cantillo took that message to heart, and it shows.
Making his second start since Cleveland summoned him back to the Majors on Sept. 3, Cantillo delivered a career-best performance on Tuesday night. He tossed eight-plus scoreless innings to lead the Guardians to a 2-0 win over the Royals at Progressive Field.
Cantillo allowed just four hits with no walks and five strikeouts on 92 pitches (72 strikes). In two starts since his recall, he has allowed just one run on nine hits and two walks over 14 innings.
“That was Pitching 101 from Joey Cantillo tonight, and that was a lot of fun to watch,” manager Stephen Vogt said.
Cantillo opened the season in the Guardians’ bullpen, and he was optioned to Columbus on May 27 to stretch out. He was recalled on July 3 to take the rotation spot vacated by Luis L. Ortiz. Though Cantillo recorded a respectable 4.03 ERA over eight starts before being optioned on Aug. 17, he posted a 13.3 percent walk rate.
Elevated pitch counts kept Cantillo from pitching deep into games. He did not make it six innings in any of those eight starts.
“Obviously, the outings up here, some have been good and some have been a little bit more of a struggle of just attacking the zone,” Cantillo said. “If we’re being honest with ourselves, that’s something that every pitcher wants to work on better. I was falling behind in counts, and I was putting guys on base.
“Like we saw today, throwing strikes, it’s a necessity, and really good things are going to happen when you’re challenging hitters. That was basically all that I wanted to continue to work on, and that’s an ongoing process every day.”
The Guardians have continued to believe in Cantillo’s ability to be a successful big league starting pitcher due to the quality of his stuff. It has just been a matter of throwing more strikes. We’ve seen that in his two starts since his recall.
Cantillo’s 78.3 percent strike percentage on Tuesday was a career high. His 67.3 percent rate last Wednesday in Boston (70 strikes on 104 pitches) is his third best.
Tuesday, Cantillo allowed singles to Vinnie Pasquantino (first inning), Jonathan India (second and eighth) and Kyle Isbel (ninth). The last time he faced the Royals, on July 27, he threw 76 pitches (41 strikes) and allowed three runs on three hits and four walks over four innings.
“He threw every first-pitch strike. He was ahead,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday. “And then he worked off that. He got the ball to the top of the zone when he wanted to. He was just far more aggressive.”
Cantillo recorded eight whiffs on 16 swings against his changeup on Tuesday. His four-seamer averaged 92.8 mph and maxed at 95 mph, both better than his season average of 91.4 mph.
The Guardians try to balance development with contending. Cantillo and Slade Cecconi (both of whom are establishing themselves as big league starters) delivering back-to-back strong starts in the heat of a postseason race is rewarding from Vogt’s seat.
“It’s so much fun to see someone who has a goal, works on it every five days and then they get a chance to go out and prove it,” Vogt said. “And then when it all comes together, it’s just beautiful.
“Now Joey knows he has that in him. Once you know you have that in you, it can be super powerful. You’re not going to do it every time. We know that; this game is too hard. But once you achieve something once, now you know you can do it. Now it’s just finding consistency.”
Cantillo has had a rollercoaster season, given his role changing and being optioned to the Minors multiple times. He said the key has been taking things day by day, and all in all, he’s happy to be able to contribute.
“We’ve got a great group of guys that care about each other,” Cantillo said. “It helps when you have good people around you. Just focusing on those things, focusing on doing what I can do [is key].
“Like we’re seeing, I think this team’s capable of a lot of things, and I’m just happy to be a part of it, honestly.”
