Record: 54-46. Pace: 87-75. Change on 2017: -3.
Remember when seven innings was Torey Lovullo’s benchmark for his starting pitchers? This was an oft-repeated mantra last season: “I wanted to make sure that instead of looking for somebody else to come in and pick up the slack for them that they were going to be conditioned for those moments and pitch into the sixth and seventh inning. I’m asking for our starters to go 21 outs.” You have not heard that nearly as much this season, and with good reason, because it hasn’t been happening.