Port Charlotte, Fla. – Baseball truth: If you pitch ahead in the count you will have more success than if you pitch behind in the count.
Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd provided a case study on that Friday in the Tigers' 5-2 exhibition loss to the Rays.
He pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, getting early strikes on each hitter. In the second, he gave up six hits (and four runs), including five in a row to start the inning. Five of those hits came on hitter’s counts – 2-1, 2-0, 1-0, 3-1 and 3-1.
“I can’t try to be so fine; that’s the main thing,” Boyd said.