Detroit — Lloyd McClendon pulled the old okey-doke on young right-hander Garrett Hill.
The Toledo Mud Hens manager pulled Hill and pitching coach Doug Bochtler into his office Saturday and started challenging him to start throwing more strikes.
“Lloyd told me to sit down and he goes, ‘Coming up to Triple-A you weren’t exactly pounding the zone,’” Hill said Sunday morning, retelling the story. “I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ And he says, ‘But you guys have been working hard and after each start you got better and better. And because of that hard work, you are going to the big leagues.