After a few shaky outings, KC Royals closer Scott Barlow focuses on finding his groove
Like most big-league pitchers, Kansas City Royals closer Scott Barlow has a special routine before each game. It involves playing catch with fellow reliever Taylor Clarke.
“I try to replicate what it feels like in a game and make every throw count before a game starts,” Barlow said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. ”It’s something that I kind of feed off. I’m trying to have a game-like mindset even way before the game, in playing catch.”
Barlow credits that routine with keeping his mindset right after a handful of shaky outings this month. Barlow was charged for three earned runs in two separate outings against Texas. He also surrendered the winning run in a 5-4 loss to the Braves.
He’s been better lately, including Tuesday night at Chase Field: Barlow saved the day in a 5-4 KC victory.
He entered the game for reliever Aroldis Chapman with the Royals clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth. The tying run — the Diamondbacks’ Emmanuel Rivera — stood at second.
Barlow had just one thing on his mind at that point.
“After Chappy came out, stranding the runner at second was my main concern,” Barlow said. “Whether it was ground balls, strikeouts, fly balls — whatever it was — just get ahead. Off-speed, especially, and pound the zone. Force weak contact if they were going to swing.”
Barlow accomplished his objective by striking out Gabriel Moreno and Alek Thomas to end the inning.
In the ninth, Barlow got himself out of a jam of his own creation. The Diamondbacks had the tying run on third with the winning run at second, but Barlow got Christian Walker to ground out to end the game.
As he did in the eighth, Barlow focused on getting a first-pitch strike and then trying to induce soft contact. His plan worked out, but that doesn’t mean Barlow wasn’t nervous at the time.
“It’s always good to have nerves,” he said. “I think you have to in this business. It’s something you recognize early and use to your advantage. (You) know it’s a good thing to be nervous because it means you care.”
In his last two outings, Barlow has earned two saves and surrendered no earned runs while striking out four. But over the course of a 162-game season, Barlow tries to take a longer-term view of his performance.
“The first couple (of games) were not my best, but it’s just getting into the groove of things,” Barlow said. “Knowing that everything is going to even out eventually as long as you stick with the process. (Keep) throwing strikes and good things will happen.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro hasn’t seen much difference in Barlow’s pitching lately. He believes Barlow’s pitches have typically been sharp — he’s just given up runs.
“He’s also come in the last few outings in super-high-leverage (situations),” Quatraro said. “He seems to really respond well to those.”
No matter the setting, Barlow falls back on his pre-game routine — a simple game of catch — to keep his spirits high.
“We have a good little routine here throughout warmup,” Barlow said. “In the last couple throws, we chuck knuckleballs at each other and work on that pitch. We have a good time.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2023 at 2:08 PM.
