ASU surrenders four unanswered runs in a loss to BYU
Sometimes there are no two ways to put it. Arizona State coughed this one up. The Sun Devils led 2-0 through five innings behind a masterful start from Kyle Luckham. BYU scored four unanswered runs, plating one in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the ninth to grab a series-opening road victory 4-2 on a brisk night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The trouble began when Bloomquist went to the bullpen, as it so often has early in the year. BYU scored its first two runs of the game without the ball being put in play. Wild pitches from Jacob Walker in the sixth and Will Levine in the seventh allowed the Cougars to tie the game at two. In the ninth inning, the usually reliant Christian Bodlovich surrendered a leadoff double and walked two to load the bases with one out. Nearly all of ASU’s issues have been to the beat of the same drum; A shaky bullpen’s inability to consistently throw strikes.
“It’s an uneasy feeling,” Bloomquist said regarding his staff’s path to the ninth inning. “We know they’re capable of doing it; we’ve seen them do it, which is the frustrating part. We’re gonna have to adjust what we’re doing down there in some way, shape, or form.”
Despite the volatility from Bodlovich in the ninth, the Sun Devils nearly escaped the inning unscathed. Brock Peery relieved Bodlovich and induced a ground ball that took Sean McLain towards the second base bag. McLain fielded it cleanly but hesitated for a split second before deciding to flip the ball just a few feet to Haas at second. It was a costly split second, as Haas’s throw to first was barely late, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
“If I had to do it over again, I probably would’ve taken it to the bag myself,” McLain said. “In the moment, I flipped it to Haas. You could say it was the right play or wrong play, could do it better next time, but it is what it is.”
That run proved to be the difference. BYU added one on an infield hit a batter later to cap the scoring. Of their four runs, three were scored without the benefit of a base hit, and the one-run scoring knock didn’t leave the infield grass.
The mistakes weren’t limited to Arizona State relief pitchers tonight. The Sun Devils were picked off on the base paths twice, Conor Davis at first base in the fourth inning and pinch-runner Alex Champagne at second base in the eighth. Both were costly, as Davis’s came following his leadoff single and Champagne’s came before he saw a pitch in a two-out spot.
“I wasn’t much in the mood for an explanation. They’re better than that,” Bloomquist said.
Through five games, one thing we’ve learned about Arizona State is that while its relief pitching is clearly its weakness, its starting pitching might just be a true strength. Luckham has been the starter in both of ASU’s losses thus far, but both have been far from his fault. Adam Tulloch had a great start against Dixie State in the opener, and Tyler Meyer was dominant on Tuesday night in a win over Nevada.
Last season, the starting pitching situation looked good until three key arms went down with torn UCLs. Bloomquist is rightfully determined to avoid a similar ill fate, even if it means taking the ball from a cruising starter in the middle innings. On Tuesday, it was Meyer who got the hook after five shutout innings. Tonight it was Luckham.
“He had 73 pitches, it’s a cold night, and again we gotta keep our arms healthy,” Bloomquist said. “I certainly think (Luckham) had more left in the tank. He being one of our definite starters, we can’t take the risk of over-extending him too early. Our players’ health is paramount.”
On the offensive side of things, the team struggled to cash in on opportunities and went quietly in order in many innings. The bats will come alive and are still the apparent cut strength of this team. As McLain noted tonight, the only opponent holding the Sun Devil hitters back is wearing maroon and gold.
“We’re beating ourselves up, really digging ourselves into bad counts,” he said. “I’m doing it myself; I could be taking a better approach, be more mature, and swing at better pitches. We’re working on it, it’s early in the season, and we got a lot of time to turn it around.”
Adam Tulloch will take the ball in game two on Friday night, looking to follow up a masterful performance on opening night. If he does his job, the game will come down to the bullpen and the offense again.
“There are no excuses,” McLain added. “We need to be ready to go tomorrow, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
