MLB news: Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies
By Kevin Henry
With another round of MLB teams opening the home portions of their schedule on Thursday, let’s take a look at some of the latest MLB news and notes, including tidbits from the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Washington Nationals news: Chad Kuhl returns to Coors Field
In his first and only season with the Colorado Rockies, it was a tale of two halves for starting pitcher Chad Kuhl in 2022. The first half of the season saw him post a 4.11 ERA/1.402 WHIP in 17 starts covering 92.0 innings. However, Kuhl’s numbers cratered over his final 10 starts, logging a 9.00 ERA/1.867 WHIP over his last 45.0 innings.
Returning to Coors Field on Thursday as a member of the Washington Nationals, Kuhl admits that he put pressure on himself over the second half of the season in an effort to try to show the Rockies that they should keep him beyond one season.
“I think I put a lot of pressure on myself in that second half to prove what I was worth. We were chasing the possibility of coming back here and continuing to be here,” Kuhl said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself, and some undue pressure, and it didn’t go great for me.
“It was just pressing to really continue what I was doing in the first half to prove that was me, and I fell out of the stuff that I was really doing well, which was pounding the bottom of the zone. I just have to get back to executing pitches and just letting myself play.”
Signed by the Nationals to a minor league deal in early February, Kuhl battled to earn a spot in the Nationals rotation. He struck out four in his first start against Tampa Bay, but also allowed four runs on four hits in 5.0 innings.
His next start will come in Denver on Sunday against the Rockies. In that start, Kuhl will continue to show that he can throw effectively inside arguably the toughest MLB venue for a pitcher. He posted a 5.04 ERA/1.399 WHIP in 64.1 innings at Coors Field last season.
“There’s so much mystique and aura about coming here and pitching, and how scary it is or how difficult it may be,” Kuhl said. “I think you just have to get used to it. I think you have to realize that it’s just baseball. There are some scientific changes that happen out there, but it’s nothing to fear.”
That message is one that Kuhl says he is sharing with his fellow Washington pitchers ahead of this four-game series at a mile high.
“Hopefully the little bit of knowledge I can carry and give on to the rest of the guys will hopefully be a little bit of an advantage,” Kuhl said.