March 21, 20179 yr JUPITER, Fla. -- Focus more, worry less. Those are two objectives for Wei-Yin Chen as he turns the page after a disappointing 2016. For the most part, the 31-year-old on Tuesday made another stride forward, despite allowing two solo home runs in five innings in the Marlins' 2-1 loss to the Astros at Roger Dean Stadium. "Obviously, he gave up a couple of solo shots, but I thought he was good," manager Don Mattingly said. "I thought as the game went on, he was strong." Derek Fisher homered to lead off the third inning, after Chen retired the first six he faced. And with two outs in the fourth inning, Yulieski Gurriel connected. The homers aside, Chen was in command, pounding the zone. Of his 58 pitches, 40 were strikes. He allowed three hits and struck out six with no walks. But the long ball has hurt Chen all camp. In 11 Grapefruit League innings, he's allowed eight hits, with four being home runs. In fact, all four runs he's allowed were solo homers. Chen has struck out 10 and walked just one. "I think he's probably more comfortable and just quietly going about his business," Mattingly said. After his day was done, Chen got some advice from pitching coach Juan Nieves and backup catcher A.J. Ellis. "They gave me some great suggestions," Chen said through his interpreter. "I'll try to work on what they told me." Chen is seeking a bounceback season after going 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA in 22 starts in 2016. "It was a bad year for me," Chen said. "I'm trying to get on top of a lot of things, and maybe it caused me to overthink a lot of things." Making the transition from Baltimore to Miami meant Chen switched from the American League to the National League, where he now hits. There would be times he would be lifted for a pinch-hitter or replaced in the middle innings of close games. "I'm supposed to think about the pitching part," Chen said. "I'm trying to focus on the pitching part and focus on how to get hitters out. That's all I'm going to think about." http://m.marlins.mlb.com/news/article/220297416/wei-yin-chen-takes-step-forward-looking-ahead/?tcid=tw_share
March 22, 20179 yr I expect Chen to be 91-94 topping at 95. The home runs have been really frustrating. He will be cruising and then a two out solo shot and poorly timed.
March 22, 20179 yr Of course Chen makes strides forward, he has to in order to deliver a pitch. Nice.
March 22, 20179 yr He just needs to incorporate "waste" pitches more often. Dude lives in the strike zone constantly. Get the batters chasing
March 22, 20179 yr Author Dude lives in the strike zone constantly. You'd think with his salary he could afford a house
March 22, 20179 yr You'd think with his salary he could afford a house It's more and more difficult to identify the poster of this kind of post without seeing the name.
March 22, 20179 yr You'd think with his salary he could afford a house you're worse than [uSER=2328]@SilverBullet1929[/uSER]
March 22, 20179 yr Author you're worse than [uSER=2328]@SilverBullet1929[/uSER] That means I'm better I think
March 22, 20179 yr I've been mentioned too many times today. I knew I was everyone's favorite here but come on, I'm working.
March 22, 20179 yr I expect Chen to be 91-94 topping at 95. The home runs have been really frustrating. He will be cruising and then a two out solo shot and poorly timed. why would you expect that he was nowhere near that last year and is only getting older
March 22, 20179 yr Author why would you expect that he was nowhere near that last year and is only getting older No kidding, the extreme optimism from @canada-marlin24 never ends.
March 22, 20179 yr Author I've been mentioned too many times today. I knew I was everyone's favorite here but come on, I'm working. You know what is going to happen now right?
March 22, 20179 yr I've been mentioned too many times today. I knew I was everyone's favorite here but come on, I'm working. if you call that work, all day on IG, FB, MB, Sportslogos. jeez and probably Grindr too
March 22, 20179 yr if you call that work, all day on IG, FB, MB, Sportslogos. jeez and probably Grindr too I can't confirm nor deny any part of the above post.
March 23, 20179 yr No kidding, the extreme optimism from @canada-marlin24 never ends. Last year he was 90-92 and topped at 93 mostly. However, he had a couple of games where he was 92-94 and hit 95, including one against the Mets in New York.
March 23, 20179 yr I still cant believe we paid this guy all that money.We would have been better going old school Loria and starting a rookie or second year prospect.
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