Kansas City Royals right-hander Jonathan Heasley got the win in the series finale against the Padres, but Heasley was equally pleased with the “zero” he put up as well.
That “zero” meaning the number of times he threw up on the field. In his previous start against Arizona, Heasley threw up three times and was removed from the game in the fifth inning. Heasley had no such issues in the Royals’ 15-7 win Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.
“I wasn’t really worried about that,” Heasley said. “It’s something I’ve dealt with forever and I didn’t really change anything as far as (diet) goes. But everything this week was about mechanics. But it happens and it was what it was, and we moved on from that.”
Heasley gave up four runs (three earned) in five innings while striking out seven and walking two.
“It was a great day with potential distractions all over the place for him,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “And to just go out and make pitches and keep us in that game and limit the damage, I thought he did a great job.”
Heasley (2-7) gave up two home runs to Manny Machado but made big strides with his delivery. He had better command of his fastball after making some adjustments between starts.
“I felt like I threw the ball well,” Heasley said. “My command was way better than what we saw last week, and I made some adjustments in the bullpen and felt like I took it into the game.
“It’s kind of a battle. You can work on things easily in the bullpen and feel like I got it there. But when you’re in the game, it’s time to compete and get guys out. But I felt like I actually took it into the game today and things kind of settled down a little bit.”
Heasley also said he had previously been missing his mark on his landing but was much better Sunday. He said against Arizona, he missed his mark 15-20 times but missed only a couple times against San Diego.
“Mechanically, we’ve talked about my landing foot sometimes, and striking on that heel and having a consistent landing,” Heasley said. “That’s the main focus right now. I feel like I maybe had one or two today, which I feel is a big adjustment from what we saw last week.
“Honestly, I’m just wasting pitches when I do it and my heel is slipping. And it’s basically just a wasted pitch. So I was happy to clean that up.”
The Royals offense also got some things straightened out. The Royals’ 15 runs scored were a season high, and they also batted around in the first, sixth and eighth innings. Michael A. Taylor and Salvador Perez both hit homers, giving Heasley and the pitching staff some breathing room early.
“It’s always nice to have that cushion,” Heasley said. “It allows you to feel like you can attack that zone. I feel like I pitch my best when I’m at a 0-0 ballgame so I try to stay there mentally. But obviously it also opens up that I don’t need to be nibbling or try to be too fine.”
