PHILADELPHIA -- It was Andrew Painter's fastball that had him knocking on the door to the big leagues at just 19 years old -- and one of the game's best hitters predicting he was bound for stardom.
Fast forward three years, and that same offering is now perhaps the biggest concern -- albeit not the only one -- as a 23-year-old Painter navigates a tough start to his MLB career.
Painter's rocky rookie season hit a low point in the first inning of Saturday afternoon's 6-3 loss to the White Sox at Citizens Bank Park. The righty threw 42 pitches in a four-run opening frame in which he struggled to command any of his pitches -- particularly that troublesome fastball.
Painter, who has been throwing his four-seamer much less in recent outings due to its ineffectiveness, threw 11 of them in the first inning. Only two were in the zone. The other nine were not remotely close.
From there, Painter nearly abandoned the pitch altogether. Although he went on to throw another 51 pitches, only four were four-seam fastballs. Three of those four missed the zone.
The other ended up in the seats.
The final tally on Painter's four-seamer Saturday: 10 balls, one hit batter, one home run, two foul balls and one swing-and-miss. Zero outs.
Overall, opposing batters are now hitting .390 (32-for-82) with four home runs against Painter's four-seamer.