DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Thomas Pomeranz felt the difference when he warmed up prior to the third inning of Friday's 3-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Blue Jays. Finally, he felt like himself again from a mechanical standpoint.
It was a feeling that Pomeranz carried through the rest of his outing, and it gave the lefty hope that he'll be ready to be a productive member of the Red Sox's starting rotation when the season starts.
The way manager John Farrell has it projected, Pomeranz will make his debut on April 9 at Detroit, the sixth game of the season for Boston.
Due to an off-day on April 4, ace Rick Porcello can pitch the first and the fifth games.
This will give Pomeranz extra time to catch up after being brought along at a slower pace this spring. The reason for the conservative schedule? Pomeranz pitched through left forearm fatigue late last season and had a stem cell treatment injection in October.
At last, Pomeranz thinks he has worked through all that. For the lefty, the storyline of Friday was not his non-descript pitching line (4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's), but rather the regained belief that he can pitch like himself again.
"From the last start to this one, I kind of finally figured out my mechanics, what I need to work on," Pomeranz said. "The first couple innings I felt better, more like myself, but something was a little off. I just wasn't getting off my back side at all. Everything else was good position, I just couldn't get off my back side."
Then came the breakthrough.
"Then the warmups before the third inning, it clicked. I was able to repeat everything and it was just a different game out there," Pomeranz said.
Pomeranz mowed through the third and fourth, giving up no hits and erasing a walk by getting a double-play ball.
"Yeah I went down to the bullpen, threw 15 more pitches [after the outing]," Pomeranz said. "Just repeating it. It's one of those things where you're searching for this feeling and once it finally clicks, I felt like myself again. I was getting through the baseball. All my pitches were moving right. Everything."
It was the type of progress the Red Sox and Pomeranz needed to see after he had been hit hard in his first two Grapefruit League starts. Pomeranz is of even greater importance to Boston with star lefty David Price out indefinitely with a left elbow strain.
"I thought today was another big step in the right direction for Drew," said Farrell. "One, most importantly, he came out of it feeling good physically. There was an uptick in overall stuff despite some mislocation in the first inning or two. Today was a big step in his progression."
After an All-Star first half for the Padres last season, Pomeranz was inconsistent (3-5, 4.59 ERA) for the Red Sox following the trade at the All-Star break. He feels primed for a rebound.
"I feel great," Pomeranz said. "Now that I've figured out what was wrong mechanically and was able to repeat it, I feel great. I feel much better than I felt last year. It's such a relief."
Ian Browne