CINCINNATI -- Eury Pérez is in one of the best stretches of his professional career, with a 1.80 ERA in 10 starts since returning from the injured list in June with an inner right thigh strain. But one of his biggest improvements won’t show up in a traditional box score.
The 23-year-old right-hander fired six scoreless innings in the Marlins’ 7-1 win over the Reds on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park in no small part because of his ability to hold baserunners in check.
Pérez is a dominant force on the mound at 6-foot-8, but his longer limbs often leave him slower to home plate. Indeed, runners have stolen an MLB-high 25 bases on him this season, which tends to make bad innings worse.
Entering Sunday’s game, Pérez had allowed seven consecutive attempted basestealers to advance, with his last caught stealing coming on June 30. Baserunners had reached at an 89 percent success rate, too, leading pitching coach Daniel Moskos and field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt to work with him on a quick slide step. Pérez upped his usage significantly last time out, and the Pirates didn’t test him at all.
The Reds, however, challenged Pérez early, with Elly De La Cruz taking off on the starter’s 12th offering of the game. Pérez threw a low curveball, far from ideal to get the speedy shortstop out, but with a smaller leg lift, catcher Brian Navarreto was able to nail him at second.
Cincinnati only tested Pérez one more time in an ill-fated attempt. Catcher Jose Trevino took off on a 3-2 count with one down in the third, and the Marlins easily threw him out despite Pérez throwing a slider in the dirt and not using a slide step.