Roy Oswalt: Analyzing The Phillies’ NLCS Game 6 Starting Pitcher

Vitals

6’0, 185
Right-handed
211.2 innings
2.76 ERA
8.2 K/9
2.3 BB/9

2010 Playoffs

13.2 innings, 6 runs, 4 walk, 14 strikeouts

Earlier Start Summary

Back in Game 2, Roy Oswalt got the nod against the Giants and dominated for eight innings, allowing just one run while striking out nine. His one mistake was a solo home run by Cody Ross in the fifth, but then what pitcher hasn’t been there? Oswalt threw four 1-2-3 innings and just looked much better than he did in his first postseason start against the Reds. It’s worth noting that Oswalt then made a relief appearance in Game 4 and allowing the winning run, as the Giants hit him around a little bit. So he hasn’t been invincible. But he’s not used to the bullpen. He’s used to starting.

Repertoire

Oswalt’s a four-pitch pitcher with four conventional pitches. His primary pitch is his 91-94mph fastball, which acts kind of like a blend of a four-seam fastball and a cutter as it doesn’t have a ton of horizontal movement. After that, he mixes up his slider, curve, and change about equally. He throws his slider in the mid-80s, and it isn’t really a swing-and-miss pitch. His curve sits around 71-75mph, and it has plenty of downward snap. Finally, his change hangs around 81-84mph, and runs like hell into righties and away from lefties.

Facing Righties

Like most righties, Oswalt leans fastball/breaking ball when facing right-handed hitters. His preferred first pitch is a fastball over the outer half, but to keep hitters honest, he’ll also drop sliders in the same place, trying to hit that low-away corner. He has a lot of confidence in his slider and will throw it for a strike even when he falls behind in the count. It’s when he gets ahead that he starts pitching to other spots. He’ll expand the zone, and also work more inside. In putaway counts, hitters will start to see a lot more curveballs, and though Oswalt will put them in the zone and try to catch hitters off guard, he’ll also bury them down and away to get guys to fish.

Facing Lefties

Oswalt is all about the outside half against lefties early. He’ll start guys off with a fastball or a changeup on the outer black. If he falls behind, he’ll come back with a fastball or a changeup more towards the middle. If he gets ahead, then that’s his cue to start mixing things up a little more. At 0-1, Oswalt pitches all over, going outside, inside, and low, but rarely going up. His curveball is featured in strikeout counts, often buried below the zone. Interestingly, Oswalt doesn’t have a true strikeout pitch - his strength is that he just throws so many strikes that he’s frequently working from a position of power.