Tommy Hunter put up a 3.73 ERA over 128 innings during the regular season, earning the trust of Ron Washington and his Rangers teammates. But the contact-prone righty has had all kinds of issues in the playoffs, running into trouble when his team needed wins more than ever.
World Series Game 4: Tommy Hunter Struggles Once More As Rangers Fall To Giants
Hunter got the ball for Game 4 of the World Series opposite Madison Bumgarner, and he was looking to bounce back from a pair of lousy performances against Tampa Bay and New York through the first two rounds. But he wasn't able to get the job done, and wound up coming out after four innings of work. It was the third time in three playoff starts that Hunter has failed to reach the fifth inning.
Early on, Hunter was able to work out of some jams. He kept the Giants off the board in the first despite a runner in scoring position. He kept the Giants off the board in the second despite putting men on the corners. But the Giants broke through in the third when Aubrey Huff torched Hunter for a long two-run homer to right. And though Hunter threw a scoreless fourth, he gave up a single, and even the outs were loud.
Faced with the prospect of continuing with a struggling starter or going to the bullpen, Ron Washington decided on the bullpen for the fifth. Hunter’s outing ended at the 83-pitch mark. He only allowed the two runs in four innings, but at no point did he look comfortable, and it’s worth noting that, of the 38 swings that Giants hitters took against Hunter, only two of them missed. Hunter is a contact pitcher, and he didn’t flash a putaway pitch all game, allowing the hitters to foul pitches off and wait for something to drive.
Barring an unlikely late-series bullpen appearance, this is how Tommy Hunter’s 2010 season will close. It’s not likely to leave a great taste in the big man’s mouth.
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