PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (SportsRadio 610)- Luis Garcia had no issues in his first game using his new, simplified delivery, holding a New York Mets lineup filled with regulars to one hit over two scoreless innings on Tuesday afternoon.
Garcia was forced to ditch his "rock the baby" windup due to Major League Baseball's pitch clock which states a pitcher must have a clear point to where his delivery starts and the timer can stop. On Tuesday, Garcia started with his body angled towards third base, and his delivery began when he took a step back with his left foot.
He said he struggled early initially finding his new delivery out of the windup, but he expects what he used Tuesday to be his delivery moving forward.
"What is important most for me is when I lift my leg and just go there and throw the ball, so I think if felt pretty good throwing the ball today." he said.
Of the seven Mets he faced, only Francisco Lindor reached base with a two-out single in the first. Garcia struck out four batters, Tommy Pham, Pete Alonso, Daniel Vogelbach, and Mark Canha, getting two third strikes with his fastball, one with his slider and one with his changeup.
"It went good," Garcia said. "I felt good and the results say that. I'm really happy for that. A good start to the spring."
Along with debuting his new delivery, Garcia faced the pitch clock for the first time on Tuesday, and he definitely felt its impact. He got ahead 0-2 against Canha, and then threw a 95.9 MPH fastball by him for his fourth strikeout, but that wasn't the pitch he wanted to throw.
"I was running out of time, and I didn't get the pitch that I wanted, and just threw a fastball," he said with a big smile. "I didn't want to get a ball, so I just threw a fastball down the middle."
The fastball to Canha was the hardest pitch Garcia threw on Tuesday. 21 of his 30 pitches were thrown for a strike, averaging 94.8 MPH on his fastball, up for 94 MPH in 2022, and he generated five swinging strikes.
Garcia said he expects to make one more Grapefruit League start before joining Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic where he'll be managed by Astros first base coach Omar Lopez and play with Jose Altuve.
