Tyler Clippard has had a nice career, and he can partially thank his discovery of a split-fingered fastball for a good chunk of it. (For more on that evolution, including some Koji Uehara comparisons, click here.)
But Saturday that pitch did him no favors. A reality that Dennis Eckersley -- along with others watching the Blue Jays' reliever blow his team's lead in the ninth inning Saturday -- astutely pointed out the moment Jackie Bradley Jr. tied the game for the Red Sox with his RBI double.
Eck did not like Tyler Clippard's splitter ... pic.twitter.com/J0ukrG73fq
— The Bradfo Sho (@Bradfo_Sho) July 14, 2018Clippard's first batter in the ninth, Xander Bogaerts, saw three splitters, the first two being balls and the last one resulting in a leadoff double. That led to Eckersley's initial reaction to the pitch, exclaiming, "Throw another splitter!"
He got his wish.
After beginning Bradley Jr.'s at-bat with a changeup, the righty came back with another splitter. Cue the classic reaction from Eck.
As obviously ineffective as the pitch was for Clippard out of the shoot, there was a method to his madness. Coming into the outing he has thrown the pitch -- which he developed during the 2013 season -- 26 percent of the time, getting more swings and misses than either his fastball or changeup. Hitters were also batting just .200 against the pitch, having notched only two extra-base hits.
The pitch wasn't there for Clippard this time, and because of it the Red Sox got a win and we got a great sound byte.
