Hamels has experienced decreased velocity on his four-seam fastball, which resulted in a different approach in Tuesday's 11-strikeout, one-run outing against the Athletics, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Hamels committed to throwing more changeups and sliders Tuesday, generating 14 swing-and-misses on those offerings. "It's finally turning into something," Hamels said of the slider. "I just have to throw it. It's how I learned the changeup when I was young. You have to throw it and trust it." For the past few seasons, Hamels' repertoire has been essentially a mix of four-seamers, cutters and curveballs, but he was a different pitcher Tuesday, a marked improvement from Opening Day when his command wavered.