Diamondbacks starting pitcher Chase Anderson relied on his two-seam fastball to propel him to a career-high eight strikeouts during a 6-1 win Wednesday at Miami. More than half of his fastballs Wednesday were two-seamers, per MLB.com.
"I just felt like I had a good grip on the ball," Anderson said. "I could really manipulate it when I needed to, to get a little sink to it. You want to get more run than sink. I was able to do different things. You get a little bit more moisture there. Your hand feels better on the ball. You have a better feel for the ball."
Anderson also induced 13 groundouts during Wednesday's win.
"Just attacked the strike zone," said Anderson, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. "I worked on two-seam in spring training, and that definitely paid off today. It was such a good defense. When you utilize those guys, getting ahead with a strike, and guys put the ball in play on the ground, you get a lot of outs that way."
Anderson was winless in his first seven starts before picking up the victory Wednesday. It was mostly due to poor run support. Entering play Wednesday, Anderson received just 10 runs of support, which was tied for second fewest among NL starters with Eddie Butler and trailing only Dillon Gee (five).