Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn is mired in a slump. He is 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA in his last five starts, with opponents batting .306 off the right-hander in that span.
On Sunday, Lynn met with manager Mike Matheny, who took some of the blame for Lynn's struggles, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"I don’t think I’ve done a real good job communicating to him as he’s trying to control his emotions out there," Matheny said. "So he tries to harness back when his natural tendency is to be that aggressive guy. The way we tried to explain it is we want him to be himself but also understand there’s some things inside the game as how you’re perceived and how your teammates respond. It’s been kind of a tough transition for him."
Lynn was encouraged by his talk with Matheny.
"When it’s all said and done, I’ve got to get back to who I am," he said. "Who I am gets the ball and goes right after people. I haven’t been that, as of late, and that’s what we talked about. I want to be that guy and I know I can be that guy. I just need to pitch better to be that guy."