Young guns square off in Reds-Pirates tilt (Apr 10, 2017)
PITTSBURGH -- Don't tell Cincinnati's Brandon Finnegan and Pittsburgh's Tyler Glasnow that 23 is too young for a pitcher to establish himself in the major leagues.
Finnegan, a left-hander, and Glasnow, a righty, face each other Monday at PNC Park as part of their teams' rotations.
Finnegan went 10-11 with a 3.98 ERA in 31 starts last season, then burst into this season with a sparkler Wednesday. In the Reds' 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, he gave up a walk and a single in the first inning, then retired the next 19 batters. Over seven innings, he struck out nine in a performance that later in the season might have extended to a complete game.
"Very impressive," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "He was a little haphazard in the first, but after that he was extremely sharp. Had the full mix. A little extra on the fastball. There were some good sliders but he had better command of the changeup."
The Reds (4-2 after pummeling the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0 Sunday) have a young staff behind Scott Feldman, 34. The rotation also includes rookies Rookie Davis, 23, slated to start against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, and Amir Garrett, 24, scheduled to start Wednesday against the Pirates.
"We've got Scott in the rotation, too, so he's been around for a long time," Finnegan told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "If I need anything, I go to him and he helps me out. It's just nice to say I've been here for a little bit."
Not that long, but long enough to know where he stood this season.
"It was definitely nice coming into spring training knowing I just needed to get ready for the season, instead of winning a job," Finnegan told the Enquirer. "But you know, every day I have something new to learn."
Glasnow, conversely, won Pittsburgh's fifth starter spot in a competition that lasted most of spring. He got his first big-league experience last season, going 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA over 23 1/3 innings, including four starts.
He had to wait a little longer for his first start, which will come Monday. He originally was scheduled for Saturday but got pushed back because of a rainout last week. He watched as the Pirates (3-2) swept Atlanta over the weekend.
Glasnow wasn't sweating the change.
"It doesn't affect it much," he said. "It's obviously not on a five-day (routine), but you've just got to take it each day at a time.
"Minor leagues, there's rainouts, too, and you get pushed back, so it's not the first time this has happened. I'll be good."
Glasnow is part of a rotation with an average age of 26, a staff that includes Chad Kuhl, 24, and Jameson Taillon, 25.
"All of us are ready to go. Age is just a number," Glasnow said. "I talked to (Kuhl). I talked to (Taillon), all those guys. We were up here last year, got a taste of it. We kind of know what to expect. We're just going to take each day and just get into a routine and go out and compete."
