CLEVELAND -- If you just look at the box score, you might miss it. But if you watched Bailey Ober throw the ball on Saturday afternoon, you’d know there was plenty to be encouraged by in the starter’s return from the injured list.
Over five innings in his first start since June 28, Ober was tagged for four runs on six hits, including two home runs, in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field. It was not the line he wanted, marred by a two-run homer in his final inning that colored the final line quite a bit.
But Ober's average fastball velocity was up to 91.2 mph, nearly a full tick above his season average. His stuff overall was sharper than it had been for most of the year, and Ober came out of the game feeling better than he had in a long time.
“I feel like I’m able to differentiate between what I’m working on, process-oriented stuff like mechanics and health,” he said. “I feel good on that aspect. Now, it’s getting the results and finishing a game where I feel happy about what I left out on the field. That’s every single pitch. That’s not just being good through 4 2/3 and leaving one pitch over the plate and that ruins an outing. I feel like it’s close. Now it’s time to mesh those two, go out there and do my best and execute pitches.”
Ober made a couple of location mistakes on sliders, but unlike some starts during his June slump, he mostly did a good job of placing his pitches on the edges of the strike zone rather than the middle. He threw six types of pitches but relied mostly on his four-seam fastball, changeup and slider.
And while he wasn’t fully back to peak form, you could see the progress. After a miserable June in which he gave up 14 home runs in five starts, Ober was placed on the injured list with a left hip impingement. Part of the IL stint was to get his hip feeling 100 percent. But once that was accomplished, there was another critical goal -- get his delivery back to where it was before the injury started hampering him.
Ober said that Saturday had him feeling most of the way there.
“I feel like I'm pretty close,” he said. “Probably like one more tweak and my velo will be back to the higher-end days where I've had last year. Physically, I'm feeling really good, like my stuff is really good.”
And though the Twins lost, there was optimism about what may be ahead from Ober. The veteran right-hander is a critical piece of Minnesota's rotation, and he's someone who, when he’s right, can be relied on for quality innings in bulk.
“I think that looks, to me, like Bailey Ober and the guy that we’re all very familiar with,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “His stuff was good. It was probably the best stuff he’s had since the beginning of the year, maybe all year long. You’re facing an almost fully left-handed lineup with [the Guardians] and, again, a lineup that has tough at-bats. … Bailey went back and forth with them the whole outing and did a good job.”