Some thoughts on yesterday's pitching vs Hawaii

It's 400 words of probably poorly written baseball content. Feel free to tear it apart.

In a game where everything seemed to go right for the home team, there are a few smaller occurrences that may portend good news going forward for the Tigers. Given the early season struggles by the starting rotation, it’s important to seize on even the smallest successes as a sign of progress.

Ma’Khail Hilliard made his first start of the year and faced 20 batters. He threw 72 pitches over 5.1 innings, averaging 3.6 pitches per batter faced and 13.5 pitches per inning. Both highly efficient numbers built on only walking 2 batters and only striking out 3. Given that we’ve seen him showcase strikeout stuff before (he came into the game striking just under a batter an inning), it was nice to see him still getting outs without his best stuff. Making it through the order two complete times plus some is also encouraging. It strengthens his case to keep himself in the weekend rotation.

John Kodros made his debut yesterday. He finished with one inning pitched and a strikeout on a somewhat generously called third strike. A strong initial outing may indicate an increased role going forward. Having another lefty with a funky motion that provides stark contrast all the other lefties on the roster in terms of stuff is a bonus.

LSU relievers inherited 3 baserunners yesterday. None of them scored. The most impressive strand job came from Cam Sanders. He flashed his premium stuff in striking out the first batter he faced and then fielded his position well on a comebacker groundball to get the last out of the inning. It kept Hilliard’s scoreless innings streak intact, but it was a role that Sanders had not been asked to fill to this point in the season. Given his previous penchant for not finding the strike zone very early in his appearances, his efficient handling of the two batters he faced is especially promising.

Clay Moffitt and Trent Vietmeier also stranded each of their inherited baserunners. Vietmeier’s appearance seemed specifically designed to test that ability. He came in following Kodros with only one out left to get in the game. Kodros left a runner in scoring position before being pulled in favor of Vietmeier. Vietmeier induced a groundout to end the game. While a short outing, it was an opportunity to learn and grow. Vietmeier’s success in that outing may payoff during SEC play when a similar performance is required.