Why Keuchel preferred tough a spring debut to an easy one originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Dallas Keuchel gave up five runs in his 2.1 innings of work in his first Cactus League start of the spring.
But that's not what got him all riled up Thursday.
No, the veteran left-hander actually enjoyed having a tough day at the office, one in which the bases were constantly occupied and he struggled to get into the kind of rhythm that helped him to a eye-poppingly low 1.99 ERA during the shortened 2020 campaign.
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What bothered him was the confusion that ensued after Tony La Russa yanked him from the game in the first inning.
No, you didn't read that wrong, Keuchel did throw 2.1 innings despite not making it out of the first, La Russa taking advantage of one of the weirder rules of this spring, one that allows pitchers to re-enter the game after being lifted. Shohei Ohtani got a similar treatment in a spring game against the White Sox last weekend. And as Keuchel's first frame got bumpier and bumpier, La Russa — who's sworn off "rolling" spring innings, or ending them before three outs are recorded due to soaring pitch counts — opted to let the southpaw try again in the second.
"I was very confused with Tony coming out, taking the ball," Keuchel said. "I'm trying to get my work in, but I had no idea what was going on. So when I got in the dugout I was pretty heated. And (pitching coach Ethan) Katz came up to me pretty quickly and said, 'Hey, relax, you're going back out there,' and I was like, 'What?' Then he explained to me the situation. It was weird.
"I actually like it a lot more because you kind of take care of the starters, especially to kind of limit their pitches because, ultimately, you're just trying to get ready for the regular season. Definitely weird, but it was actually kind of nice."
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That rosy outlook was the theme of Keuchel's post-outing media session, a tad surprising, perhaps, considering he was knocked around pretty good by the Kansas City Royals. By the time La Russa took him out a second time, in the third inning, he'd yielded five runs, given up five hits, walked two batters and hit another.
During the regular season, it would have been an unusually nasty outing. During spring training, Keuchel actually preferred a day like this to a breezy three innings with nothing to report but success.
"I'm actually glad I had some stressful pitches early and all the things I want to check off," he said. "I don't really want to go three innings and 30 pitches because, ultimately, I'm trying to get volume in. So really the only way to get volume in is kind of give up some base hits, ground balls. I gave up a hard hit, was consistently in the stretch. So I'm checking off all these boxes that I actually need to do to make it through six, seven innings a start in the regular season.
"I really don't take much out of this other than I got some work in. I am pretty tired right now, and I basically barely got through three. ... It's never fun to give up runs, but in the moment, in spring training, you can kind of let yourself enjoy the moment. This is what I love."
It might be confusing for some of the fans who flipped on Thursday's webcast and wanted to see the White Sox win at all costs, but it's important to remember that spring training is just practice, even the games. While La Russa has made a habit of describing how badly he wants to pile up wins — which the White Sox have started doing, by the way, with a 4-1-1 record in their last six spring flings — Cactus League games are just an extension of the behind-the-scenes work the players are doing to prepare themselves for the regular season.
So Keuchel getting to experience the kinds of situations he'll be in when the games start counting was a positive for him.
Keuchel, in particular, could benefit from such an active first outing. Opening Day is just two weeks away, and the Cactus League schedule has been going for some time now. The veteran Keuchel, however, is just getting his first exhibition-game reps in. Other pitchers in the White Sox rotation have made three or four starts by now.
Given that he's just getting started, it makes sense that Keuchel's feeling the aftereffects of a lot of stressful throws. But he's happy he got to make those stressful throws in the first place as he readies for a season in which he plans to duel it out with Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn for the team innings crown and then log 40 more innings come the postseason.
Thursday might've looked ugly. But getting that ugliness out of the way? That's a springtime plus for Keuchel.
"I'm going to enjoy these five days more than any other time in spring," he said. "I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but it's going to be kind of, 'I'm ready,' getting back into the full bore in the grand scheme of things.
"I like this a lot more than an easy three innings and 30 pitches."
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