Smoltz Starts Slow

John Smoltz gave up 4 first inning runs end route to a 9-3 loss to the Nationals last night. He settled down over the remaining 4 innings, retiring 8 in a row.

I think his stuff is good enough to be effective. His fastball is low 90's. His slider still has a big break across & down. And his splitter sinks away from left-handers.

Command was the issue last night. Every ball up in the zone was finding a hole. You might say that it was rust on Smoltz' part that his control was off. That is something that will improve each start.

Let's see what happens next time.