Walker tweaks delivery, flirts with perfection

ANAHEIM — For Taijuan Walker, a revamped delivery started to feel natural about three days before Tuesday night’s start. And that was bad timing for the Angels, who managed just three hits in Walker’s first career shutout, an 8-0 Mariners victory at Angel Stadium.

This was the good Walker, an overpowering 6-foot-4, 235-pound presence on the mound, living up to the hype and hoopla that have surrounded him much of his early days in pro baseball.

But it had only been 10 days since the bad Walker, a frustrated 24-year-old who gave up three home runs and six runs in just two-thirds of an inning before getting bounced by the same Angels at Safeco Field.

After that start, Walker buried his head in his hands in the dugout, felt embarrassed by his performance and went and told pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. that he was ready to do whatever it took to get better. And when Stottlemyre told him he needed to finally agree to change his mechanics, use more of a twist in his delivery and get more drive from his legs, the youngster agreed.

It took one semi-awkward start against the Rangers, when Walker got the win while allowing seven hits and three runs in five innings, to work out the kinks. But on Tuesday, he looked like a different pitcher, his velocity kicking up 3-4 mph to 95-96 with his fastball, while his breaking pitches suddenly wore more bite.

“I told Mel about three days ago when we went out to play catch that, ‘It feels good, I think I’ve got it,'” Walker said. “I’ve been watching a lot of video of Jake Arrieta and Roger Clemens, those kind of guys, just to see how they did it. I came in the next day and it felt really good, …

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