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Tomlin’s ‘new’ curve could cause Cubs fits in Game 3
- Updated: October 27, 2016
You don’t have to dig too deeply to figure out what Josh Tomlin’s strategy is likely to be against the Cubs in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night. The soft-tossing righty, who averages only 88.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, has made it pretty clear already this October.
Tomlin is going to throw curveballs. He’s going to throw lots of them. He’s going to do it because it’s how he gets to the best version of himself, and he’s going to do it because it may just be the best way to neutralize the excellent Cubs lineup.
• Game 3: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX
Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 CLE 6, CHC 0 Gm 2 Oct. 26 CHC 5, CLE 1 Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians
Since coming up with Cleveland in 2010, Tomlin has made 124 regular-season and postseason appearances of at least 10 pitches or more; for most of that time, he’s relied on his four-seamer and cut fastball, sprinkling in the curve only about 10 to 15 percent of the time.
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If you look at those 124 starts and sort them by highest curveball percentage, look what jumps out immediately:
Tomlin’s highest single-game curveball percentage from 2010-16 42.4 percent — Oct. 15, 2016 (American League Championship Series Game 2) 33.8 percent — Oct. 10, 2016 (AL Division Series Game 3) 29.9 percent — July 23, 2016 25.3 percent — July 20, 2011 25.0 percent — Sept. 20, 2016
Anything stand out to you? It should. The only two times in Tomlin’s career that he’s thrown the curve more than 30 percent of the time came in his two 2016 postseason starts — his two most …
