Maurer finding ‘new’ slider effectively deceptive

CHICAGO — When Brandon Maurer got the news that he’d be staying in the bullpen this spring, it meant it was time to put his curveball — his fifth pitch, and an ineffective one at that — on the shelf.

Or so he thought.

Maurer hasn’t thrown his curveball once this season, but the pitch has seeped its way into his premier weapon — his slider. In short, Maurer’s spring experimentation with a curve has affected both the velocity and movement of his slider.

“I was working on the curveball so much in Spring Training,” Maurer said. “I don’t really want it to be doing that, but I think I’ve got different rotation on the [slider] now. It breaks more down instead of a sweep. It’s a slider, it’s just not the power slider I was throwing last year.”

Unintentionally, Maurer’s slider is averaging 83.2 miles per hour this season — five mph slower than last year.

But the results have been, essentially, the same. Opponents are hitting .167 against the pitch, and his strikeout rate is actually higher, although both home runs allowed by Maurer came on sliders.

“It makes sense, logically, that …

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