The best way for a starting pitcher to weather the storm and limit the damage?
Be Mark Buehrle.
The White Sox ace was so effective throughout his career because he was a master of his style. He filled up the strike zone, he let hitters hit his pitches, he relied on his defense and he got a lot of outs very quickly.
On May 13, 2005, Buehrle faced the minimum through the first three innings and retired 10 of the first 11 hitters he faced. Then came some uncustomary control issues for the fill-up-the-zone left-hander. Given his pitching style and how successful he was at sticking to it, three-ball counts were a rarity.