It wasn’t long ago there were whispers Kenta Maeda was in danger of losing his spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation. After another subpar outing, manager Dave Roberts met with the right-hander in effort to uplift his spirits and go over potential changes.
Maeda responded with seven strong innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was his longest start since also going seven frames on July 10, 2016, and matched Maeda’s career-high for innings pitched in a start.
The improved results were a byproduct of Maeda incorporating a cut fastball into his repertoire.