Journeyman Scott McGough has found niche as big piece in Arizona Diamondbacks' bullpen
If you're going to learn the nuances of becoming a closer, you might as well do it in a place you don't speak the native language. Such was the case for Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Scott McGough, who spent four years pitching for the Yakult Swallows, a professional team in Tokyo.
McGough, 33, signed with the Diamondbacks during the offseason as the organization looked to improve in an area where it was one of the worst in baseball last year — the bullpen.
Manager Torey Lovullo stops short of calling McGough his "closer," but his usage of him suggests that is just what he is. McGough has recorded each of the past five saves the Diamondbacks have recorded.
"He's solidified himself on the very back end. He hit quick, and then I think there was a little bit of a learning curve. I backed off him a little bit and we hit again with him and now he's on a great trajectory," Lovullo said last week. "I have to be mindful of the multiple innings and I will be, moving forward. But he has really picked us up in some big ways. Very reliable. He's going to pound the zone with all his pitches. He's going to get quick, easy outs in most cases, and he's going to help us win baseball games."
McGough had some experience coming out of the bullpen, doing so in his collegiate days at Oregon. He credited his pitching coach there, Andrew Checketts, now head coach at UC Santa Barbara, for helping him with the mental side of the game, something he continued to work on during that stint abroad.
"There's so much pressure to it and it takes a different thought process," McGough said. "I learned that the hard way growing up and then in Japan when there are 50,000 people out there and you're in that spot and it's a one-run game. One of those learned skills. That was a great experience for me because I got to learn a lot. Really gave me some confidence to do it, understand how to do it, the routine and how to go about it."
While Japan is a country in which they take their sports seriously, McGough didn't sense any ill will headed his way when he struggled.
"They were pretty nice," he said. "I was pretty fortunate. There was one part of the stadium they could be a bit tough, but there were times I was walking home from the stadium, and someone would yell at me, `Hey, nice pitching, it's OK. You get the next one.' They don't talk too much smack."
McGough seems to have finally found a home after what most would consider a "journeyman" tenure in the minor leagues. Arizona is his fifth organization following minor-league stints with the Dodgers, Marlins, Orioles and Rockies, all before his time in Japan. He did appear in six games with Miami in 2015.
He feels like he finally has a home with Arizona, which signed him to a two-year $6.25 million deal in December.
His numbers are evidence of the precarious nature of a closer. McGough has seven saves in 11 tries in 38 appearances. In 43 innings, he has 51 strikeouts, 18 walks and 26 hits allowed with a 2.93 ERA, yet his record is 0-6.
He had a stretch of only one earned run allowed over 20 appearances, with five saves, a streak snapped snapped when he faltered and gave up three runs in a loss to Tampa Bay on June 28. That was also his first blown save since May 2. He bounced back on Saturday, closing out the Diamondbacks' 3-1 win over the Angels.
So goes the up and down moments of a closer.
"I'm definitely happy where I'm at now," he said. "I always never tried to get too high with the highs or low with the lows. Just stay even keel. Keep doing what I'm doing."
Closer by committee
McGough, who recorded his first save against the rival Dodgers on April 2, says one of the reasons Arizona appealed to him was its mix of promising young players and veterans, when it comes to not only the pitching staff but the position player group, as well. Veterans are always willing to dish out advice and the younger players have been willing to listen.
"It says a lot about how the organization went about building this team," McGough said. "They went out and got complimentary pieces and it has shown with how well we have done on the field and I'm happy to be part of it."
Lovullo's closer-by-committee approach has worked for the most part, with the Diamondbacks taking a 50-35 record into a six-game homestand that starts Tuesday night against the New York Mets. Andrew Chafin has eight saves in 10 opportunities, although he hasn't recorded one in more than a month, and Miguel Castro has seven in nine opportunities.
As far back as spring training Lovullo talked about not pigeon-holing his relievers into specific roles, but McGough does have more appearances and innings than any other reliever.
"I thought my role would be somewhere in the back end because I had some experience with that, but it goes with the flow of the season and I understood that," he said. "Right now I'm throwing well so that's my spot. But who knows what that will look like in a month. We have good experience in the back end so it could be any of us."
The progress of the bullpen is one reason the Diamondbacks have finished the first half of the season as one of baseball's biggest surprises, leading the National League West ahead of the suddenly surging Giants and perennial title-contending Dodgers.
Last season in games in which the Diamondbacks were tied or ahead at the start of the sixth, they went 67-42 (.615). This year that has improved to 40-13 (.754), although an improved offense has factored into that, as well.
The bullpen ERA has improved from 25th (4.58) to 17th (3.99), also progressing in strikeouts from 30th to 19th.
When it comes to save percentage the improvement is from 26th at 55% to 17th at 62%.
"I know everyone wants to know if he (McGough) is the closer or Andrew Chafin is the closer or Miguel Castro is the closer," Lovullo said. "They're all the closer. It depends on how the matchup happens. They've all accepted that role. They've adapted to that role and they just go and get outs. I have to be more creative, look at some things sooner in the game. Usually (when you) have that ninth-inning lockdown guy, you're blocking out part of the sixth, the seventh and the eighth. Now you expand a little. It's just little bit more of a challenging game of chess, for me, but it's something I enjoy doing."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks pitcher Scott McGough has found home in Arizona bullpen
