Andrew Heaney didn’t allow an earned run and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games with an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres that also clinched a series victory.
Heaney allowed three unearned runs in what was otherwise another efficient start. The southpaw yielded four hits and collected three strikeouts over 4.2 innings.
“Yeah, just keep going and doing the things I need to do to keep moving forward,” Heaney said when asked if his outing was a step in the right direction.
“I think at this point it’s take the ball every fifth or sixth day, whatever it is, and do the best job I can to put us in a situation to win.”
The Padres scored all three of their unearned runs in the fourth inning largely due to an error by Gavin Lux, but Heaney kept the focus on himself. “I don’t know. I’m always going to be harsh on myself about certain pitches, certain situations,” Heaney began.
“I’ve got to do a better job of closing out that fourth inning and not letting it boil up like it did. Especially in a 2-0 game, in the middle of the game, that’s something where I need to do a better job of minimizing damage there.
“The fourth was a little tapper and kind of awkward. Groundball to Lux, I thought it was a base hit. I didn’t really know where he was positioned, and once I saw where he was, I realized there was nobody at second.
“I think the timing and rhythm of that was a little bit off for him. Like I said, got to do a better job of not giving up a double, and then the 0-2 hit to Myers, that’s got to be a better pitch there.”
Heaney threw 81 pitches against the Padres, which was his second-highest total of the season. The Dodgers intend to keep him on a pitch limit for the remainder of the year in effort to avoid more shoulder trouble.
“I think we’re getting there, but I said it last time, those pitches and extra innings are earned,” Heaney said. “I’ve had a couple games where I went back out for the extra inning and haven’t done a great job.
“Tonight, I walked Nola, the nine-hole guy, to turn the lineup over. That’s not ideal when you’re getting late into games and pitch count is getting up. I did it against the Guardians; had a leadoff homer and then a walk to a lefty.
“Those things need to be better. That’s how you earn more pitches and more innings.”
Heaney’s fastball velocity reached 95 mph
In addition to limiting hard contact, Heaney’s fastball velocity regularly reached 95 mph. “I work really hard to prepare myself for the game and I want to continue to do it,” he explained.
“I kind of said it tongue in cheek last time, ‘Let’s see if I can do it more than two times in a row.’ I think it’s just always that mindset of not taking anything for granted and keep working to get better.
“Velo is cool and pitch count was a little better, but there’s still a lot more things that I can do to be better, be more efficient and be a little bit cleaner.”
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