BOSTON — Felix Doubront wants to make one thing clear: He's not tired.
Since the All-Star break, Doubront has struggled with his efficiency
and has logged at least six innings just twice. A day after experiencing his
seventh straight winless start, the southpaw cited a lack of confidence for
his second-half woes.
"Sometimes, I put too much pressure [on myself]," Doubront said. "It's one
thing I can't control right now. I just want to get the hitter out and throw as
many pitches as I can. That's the only thing I can control — finish the hitter
in three or four pitches. I'm throwing too many pitches to get one hitter
out."
The
trend continued in Friday's game against the Blue Jays. Through four innings of
work at Fenway Park, Doubront struck out four batters but yielded six hits and
five runs while throwing 84 pitches.
It's the strikeouts, however, that have contributed to Doubront's issues. Although he's
recorded 9.09 punchouts per nine innings –– 136 over 134 2/3 –– he's exhausted his
pitch count quickly by rarely getting early count outs.
And
it's snowballed into other problems.
"Control
is one [concern]," Doubront said. "Sometimes it's good — my
mechanics are good — but I need to finish the hitters. That's most important.
I'm not confident about that [right now]."
He's
also cognizant of the fact that he's logged the most innings of his
professional career. Even so, Doubront insists his downward trend stems from
mental worries as opposed to physical.
"When
I feel tired, I'm going to let them know," Doubront said. "But I'm
not. I'm going to keep pitching and try to figure it out. That's it."
Point
taken.
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