The best starting pitcher for the Cubs this year is a hefty right-hander
named Carlos.
Not him.
The other guy.
Carlos
Silva, after going 5-18 over the past two seasons, has come to town,
put on his plus-sized uniform, and pitched better than anyone could
have predicted.
He picked up his team-leading fifth victory of the season Tuesday
after spinning six-plus innings of two-run ball against the Colorado
Rockies in a 6-2 victory that extended the Cubs’ winning streak to three
games.
Silva became the first Cub to begin a season 5-0 since Greg Maddux
in 2006 and the first starter to win his first five decisions with the
club since Mark Clark in 1997.
The unexpected de facto ace is
enjoying the success.
“One thing that I’ve been doing this year is trying to be myself,”
Silva said. “I am a pitcher that has a lot of emotions. I let it go, try
to be myself and not anyone else.”
Coming into the season,
plenty of questions abounded about just what version of Silva the Cubs
would get. Would it be the unremarkable Silva of the past two years or
the one that excelled earlier in his career with Minnesota.
Eight starts in, it’s been a version that’s keeping the team afloat
in the NL Central.
“I was surprised the last two years, how bad I
did,” Silva said. “I know I weigh 275 pounds, but maybe people don’t
think I work hard. I work really hard.
“I think I prepared myself more mentally than physically this year. I
think the most important thing is staying confident and going in
thinking 100 percent that I can do this.”
Silva leads the staff
with six quality starts and the Cubs are 7-1 when he takes the hill.
Hard not to be confident in the face of these numbers.
“Every
game he’s pitched, he’s been very competitive,” manager Lou Piniella
said. “We get six innings from a pitcher and he keeps us in a ballgame,
we feel good about it.
“The one good thing we found out rather quickly in Spring Training
is that he’s healthy. When a pitcher’s healthy … you figure you’ve got
a chance to get good production.”
One of the keys to Silva’s
early victories has been his ability to attack the strike zone. He’s
walked one batter or less in five of his eight outings, including
Tuesday.
“His pitch counts are low, tonight they were exceedingly low,”
Piniella said. “He throws a lot of strikes, he changes speeds, throws
enough breaking balls to keep the hitters off his fastball.”
The
lineup, too, has been extremely productive in support. They’ve scored at
least three runs in all of his starts, which could be in part to the
crisp, efficient matter Silva has been retiring batters.
“The faster you work, the better it’s going to be for the team,”
Silva said. “If you keep your team in and out, and don’t let them sit
for too long in the field, they’re going to score some runs for you.”
