WooSox pitcher Brendan Nail on first Triple-A save: 'I turned on the switch'
WooSox pitcher Brendan Nail on first Triple-A save: 'I turned on the switch'
WooSox lefty Brendan Nail has been in Triple-A for only five appearances now. In those five appearances, Nail has already earned his manager’s trust in a high leverage spot.
“It was a great opportunity.” Nail said of his first Triple-A save. “I was getting warm just for situational purposes in case we tied the game up. We took the lead and I noticed they were still going to stick with me, so I turned on the switch and made sure I was ready for the opportunity.”
“Three out of four lefties so it was lining up perfectly.” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said on Nail in for a save opportunity. “If we can make anybody uncomfortable, especially a guy like Jake Cave, let’s do that. It also gives Nail a chance. Ort isn’t here and Politi is going to close a lot, but if we give Nail a chance to pitch there to get his heart rate up its good for him. Nail has been great through three of four outings. He was a little nervous in the first outing in the first inning but has locked it in since that point. He is a strike thrower, he pounds the zone, and has zip on the fastball. His breaking ball looks good, he is tough on lefties, and always wants the ball.”
The left hander has certainly impressed in his outings this season across Double-A and Triple-A. He carried a 0.87 ERA in April, 1.35 in May, and a 2.70 so far in June. It isn’t the biggest shock in the world that the lefty would see more time in high leverage spots. Nail only has 11 saves in his entire minor league career, but did record one earlier this season while in Double-A.
“I definitely had one in Portland.” Nail said of his last recorded save. “I normally wasn’t in the later innings there since I had a different role there, so it was different. I don’t like to use the word surprised because that makes me sound unprepared but I definitely was unaware of me being in that position so I tried to step up and take on the role and complete it the best I could.”
Nail has started games, pitched in bulk inning relief, one inning relief, and has now been in for a save. No matter where he has gotten the ball this year, he has shown his team that he can get outs whenever he gets the ball.
“I think baseball is a game of being able to build confidence in any way you can.” Nail added. “I think in a bullpen role, the goal is the be a backend guy because you want to be trusted to be in those high leverage situations all the time. It is a confidence builder if you do well and put in the work, and you will get the job. You want that trust by your other players on your team.”
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