Falter sizzles again, finding value in simplicity with Bart behind plate

"I think that's the best I've felt, for sure," said Falter, who has posted a 1.73 ERA since the second inning of his season debut in Miami late last month. "I mean, I don't think my arm's felt that good in a really long time. Got a lot of recovery to do, that's for sure." 

The key to Falter's stellar performance against the Brewers' lineup wasn't all that complex. In fact, it was all about keeping it simple, an approach that allowed him to lean on his fastball in addition to the extension, cut profile and the funkiness that, according to Bart, are crucial to his success with the pitch. 

Averaging around 92 mph, Falter turned to his fastball 60 times, a 71% rate that translated to generating 13 whiffs -- the same amount Jones had with his fastball on Monday night -- and benefitting from 13 called strikes. He mixed in 12 sliders and a 13-pitch batch that included six sinkers, six curveballs and a splitter. 

"(I) just let him be, let him do his thing. Keep it simple for him, don't overcomplicate it," Bart said. "I don't even talk to him in the dugout. Just do your thing. He knows what we're doing and keeps going forward with it. I started to see some 94s pop up there. Guys were missing. There was a lot of swing and miss, a lot of cheating and swinging and missing, and when you're doing that, it opens up a different part of the plate. I thought about utilizing it a little bit but at the end of the day, I just wanted to stick with his strengths and keep it going."

The lone mistake Falter made came after he threw seven scoreless innings. He entered to pitch the eighth and left a sinker down the middle to Gary Sanchez, who belted it for a solo shot that ended Falter's night. While his final pitch was one he would have liked to have back, Falter agreed that he benefitted from the simplicity of the gameplan.

"I tend to get a little mental sometimes," Falter said. "Got a good group of guys, a good coaching staff that keep me sane when stuff hits the fan. Just been trying to roll with that."

The effectiveness was key, too, especially in the eyes of Derek Shelton. Falter threw 15-plus pitches in two separate innings -- the first and third -- and kept his count to 11 or less in his other five innings. He got out of danger in the third after allowing back-to-back hits to start the inning and later retired 11 straight batters before surrendering the homer to Sanchez. 

"It was attack mode. He went right after them," Shelton said. "It was an all right-handed lineup, aside from Turang at the bottom, and it doesn't matter because that kid is a good hitter. But he went right after him. I think the thing that was probably most impressive is in the last four or five innings, he went 10-10-9-7 or 10-10-10-9-7. He was really efficient. You have to be really efficient to have innings that are that low in pitch count." 

With spin dominating the game of baseball, Bart sees similarities between Falter and a former San Francisco teammate of his in Jake McGee, who spent 13 years in the big leagues. He recently spent parts of two seasons with the Giants and relied on a 95% usage of his fastball. For Bart, the gameplan when catching McGee was similar to the one he has with Falter. It all revolves around sticking to a pitcher's strengths and getting the best out of what they do well.

“It’s so simple. There are so many things with data and analytics in this game that make things a lot more difficult and we all fall into it, and not that those things are bad cause there are a lot of good resources, but at the end of the day, when he throws strikes, he’s really good, from what I’ve seen," Bart said of Falter. "I haven’t been here long enough to know history of guys here, but from what I’ve seen, when he’s throwing strikes and he’s on the attack, he’s getting early contact. Tonight we were starting to see another level of swing and miss, the velo is ticking up and he’s moving in the right direction. Really just keeping it simple, keeping it cut and dry, and keeping his head clear. We’re using that to our advantage and you guys have seen what he’s done. I’m excited to continue to get back there with him and watch him grow.”