Dontrelle Willis had a great game yesterday against the Montreal Expos. He went 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. Seventy seven of his 113 pitches were strikes. That seems like a high pitch count for his first start of the season, so let’s keep our eye on that, but it’s nice to see him open well after fading in the 2nd half last year.
Dontrelle did throw a lot of pitches last night, but it seemed like it was because he got into a lot of deep counts early in the game. Towards the fourth or fifth he was really rolling and I think it was hard for McKeon to think of pulling him. After he retired 11 in a row, Dontrelle gave up a walk and McKeon pulled him one batter later.
All around a great performance by Dontrelle last night. He’s so much fun to watch.