There's no denying Kansas City Royals Luke Hochevar has had a disappointing career up to this point. But if you watched his start Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, you would have never guessed it as Hochevar's stuff was nearly flawless, allowing him to out-duel David Price with a incredible final line (8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K).
Craig Brown of Royals Review does a masterful assessment of each of those 10 strikeouts for fans who really want to delve deeper into Hochevar's best start of his career. But if you just want the highlights, here's what you need to know:
- This was only the third time in his career that he's struck out at least 10 batters.
- This was the first time that he's reach double digit strikeouts and didn't allow a run.
- This is exactly what the Royals were hoping for from him when they selected him first overall out of the University of Tennessee back in 2006.
Hochevar threw 65 of his 105 pitches for strikes while showing an uncanny dominance of the strike zone. And while his ERA still sits at 4.95 for the season, Hochevar has been showing some real signs of life, registering a quality start in five of his last seven outings .
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