TRENTON- With the departure of Eastern League ERA leader Jordan Montgomery to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the other pitchers in the Thunder rotation now have to pick up the slack. Ronald Herrera, who has been in the rotation for much of the year, may now be counted on to make a big start in a potential playoff series with Reading. But...
TRENTON- With the departure of Eastern League ERA leader Jordan Montgomery to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the other pitchers in the Thunder rotation now have to pick up the slack.
Ronald Herrera, who has been in the rotation for much of the year, may now be counted on to make a big start in a potential playoff series with Reading.
But Trenton fans, who have watched on this year as Herrera threw the first eight innings of a no-hitter back on April 26, will have confidence that the young righty can get the job done.
It has been a bit of a split season for Herrera. He was so dominant early in the campaign, but a series of injuries set him back for more than a month. It is just recently that Herrera has found the form that carried him through the first month-plus of the year, and which earned him the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week in April.
With injuries to his finger and arm, which saw him put in the disabled list from June 24-July 6, it looked like there was a chance that his season could have gone south. But Herrera (8-7, 3.83 ERA), like his Thunder team, battled through, and both are now ready for the stretch run.
Ronald Herrera, Jonathan Holder combine for no-hitter
"It was a little bit hard for me with the strike zone, after the finger and after the shoulder" Herrera said. "But now I am working hard, and I feel pretty good now."
"I was trying to be quicker to home plate, and my arm was a little bit down," Herrera said. "I am trying to be on the top of the ball right now, and my pitches are pretty good."
The Thunder staff on a whole has been very good over the first four months. Obviously, a team does not get to 68-41 without some quality starters. But with Dietrich Enns, the Eastern League Player of the Month for April, Brady Lail, and Jordan Montgomery all at SWB, it is on the current staff to bring home a playoff berth over the next month. With the end of the regular season now a month away, each remaining series takes on added importance.
Take Thursday night's rubber game with Hartford, for example. The Yard Goats trail Trenton by six games in the standings, but can cut it to five with a win. A Thunder victory pushes that lead up to seven games, which looks much better with just 31 games to play after Thursday.
"For us, it is awesome," Herrera said. "I think all the starters are doing a pretty good job, and it is awesome that we can help the club so much. We are excited for August. We are going to keep working hard, and do our best to get to the playoffs."
Herrera took the loss in Wednesday's 4-1 defeat to Hartford, but he was 2-0, with a 1.50 ERA in the three games prior. He was especially effective against Altoona on July 29, as Herrera went 6.1 innings of shutout baseball. He made some big pitches in tough spots with runners in scoring position, to stymie the Curve attack.
"I made an adjustment to work down in the zone," Herrera said. "It is really important, because if you miss up, they are going to hit it. Against Altoona, I was using all my pitches.
"I could throw my breaking ball behind in the count," Herrera said. "Now I am throwing my two-seam fastball, and it is hard to hit that pitch. I am going to keep working hard. I feel like I am doing a pretty good job this last four starts, and I am going to keep doing that."
This is Herrera's fifth season in professional baseball, and it is amazing to think that he threw the no-hitter at just 20-years-old. So he is developing at a nice pace, and looks to have a bright future.
"I am going to work hard in the off-season," Herrera said. "I will come back next year stronger than I am know."
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean