University of Georgia Athletics
Tyler Sharp Enough, Bullpen Brilliant
March 18, 2016 | Baseball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Georgia pitcher Robert Tyler is really good, but also human and fallible. He was actually all of those Friday night in the Bulldogs' SEC opener against Kentucky at Foley Field — a 5-2 victory in which the preseason All-American wasn't anywhere near his best.
The junior right-hander is a strikeout pitcher that wasn't throwing that many strikes, at least by his elite standards. Still, in the five full innings he pitched, Tyler showed grit and showed the ability to work his way out of trouble. That's why, after striking out Kentucky's Marcus Carson to end the fifth inning, the Bulldogs (14-5, 1-0 SEC) were ahead 5-2 and the Wildcats had just two hits.
"That just goes to show how good Robert Tyler is," said freshman catcher Michael Curry, who drove in the game's first run. "On his not-so-good day he still gives up only two runs."
Tyler struck out six, not bad considering his struggles finding the strike zone, but also walked a career-high seven batters. Watching Tyler struggle with his control, given how masterful he's been this season, it was, at a minimum, unexpected. Especially after he got out of the first inning throwing just five pitches.
In 21 1/3 innings pitched coming into the game, Tyler had 33 strikeouts and only four walks.
"I didn't have my best stuff but I kind of just went with it and it worked out well for us," Tyler said.
It wasn't classic Tyler on the mound Friday, but he was still good enough and savvy enough to avoid major trouble. And credit his catcher, Curry, for some tremendous work behind the plate. Curry was blocking pitches in the dirt and jumping around like a jackrabbit to corral anything that he couldn't snap up right away.
All those Tyler walks led to base-runners and a couple of bases-loaded jams. The first one, in the top of the third, he got out of unscathed, other than the toll it took on his arm throwing a few dozen pitches. He walked three batters in the inning, but nobody got home.
After the Bulldogs added three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 5-0 game, Tyler got a groundout to start the fifth, but then gave up a single and walked the next two batters. Next up, following a short visit from pitching coach Fred Corral, was Gunner McNeill, who stepped in hitting .355.
McNeill slapped a two-run single to left field and it looked like the Wildcats were right back in it. But they weren't, not after Tyler took care of the next two batters, including the inning-ending strikeout.
"He just found a way to get us through five innings," Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. "There's no question about his stuff, he was just a little inconsistent tonight. I tell you, it's really tough to hit if you don't know if it's going under your chin or on the black."
Tyler said he was a better pitcher Friday when he got himself into the jams.
"It was weird tonight, I felt the most comfortable when I did get in those tough situations," he said. "I kind of just felt like, OK, I can't let these runs [score], I've got to get out of this."
Right-handed junior Drew Moody took over on the mound in the sixth and pitched three very strong innings, allowing three hits, no runs and striking out a career-high six.
"My slider, I'd say it was pretty good tonight," Moody said. "They swung through a few of them and Coach Corral just called them at the exact right times."
Kentucky (12-4, 0-1) got runners on the corners with one out in the eighth, but there would be no rally. On a ground ball right back to Moody, he threw to Curry and Georgia had Tristan Pompey in a rundown between home and third, getting the out. Moody then struck out swinging Kentucky's best hitter, Evan White, to end the inning. White came into the game hitting .388.
After Moody's strong showing, Georgia went to closer Bo Tucker for the ninth inning. He worked up more of sweat in the bullpen, shutting down the Wildcats on just six pitches.
"Drew Moody's kind of our bridge guy. ... We have a lot of confidence in Drew, just because he throws a lot of strikes, fields his position and the ball's not straight — it's either sinker or slider, it's up to 89 [mph] and it's tough to hit," Stricklin said. "Bo Tucker, his last two times out he's been as efficient as possible. He got a save on Tuesday at Kennesaw [State] and he got a save tonight on six pitches.
"A 6-foot-5 left-hander throwing it down hill at 90 miles per hour is tough to hit."
And the Bulldogs, now winners of six straight games, only one of them by more than three runs, are proving to be increasingly tough to beat.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
