Going into the season, Mike Martin Jr. knew he had one of the best 1-2 starting pitching duos in the country. But the Florida State head baseball coach thought he had one of the best bullpens in the United States as well.
Through 11 games -- albeit a small sample size -- that second part hasn't come to fruition.
After a terrific performance by No. 3 starter Ross Dunn on Sunday, the Seminoles' relievers again struggled in a 5-3, extra-inning loss to visiting Cal.
Dunn allowed one hit and struck out 11 in six innings of work.
The SIX relievers that followed him -- Wyatt Crowell, Davis Hare, Jonah Scolaro, Conner Whitaker, Andrew Armstrong and David Barrett -- combined to give up five runs, six hits and walk four.
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The four starting pitchers the Seminoles have used this season -- Parker Messick, Bryce Hubbart, Dunn and Carson Montgomery -- have pitched 59 innings this year and have a combined ERA of 1.68.
The bullpen now has an ERA of 4.70.
That's not an awful number, but it's certainly not great. Or even good.
And it's been a reason why the Seminoles are 6-0 when Messick and Hubbart start a game and 1-4 when they don't.
"Being such a long year and everything else, there is so much information that we have," Martin Jr. said. "Certain guys have got to face certain left-handed or right-handed pitching, we've got to have all of them down there to make it really difficult for folks to go against our staff.
"I told every one of them, 'Get your butt ready for Tuesday.' I wish we played tomorrow. I'd run them all back out there again tomorrow to get that taste out of their mouth."
The catcher conundrum
Colton Vincent, who Martin Jr. admitted before the season had some work to do as a hitter, just isn't getting it done at the plate. He went 0-for-3 on Sunday with three strikeouts. His batting average is now .114 for the season. He also hasn't walked yet this year either.
Vincent's defense is the reason he's in the lineup, but on Sunday he had a passed ball that allowed a run to score. And there were two wild pitches he couldn't block.
Based on what we've seen so far, it's right to wonder if Martin Jr. will give backup catcher Brock Mathis more of a look behind the plate. The Oklahoma State transfer had two hits in his Saturday start -- a rocket double down the left field line and a 453-foot homer that went over the video board.
Even if Mathis is not a star defensively, it's not as if Vincent -- at least so far -- has proven to be a brick wall behind the plate. And Mathis' bat is one that could really be used by an FSU lineup that still hasn't found its stride.
When Vincent was pinch-hit for by freshman Sebastian Jiminez to lead off the bottom of the 10th Sunday, it seemed to be a telling indicator that Martin Jr. knows the lack of production he's getting from his starting catcher can't continue for much longer.
An encouraging outing for Dunn
Messick and Hubbart are certified stars. They're two of the best starting pitchers in the country. But this weekend against Cal, it was the "other starter" who had the best outing of the bunch.
Dunn, after some early-inning struggles with control, was dominant once he got dialed in.
He struck out 11 in six innings on 91 pitches. He allowed just one hit. He walked three and got to three-ball counts multiple times, but he battled through it and shut the Bears' offense down for six innings.
"That's the proudest I've been of him," Martin Jr. said. "If he had done that last year (get in those situations), it would've been a meltdown. And he pushed through, and really pitched well from then on. I'm proud of him for that.
"That was big for him."
The Seminoles play again Tuesday at home at 6 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast before going on the road to start ACC play against Wake Forest.
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