Tony Barnette hopes slower delivery brings better results

Rangers reliever Tony Barnette hopes a slight alteration in his mechanics is all he needed. Barnette, who was placed on the disabled list June 16 with a sprained finger, threw three scoreless innings of relief for Triple A Round Rock, including two innings on Thursday. He struck out three and walked one and allowed no hits.

“It was a successful trip,” said Barnette, who has struggled through 23 appearances this season after an outstanding rookie season in 2016.

“My confidence never wavered. This is a game and it’s going to have ups and downs and I’ve been down before,” he said. “It sucks when you’re down, it’s not a fun place to be, but at the end of the day you just have to keep working.”

Barnette’s delivery was getting too fast, which prevented him from getting behind the ball and having the correct balance.

“Sometimes the game speeds up. The delivery was fast,” he said. For one, Barnette said, he wasn’t using the hitch in his typical delivery where he delays longer than most pitchers on back foot before thrusting forward.

Manager Jeff Banister said Barnette could be activated in the next couple of days, depending on the bullpen usage.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Tony Barnette hopes slower delivery brings better results."