Finding His Footing in Dodger Blue
Kyle Hurt has carved out a reliable role in the Dodgers bullpen, posting a 1.00 ERA across 18 appearances this season while striking out 21 batters in 18.0 innings. The right-hander's 0.78 WHIP reflects his ability to limit baserunners, allowing just 10 hits and 4 walks through his relief outings.
"It's awesome. I'm having so much fun being here just around these guys," Hurt said in a recent interview. "Just they're all great baseball players and to have that trust in Doc is huge and giving me even more confidence. I mean, that's the whole point of this game is having confidence and just knowing that he trusts me in that situation means a lot to me for sure."
The Art of Selective Awareness
Hurt's approach to high-pressure situations was put to the test recently when he nearly entered a game during a no-hitter in progress. His reaction revealed an interesting psychological approach to relief pitching.
"I'll be honest with you, I had no idea it happened until the hit happened. I didn't know," Hurt admitted. "I saw the score and I just thought they got a couple hits and then [someone] told me and I had no idea. So, I was kind of shocked, but it was cool to see."
When asked about potentially entering such a high-stakes situation, Hurt suggested his lack of awareness might have been beneficial. "You almost had to come into a game with a no hitter at stake, which there's some pressure off of you. I wouldn't have known going in because I didn't know there was no hitter going on. So I think it I would have treated it like any other game," he explained, adding with a laugh, "ignorance would have been blessed."
Fastball-Changeup Foundation
Hurt's success stems from a simplified but effective approach on the mound. "I just kind of been preached to throw the fast ball at the top of the zone and then kind of mix the change up in off of that," he explained. "And I do throw a slider, but only five, six, seven% of the time. And it's hard to as a hitter, it's hard to kind of to see that heater at the top and the change up the same the same way comes out of my arm. So, I'm just super confident in it and I'm just going to keep going."
His recent game logs support this confidence, showing consistent command with efficient pitch counts. On May 30th, he struck out one batter in 1.0 inning on just 11 pitches, 8 for strikes.
Watching Greatness Up Close
Hurt has found himself with a front-row seat to witness Shohei Ohtani's historic two-way performance. "It's the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life to be honest with you," Hurt said. "Like last week in his start, he hit a lead off homer. He did it again today. He threw six no hit innings and he gave up one run. But that it is what it is. That's baseball. But it's insanely fun and cool to just see what he's doing and I'm just thrilled to be a part of this team and watch it every single day."
As Hurt continues to establish himself in the Dodgers' bullpen hierarchy, his combination of effective stuff and measured confidence suggests he'll remain a key piece in manager Dave Roberts' late-game plans.