Many rookie pitchers find themselves where Reese Olson was last weekend, searching for answers after what had worked early in the season goes awry. Few of them figure it out so quickly.
The 3,000 rpm slider that was close to unhittable for Olson for two months was hit enough by the Rays last Friday that Olson was left to wonder if hitters were sitting on it. He’d given up five homers in his previous four starts, and 13 runs over 16 innings in his past three outings. He debated whether to go to something else.