Chris Volstad Needs To Pitch Like This

Chris Volstad has been known for his inconsistency this season when it comes to his pitching performance. He has shown the ability to be an effective starter, and he has shown he can't get anyone out.

It's frustrating for him and the Marlins because he has the stuff to go out and pitch a good game, and it showed in his complete game shutout yesterday afternoon in a 7-0 victory against the Giants at AT&T Park.

Volstad was dealing from the outset, which he was throwing strikes and using his groundouts to get the Giants out. After getting off to a great start and receiving a 1-0 lead, Volstad kept on going by attacking the hitters and getting his outs.

Volstad had everything going right for him all day as he displayed good command of his pitches from start to finish, and that helped him retired 11 Giants in a row to finish the game along with him striking out six and not allowing a walk.

He completed the game by throwing 105 pitches, and he averaged at least 12 pitches per inning, which was why he was economical.

It was a pleasurable experience to watch the entire day, and it's something the Marlins want to see out of Volstad on the day he is starting.

The Marlins have many question marks, and one of them is their back end of the rotation. They need to get more out of those starters, and Volstad is one guy who needs to pitch much better than he has displayed in recent weeks.

Lately, and really for most of the season, Volstad has been giving up home runs, and he has been throwing up in the strike zone too often, which results to high ratio of walks. His appearances has been too short at times, which he leaves the game early.

Maybe this is what we should expect out of young starters, who are still learning how to pitch in the majors. A young starter will get by right away if he can overpower a hitter like Tim Lincecum, but a young starter that does not have Lincecum's talent is going to take some time to learn how to be an effective pitcher.

In professional sports though, it all about production not patience, and Volstad knows if he can't be consistent enough in winning games, the Marlins will look at other options like replacing Volstad in the rotation with Anibal Sanchez whenever he comes back.

The best option though would be for Volstad to stay on the rotation by going on a streak of good performances and victories. The hope is that his work with Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley will pay off like it did yesterday, which Wiley was able to help his starter fix his grip of throwing the ball down.

What Volstad needs is confidence, and with confidence, he could get back on track.

The Marlins have to hope yesterday was a start of something good for the struggling pitcher.