Though velocity is down, Twins’ Bailey Ober is thriving on ‘the lost art of pitching’

Bailey Ober did not throw a pitch on Thursday night that topped 90 mph. Only three of his 88 pitches touched 89.

Yet Ober threw six-plus innings of one-run ball in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field. It was his third consecutive quality start as Ober learns not just to survive with lower velocity, but thrive.

Just a couple years ago, he averaged 91.7 mph with his four-seam fastball. He’d touch 94. That number dropped sharply last year as Ober dealt with a hip issue that plagued him throughout the season and contributed to the most difficult season of his career results-wise. The velocity has been down again this year and yet, after Thursday’s start, Ober now has a 3.55 ERA across seven starts.

“I think it’s just pitching. The lost art of pitching. People are trying to throw as hard as they can all the time. Right now, obviously, I don’t have my best velo,” Ober said. “Being able to mix off-speed to get it to my location, getting the changeup down, and when needed, throw some fastballs up and in, and try to get guys off balance. That’s the name of the game.”

Ober has never been the hardest thrower, so he’s been less reliant on getting by on velocity than others. But not throwing as hard as he used to has changed the way he goes about setting up hitters.

When he had 92-94 mph in his back pocket, he could “just let it ride to the top” with his fastball. Now, he’s not necessarily doing that. He’s instead picking at the corners a more. The walks are a bit high, he acknowledges — his 3.1 walks per nine innings is up from his career 2.0 — but he’s usually able to limit those and locate well.

He also believes his hand positioning is way better this year, a credit to his hip being healthy finally.

“I’m not second-guessing my landing spot or where my hand is going to be. My release point is a lot more consistent compared to last year,” Ober said. “I think that’s just allowing me to manipulate, set guys up and throw it to the spots that I want.”

And that has helped him make him as effective.

“Guys that throw a hundred still aren’t guaranteed success in this league,” Ober said. “You still have to pitch. I feel like, right now, I’m doing a pretty good job of that. I look forward to staying on that plan of attack.”

Luis García’s wild day

Luis García woke up at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

By the time the day was over, the veteran reliever, who has pitched in parts of 14 major league seasons, had earned a promotion to the big leagues, welcomed his second child and pitched in a major league game.

“It was a long day,” the reliever said.