He has made it work with wiliness and a makeover. He relies on his slider more than ever — he threw it a career-high 41.9% of the time in 2018 — and uses his fastball less. He tag-teams the pitches to attack both sides of the plate, though the similar velocities periodically presented issues this season. His famed 12-to-6 curveball, when effective, provides a crucial vertical component and velocity difference. He struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings — his lowest strikeout rate since his rookie year — but his 2.73 ERA this season was eighth among starting pitchers with at least 150 innings.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 01, 2018 02:54 UTC