“When I watch him throw a slider for first pitch for a ball, and he’s like ...,” Garman said and mimicked Harmon’s negative response in the fourth inning. “The mentality is wrong because that’s not the appropriate response.”
Garman wanted Harmon to pitch seven innings just like Javi Rivera did the night before for the first time for a Dragon since 2021. Garman said he knew if Harmon, who was pitching great, let missed pitches get to him, he wouldn’t get through seven. In the fifth, Harmon threw a lot of fastballs at 94 mph and hit 95 a few times, which is his top end. He retired the final seven batters he faced.
“I got on him pretty good, and he responded beautifully,” Garman said.
Harmon (3-3) extended his scoreless streak to 18 2/3 innings over three starts (all victories), allowed five singles and struck out six. During the streak Harmon has allowed 10 hits, walked none and struck out 15.
“I’m just throwing all my pitches instead of just sinkers, sweepers to righties and four-seams, changeups to lefties,” said Harmon, a 13th-round pick out of Northwestern State in his home state of Louisiana. “I’m just throwing every pitch I have at them now and trying to be less predictable.”
The Dragons’ pitching staff entered Thursday’s game with a league-best 3.33 ERA in the past 21 games since May 12. That has helped produce a 14-8 record that included a 7-5 road trip. Starters are going deeper, and so much so that the coaching staff had a meeting with the relievers and told them as long as this continues they will get less work. On Thursday the Dragons needed only Arij Fransen for two hitless and scoreless innings.
“It’s good to see,” Harrison said. “Harmon had a really good plan. His meeting in here pre-game he was all fired up. He was ready to make some adjustments off his last start, and he went out and attacked.”
The Dragons (27-27) gave Harmon all he needed in the first inning. Jay Allen II walked, moved to second on a Hector Rodriguez grounder – the kind of productive out Harrison Jr. says are key – and stole third base. Then Allen scored on a short sacrifice fly to right by Sal Stewart.
Victor Acosta hit his second homer of the season in the fourth inning with a man on base for a 3-0 lead. And Stewart drove in his second run and 27th of the season on a ground out in the seventh.
The pitching, a hot May by Sal Stewart that earned him Reds minor league position player of the month and less striking out as a team has the Dragons thinking playoffs. They trail first-place Lake County by 4 1/2 games with 12 games left to decide the first-half champion.
Catching the Captains and surpassing three other teams will be difficult, but the pitching staff is turning their internal competition into a positive for the team.
“It’s just the competitive nature,” Harmon said. “Nobody wants to go out there and give up the game. We’re fighting for the playoffs, and I think by doing that we get the best version of ourselves playing high level baseball. And it’s fun.”
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