Patton pitches 6 no hit innings

[Duman]

Troy Patton pitched 6 no hit innings last night.  He pitched against the same team and the same pitcher (Hochever) he pitched against in his first start.  One of the things that was as nice to see as the no hits was the fact that his GP/FP out ration was 8/4.  He threw 87 pitches in the six innings of work.

And you have to like his approach to getting better:

"I would like to continue just to get better and throw more changeups for strikes," Patton said. "By no means have I been really sharp on the mound. I've had good results, but I don't know if that was really the result of me being that good (on Thursday). It just worked in my favor.

"My stuff wasn't as good as it possibly could have been. They were good outcomes, but my changeup still isn't where I want it to be, and I could still locate the fastball a little bit better."

http://www.caller.com/ccct/hooks/article/0,1641,CCCT_17996_5482298,00.html

[Froback]

One thing that is impressive to me, is he was better the 2nd time facing these hitters when you think they might have made adjustments after the first time.

But it is always good to hear the pitcher is continuing to work on getting better and is not satisfied with how they are doing (even when doing well).

[jaklewein]

Don't know if either of you read my brief report on my trip to spring training, but in case you didn't...

In short, I ran into Mr. Patton at an Astros game (in the stands).  He was extremely approachable and very level-headed.  Take into account his age and what he's worth and I'd say he's way ahead of the curve.  I'm definitely rooting for the guy.