Doolittle tapping into former delivery to return to peak form

Step by step, Sean Doolittle is rediscovering the form that made him one of baseball's most effective relievers in recent seasons. And that's in part because of the near-step he's brought back to his delivery.

After a summer of diminished velocity, gaudy stats and plenty of tinkering, Doolittle is finally starting to look like his old self again. He hasn't allowed an earned run in five appearances since returning from the injured list and a rehab stint at the Nationals' alternate training site in Fredericksburg. And in three of his last four outings, the left-hander has retired the side, throwing 29 of his 37 pitches for strikes.

"I feel like in each of the five outings I've had since coming back from Fredericksburg, each one has been an improvement," he said during a Zoom session with reporters after Tuesday's win over the Rays. "And tonight was another step in the right direction."

This latest appearance was Doolittle's best, and not simply because of the results. Pitching the top of the seventh with the Nationals leading 5-3, he struck out both Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe with fastballs, then got the red-hot Randy Arozarena to popup on a changeup.

Doolittle's fastball velocity was back up to 92 mph, and he induced five swings and misses out of the eight he threw. He also threw a slider for a strike, going 2-for-2 on his rarely used off-speed pitches.

Most importantly to the 33-year-old, he did all this late in a close ballgame. This was only the third Nationals win he pitched in, and the previous two were blowouts.

"For me, personally, that's the best thing about tonight: I got to be part of a win again," he said. "I got to pitch in a little bit of a higher-leverage situation and come through for the team."

Astute observers may have noticed Doolittle has reintroduced a signature element of his delivery to the plate that he was forced to abandon last season: The mid-delivery toe tap on the mound before throwing a pitch.

"I'm not tapping! It's hovering right above the dirt," he went out of his way to explain. "I just want to clear that up and say it up front."

Doolittle did used to actually tap his right toe on the mound before delivering a pitch, that is until former Cubs manager Joe Maddon complained about it to umpires during a May 2019 series, saying it was an illegal pitch. Doolittle, who had been pitching that way for years without anyone raising an objection, wound up ditching the toe tap altogether.

Now, as he seeks to return to form after his ragged start to this season, he has brought back a near-toe tap to help him get his body in sync before he throws a pitch.

"That movement with my front leg that mimics the tap really allows me to gather myself over the rubber before I go towards home plate," he said. "And that was something that I really was not doing before. Early in the season, in summer camp, it was rushed and I was not able to ever feel like I was in a strong position with my legs fully underneath me. So that's kind of what that movement came from. And I think over the five outings I've had, it's probably gotten more and more pronounced as I've gotten more comfortable with the rhythm again.

"I think tonight was, I think, the best that it's felt. I'm happy with it."