DeLucia Finds Bullpen Home

Rich DeLucia seems to have found a spot in the Angel bullpen, partly because of his split-finger fastball.

DeLucia, a 32-year-old right-hander, was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on April 14 for a player to be named later.

Since coming to the Angels, DeLucia has given up only one run in eight innings. The run came on a fan-aided home run by Detroit’s Travis Fryman on Saturday.

“Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said.

And sometimes all it takes is a new pitch.

DeLucia has gained confidence in the split-finger, which he began working on last season. He used it here and there until Wednesday, when he was asked to pitch three innings.

“I needed something different,” DeLucia said. “You can’t just keep throwing them fastballs. I have to give some sort of off-speed pitch.”

DeLucia picked up his second victory with three shutout innings. He struck out four.

He got some good advice when he came to the Angels. Joe Coleman, the Angel bullpen coach, helped DeLucia develop the pitch. Coleman, a two-time 20-game winner with the Detroit Tigers, used it during his 15-year career.

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Relief pitcher Pep Harris knows that pitching, like real estate, involves three things: location, location, location. But he also knows it includes a few more rules: fastball, off-speed, fastball.

Harris was 0-1 with a 7.88 earned-run average in 16 innings during spring training. Since the season began, he has a 1.83 ERA in 12 appearances. He stuck out four of five batters he faced Friday.

“I was mainly working on location in the spring,” Harris said. “I as trying to get that right. Since the season started, I have been changing speeds. It makes a difference.”

His improvement couldn’t come at a better time, as the Angel bullpen has been reshuffled with closer Troy Percival out with a shoulder injury. Harris, usually a long-man or middle-inning reliever, has performed some in a set-up role.