While Mariano Rivera mowed down hitters with near flawless ease during the New York Yankees' dominant championship run of the 90’s, guys like Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson stifled opposition through the middle innings to set up the famed closer for success.
As Hall of Fame fireballer Dennis Eckersley shut the door to games for the stellar A’s squads of the late 80’s, Rick Honeycutt and Eric Plunk made sure the mustached one would have a lead to save.
Sandwiched between the big name starters and noteworthy closers, great squads are often incomplete without production from the oft-unheralded middle relievers.
For the No. 1 ASU baseball team, that man is Mitchell Lambson.
He hasn’t produced the fanfare of guys like Mike Leake or Josh Spence and he doesn’t feature a high-90s fastball like freshman Jake Barrett, but one could contend that Lambson’s contribution on the hill the past two seasons for the Sun Devils has been unmatched.
Save for a rough outing against Washington State last weekend, the Oregon native has been a model of consistency — one that has bewildered opposing hitters throughout the season.
A scene from ASU’s win over San Diego last week provides perspective.
Taking the ball in the sixth with the game tied 5-5, Lambson used a mix of change-ups and off-speed pitches, picking spots and leaving USD hitters only guesses as to wear the next pitch would come.
Lambson struck out four batters in two quick perfect innings of work, stifling any USD momentum.
“Every time he goes out there I feel like they aren’t even going to get a hit,” said sophomore second baseman Zack MacPhee, who remarked earlier this season that hitting the southpaw’s change-up, “even when you know it’s coming,” is a sometimes near impossible task.
“I think he’s the most dominant pitcher I’ve seen. So that’s all I have to say about him.”
After finishing his first college campaign with a 9-5 record and a 3.01 ERA to go along with a school-freshman record 99 strikeouts, Lambson has again been one of the Sun Devils’ most consistent hurlers, known for an ability to get hitters out without “overpowering stuff.”
“When we’ve got guys that are throwing some good fastballs and have good arms, and then you’ve got [Lambson] coming in, he can really change angles,” ASU coach Tim Esmay said. “Really what makes Mitchell good is his control. He can really pitch to a plan. He can pitch to a report. He can pitch to hitters’ holes and he can hit those holes, and he never deviates from that.”
In 36 innings this season, Lambson has already struck out 45 batters against nine walks. It would be easy for the coaching staff to insert him into a starting role — in his only career start last season, Lambson earned a complete-game win, allowing just five hits — but Esmay said the value of Lambson’s ability to pitch multiple games in a weekend is key for the Sun Devils.
“The ability for him to be able to repeat pitches is what makes him so good,” Esmay said.
Close call
Few rivalries in college baseball are as tight as the one between ASU and USC, a history that will continue Friday night with the start of a three-game series between the two teams at Packard Stadium. In 187 meetings, USC holds a 94-93 edge, with the Sun Devils grabbing two of three on the road from the Trojans last season.
USC has struggled this season, though, posting a 2-7 start in the Pac-10 (15-17 overall)
Junior Seth Blair will take the mound at on Friday at ASU’s home field, where the Sun Devils have yet to drop a contest this season (19-0).
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
