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MINNEAPOLIS -- Shaun Marcum's pitching performance has been nothing short of startling this season.
In nine starts he is 3-0 with a 2.26 ERA and seven quality starts. In those starts he has allowed three or fewer runs eight times and it's only because of lack of run support that his win total isn't higher.
"I'm pretty excited about how things have gone so far but we've got a lot of season left and a lot of games," he said. "We'll see how things end up."
TOOK HIS LUMPS
Rarely does a young pitcher simply rise through the ranks flawlessly and take off once he reaches the big leagues. Most of the time it's an up-and-down struggle until the individual figures things out. It's as if a switch gets turned on.
In Marcum's case, he said it was catcher Sal Fasano who flipped the switch.
"Last year the experience I had of being in the rotation, I had my ups and downs," Marcum said. "Then early this year out of the bullpen I had some success and some struggles. One day in Cleveland (May 1-3) working with Sal (Fasano), I think Sal turned the switch on."
This would be the same Sal Fasano who is back in Syracuse. The Sal Fasano who brought Roy Halladay's cutter back to life after he suggested a grip change.
So what did Fasano tell Marcum?
"I was just struggling with mechanics and I think with my confidence ... Sal told me just to get back to what you were doing, you know the game, get out there and do it.
"He kind of gave me a little motivation. It was good, we needed that."