Restraint a big key for Astin

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas starter Barrett Astin didn’t let losing a fingernail on his pitching hand keep the Razorbacks from winning at Georgia last Friday night.

Astin, a junior right hander from Forrest City, caught his index finger on a baseball seam while surviving a shaky first inning in which the Bulldogs loaded the bases but didn’t score.

“It kind of ripped off and I just went in there and cut it off and I was good to go,” Astin said of the nail. “I lost some feel there in the first inning, but you either are going to get the job done or burn your bullpen for the weekend. I knew I had to get us into the sixth or seventh inning.”

Astin did better than that, going a career-long eight innings to lead the Razorbacks to a 2-0 victory and earn SEC pitcher of the week honors. He held Georgia to 4 hits with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts on 100 pitches.

In five previous SEC starts this season, Astin hadn’t pitched more than 52/3 innings.

“Maybe that’s what it’s going to take to get me going - smash my finger or something and let off a little bit and work on hitting my spots,” he said. “It’s not a big deal anymore. I got it fixed.”

Arkansas pitching coach Dave Jorn said the nail issue actually might have helped Astin.

“I think that kind of kept him in check a little bit from overdoing,” Jorn said.

It’s not as though Astin (3-2, 2.02 ERA) was pitching poorly before the Georgia game, but he was getting adjusted to a spot in the SEC rotation after being a reliever most of his career. He has 15 starts in his 72 appearances for the Razorbacks.

“There’s a transition and a learning process there,” Jorn said. “I think sometimes he got to point where he wanted to kind of save himself a little bit and pace himself and he got away from taking it one pitch at time, one hitter at a time, one inning at a time.

“Don’t pay attention to the innings and you’ll look up and say, ‘Oh, it’s the seventh or eighth inning already.’ ”

That’s what happened for Astin at Georgia.

“His location wasn’t very good the first inning, and then he went back in and made a little adjustment,” Arkansas catcher Jake Wise said. “He just made sure he was staying out front and finishing his pitches, and he started working down in the zone. Then he had all four pitches working to both sides of the plate to lefties and righties.”

Astin will look to have his pitches working again tonight when he starts for the No. 14 Razorbacks (30-15, 13-7 SEC) at No. 23 Kentucky (26-17, 9-12).

“He’s going to get outs,” Wise said. “He’s going to get out there and compete, and he’s going to give us a great chance to win.”

Astin, who made three starts to open this season, then had four relief appearances before returning to the rotation for the second SEC series at South Carolina, said he’s gradually been gaining endurance.

“Obviously, it’s just building arm strength - that and mental strength,” Astin said. “Getting late into the game and knowing what I have to do and how I have to prepare my body before the game.”

Wise said it’s helped Astin to be able to throw his fastball, curve ball, slider and change up. Earlier in the season he was relying primarily on his fastball and slider.

“We weren’t using all his pitches,” Wise said. “I went to him and was like, ‘Dude, I hated hitting against you in the fall because I had four pitches to worry about trying to hit, so let’s just go back and show the whole arsenal and see what we can do.’ He’s kind of taken off since we’ve done that.”

Jorn said Astin is throwing more curve balls to keep hitters off balance.

“Guys are looking for first pitch fastball, and he can steal some first-pitch strikes just throwing the curve ball over the plate,” Jorn said. “It doesn’t have to be nasty. Just get it over the plate and get ahead in the count.

“He’s got four quality pitches that he can change speeds with. He’s got pretty good location. It’s just a matter of him staying within himself sometimes and not trying to do too much.”

SHORT HOPS

Arkansas is 7-1 in SEC road games. … The Razorbacks continue to lead the nation with a 1.78 ERA. … The Razorbacks are hitting .264 as a team, led by Brian Anderson at .316 and Jordan Farris at .305. Tyler Spoon has a team high 39 RBI.