Charleston Dirty Birds pitcher David Lebron looks out over the field before Game 2 of the Atlantic League championship series against York on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at GoMart Ballpark. Lebron is the expected starter for the Dirty Birds in Game 3 of the series on Friday in York, Pa.
Charleston Dirty Birds pitcher David Lebron looks out over the field before Game 2 of the Atlantic League championship series against York on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at GoMart Ballpark. Lebron is the expected starter for the Dirty Birds in Game 3 of the series on Friday in York, Pa.
The Dirty Birds leaned on David Lebron last week, and he didn’t disappoint. Now, they’re putting the ball back in his hands.
Lebron will take the mound Friday as the Dirty Birds try to stave off elimination in the Atlantic League best-of-five championship series against York.
After falling 19-4 in Game 2 on Wednesday at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, they trail the Revolution two games to none as the series shifts to York, Pennsylvania.
Back on the road. This time, no margin for error. Must be the right spot for pitching Lebron.
“Lebron’s always going to do what I’ve known,” Charleston manager P.J. Phillips said. “In big games, he comes to pitch. He comes to play. He’s a perfect guy for Game 3. You can swing the whole momentum to our side by winning that game … having him come out for Game 3 is big.”
Lebron, the NCAA Division II national pitcher of the year in 2018 at the University of Tampa, helped the Dirty Birds capture momentum in last week’s South Division best-of-five championship series with a solid performance in Game 3.
After Charleston and Gastonia split their first two games at GoMart Ballpark last week, the right-handed Lebron went six innings in his road start, scattering five hits and allowing a single unearned run as the Dirty Birds prevailed 3-2. They went on claim the series in four games.
They’ll need a repeat performance Friday to keep their season alive as they seek Charleston’s first minor league title since the 1990 Charleston Wheelers took the Single-A South Atlantic League crown.
“I feel good right now where I’m at,” Lebron said Wednesday. “I think of late, my stuff’s been consistent in terms of the way my ball’s moving. The pitches are moving, able to keep hitters off-balance, unpredictable.
“It’s fun to see this team battle the last couple of weeks to get us to this point. Everybody knows what’s at stake. We’re just trying to play nine innings of good baseball and see where the stars align after that.”
It certainly won’t be easy in Game 3, as the Revolution counters with its ace, righty Jon Olsen (12-3), who led the league in ERA during the regular season (3.60), striking out 136 and walking just26 in 127 2/3 innings.
However, Olsen wasn’t sharp in his last outing, a 14-3 loss to Lancaster in the North Division championship series. He gave up six hits and four earned runs in five innings.
Lebron, who turned 31 earlier this month, knows all about the vagaries of a long pro season.
“Definitely always confident going out there,” he said, “but there are times through the season where there are some things you need to pay more attention to — physically, mentally or pitch design. Obviously, it’s been an up-and-down year.
“Was able to get the plane off the runway early and then kind of had turbulence the middle of the year through June and July. But I think since the second half came about, I’ve been able to put together some consistent starts. Every time I go on the mound, I try to go six or more innings, give up three runs or less. That’s just the quality standard for us [in] professional baseball.”
Lebron turned in a strong second half of the season and finished fourth in the Atlantic League in ERA at 4.52. He was 8-7 in the regular season with 120 Ks in 123 1/3 innings.
“I think he caught his second wind,” Phillips said. “He said he made some adjustments with his mechanics. I don’t know too much about pitching, but I have to believe him because it’s been night-and-day on his performance. The second half, he’s been one of the best pitchers in this league.”
Lebron, who plans to pitch in Puerto Rico this winter, said he really didn’t tweak anything in his repertoire as the season progressed.
“Not really,” he said. “I just wanted to be more consistent in the zone with all my pitches. I know what my pitches do and how they play to each hitter. It’s just a matter of doing that consistently, night in and night out.”
MOUND MISCALCULATION: There was some unexpected work being done on the field Wednesday a few hours before the game when it was discovered that the distance from the pitching rubber on the mound to home plate at GoMart Ballpark was 62 feet instead of the required 60 feet, 6 inches.
Rick White, president of the Atlantic League, said the discrepancy was first noticed by York players and officials, although several Dirty Birds pitchers coming off the field were in agreement with the diagnosis.
It wasn’t known how long the measurement was off, since GoMart Ballpark is used for events other than baseball and the mound gets moved on occasion.
“It’s unfortunate,” White said, “and we had no recourse but to move it.”
