James Paxton Frustrated With Ongoing Command Issues

James Paxton continued to struggle with his command but the Los Angeles Dodgers picked him up in an 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

The left-hander allowed four runs on six hits and issued five walks against four strikeouts. It was the third time in five starts this season that Paxton walked at least five batters.

As was the case in his previous outings, the 35-year-old largely managed to limit the damage. The only exception was a three-run fifth inning, but he still got through the frame to earn his third win of the year.

After the game, Paxton expressed frustration with his ongoing command issues but vowed to get better, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:

“I don’t have a lot of feel for things right now,” said Paxton in a post-start refrain that has become familiar.

“It’s real frustrating. It’s not fun out there right now. I’m really having to work hard and grind at it but I’m not going to quit. I’m going to keep grinding at it and hope it will click.”

Although he is not pitching to the best of his ability, Paxton has done his part to limit runs and keep the Dodgers in the game this season.

L.A. is now 4-1 when Paxton takes the mound despite his tendency to put traffic on the basepaths and not being able to consistently provide much length in starts.

Paxton is 3-0 with a respectable 3.51 ERA in 25.2 innings pitched, but he has walked an MLB-worst 22 batters. Paxton’s 7.7 walks per nine is the highest of his 11-year career. Furthermore, Paxton has a 5.57 FIP.

James Paxton trying to find ‘consistency’

After his start against the Washington Nationals last week, Paxton said he is trying to be more consistent in his starts. The veteran believes his struggles could be related to a mechanical issue that he is attempting to correct.