Against the Royals, he threw just 86 pitches in 7 innings. Inducing early groundballs. His strikeout are gone since his slider has disappeared. He threw a lot of sliders in his starts against the Jays and White Sox. And they were excellent sliders, and he could snap one off at will. He hasn't done that lately. Is his elbow bothering him? He is not used to throwing this many pitches yet. as a rookie starter, he has done better than their prized acquisition John Lackey.