Phillies’ Seranthony Domínguez ‘trying not to think too much’ as he works to get back on track

CHICAGO — Seranthony Domínguez hadn’t felt like himself since the start of the season. His velocity numbers looked fine, but he wasn’t locating his pitches. Through his first seven games, the Phillies reliever had a 12.71 ERA with four strikeouts and five walks in 5 2/3 innings. It was a stark contrast from last year, when Dominguez had a 3.00 ERA with a strikeout rate of 29.5% and a walk rate of 10.6%.

He was healthy. He felt fine this offseason. But the results just weren’t there. Because there was no obvious reason for this, he started to feel frustrated — which only led to more struggles on the mound.

» READ MORE: Trade of Logan O’Hoppe for Brandon Marsh is looking like a win-win for Phillies and Angels

“I just felt disappointed with myself,” Domínguez said. “I felt mad at myself, because the way I’ve been pitching is not the way I know I can pitch.”

He decided to do something about it. He started working with pitching coach Caleb Cotham recently on a few mechanical and mental tweaks. He’s trying not to open up as much, and align himself straight with the plate to help him stay compact.

“I want to stay back and stay closed as I’m releasing the ball,” Domínguez said. “I don’t want to open up early. When I open up early, the angle where I release the ball from gets lower. And you don’t want that. You want to keep your arm up. You want your release point to be the same all the time, and you want your release point to be high enough so you throw the ball with more power, more control.”

And he worked on clearing his head when he’s about to throw.

“I’m trying not to think too much,” he said. “Just looking at the target and just throwing the ball.”

The results of that work have started to show up in games. In Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Domínguez entered in the eighth to face the heart of the White Sox order. He threw all strikes, needing only eight pitches to retire Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal, and Jake Burger.

It was the closest he’s felt to a return to normalcy. At times this season, José Alvarado was the only trustworthy reliever manager Rob Thomson had at his disposal. Seeing dominance from Domínguez again would be a welcome development.

» READ MORE: How Nick Castellanos’ time in Cincinnati provided a road map for success with the Phillies

“It was great,” Thomson said of Domínguez’s outing. “He just powered the ball through the zone. Threw strikes. Dominant stuff. It was really good to see. He was sold on the fact that he was going to run the ball through the zone, and whatever happens, happens.”

Infielder Edmundo Sosa (back discomfort) met with a doctor in Chicago before Wednesday’s game. Thomson said Sosa is still day to day. He was available during Wednesday’s game in an emergency situation.

Pitcher Ranger Suárez (left elbow strain) will throw 35-40 pitches in an up-down simulated game on Saturday. He will face Bryce Harper again, having pitched to him Tuesday in Chicago. The Phillies have not made a decision on a rehab assignment for Suárez yet.