Baseball pitching staff to regain key player for conference play
Pitcher Kyle Molnar is expected to make his return to the mound for UCLA baseball this weekend in Utah. The redshirt sophomore has been out since 2016 with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Jack Kearns
April 12, 2018 12:18 a.m.
Kyle Molnar will pitch for the first time since 2016 this weekend.
The redshirt sophomore posted a 3.32 ERA during his freshman season as the Sunday starter for UCLA baseball, the lowest of any Bruin starting pitcher that year. His performance in 13 starts earned him a 5-5 record and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors.
Molnar was set to become the next Friday ace for UCLA, following in the footsteps of former Bruin aces Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Griffin Canning, all of whom are now MLB pitchers.
However, Molnar suffered an elbow ligament injury toward the end of his freshman campaign. He was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery in June 2016, a common injury among pitchers with a yearlong recovery time, and chose to redshirt his sophomore season to save a season of eligibility. He was expected to start at the beginning of the year, but suffered more setbacks with his elbow, holding him out longer than expected.
Molnar was cleared to throw in late February and will be seeing game action this weekend against Utah.
“(It’s difficult) watching everybody out there succeeding and wishing you were a part of it, just watching the team, knowing that you’re on it but you’re not playing,” Molnar said. “I’m finally going to get (rid of) that feeling this coming weekend.”
Coach John Savage said he’ll be bringing Molnar out of the bullpen, easing him back into the lineup.
“I feel like there’s going to be a little nerve coming into this weekend knowing it’s been almost two years since I’ve thrown in a game,” Molnar said. “But we’re going to take it slow, so everything is going to be straight out in front of me with Savage – whatever I can do to help the team win.”
The Bruins’ pitching staff has been short-handed all season. They lost junior Saturday ace Jon Olsen for almost a month and sophomore Tuesday starter Ryan Garcia for two weeks. Despite the injuries, UCLA boasts the fifth-best ERA in the country and has its entire rotation healthy for the first time this season heading into the second half of conference play.
“When Molnar went down, that changed everything. Originally, it was (senior Jake) Bird, Olsen and Molnar in the rotation,” Savage said in the preseason. “Then we were going to have a battle between Garcia and (freshman Zach) Pettway for Tuesday. Then when Molnar went down, it moved everybody up.”
Pettway has taken the Sunday spot and leads the team in strikeouts, while Garcia has maintained a 1.82 ERA in three starts and 11 appearances. Bird owns a team-low 1.54 ERA in eight Friday starts, averaging more than 6.5 innings pitched per game.
The No. 17 Bruins are now atop the Pac-12 with six conference series remaining, and can earn home-field advantage with a top-two finish should they make the regionals in June.
