Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
September 16, 2007
Games of the Day

The Phillies go for their second consecutive sweep of the Mets this afternoon as Adam Eaton faces Oliver Perez. Eaton, with his 6.31 ERA and 9-9 record might do something historic. Since 1900, Wes Ferrell holds the record for pitcher with the highest ERA and a record of .500 or better, 6.28 in 1938 (min. 162 IP). Eaton, however, may lower that ERA a bit as he's pitched well against the Mets this season, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.89 ERA. On the other hand, Perez has been less than stellar against Philadelphia, losing both his starts, walking twelve in 8 2/3 innings.

Detroit is on a four-game winning streak as they try to catch the Yankees for the AL Wild Card. They send rookie Jair Jurrjens against the Twins and Scott Baker. Like most pitchers who come through the Twins system, Baker keeps his walks allowed low. Jurrjens baffles hitters from the left and right side of the plate. Pitching to contact, he's allowed a .169 batting average so far.

The three teams competing for the NL West title are in action at 4 PM EDT as the Dodgers try to sweep their way to a shot at an NL West title. The Dodgers pitchers have shutdown the Diamondbacks offense this season, posting a 2.93 ERA against Arizona. On the surface, it's not clear why the Dodgers have outscored the Diamondbacks by twelve runs this season. Their batting stats are close. But the Diamondbacks hit just .184 with runners in scoring position against Los Angeles, while the Dodgers managed a .221 BA in that situation.

The Padres and Giants finish up their series in San Diego with rookie Tim Lincecum going against Padres ace Jake Peavy. Peavy and Lincecum are 1-2 in the NL in strikeouts per nine if you lower the requirement to 140 innings. With three starts to go, Tim can qualify for the title if he goes deep in all three starts, or if the Giants bring him back on the last day of the season to pick up the innings he needs.

Finally, it's geezer night in Boston as Clemens faces Schilling. I hate to say this is going to be Clemens last regular appearance at Fenway, because you never know with Roger. Clemens won his last three starts at Fenway during the first retirement tour in 2003, including beating Pedro in the game three of the ALCS. Both pitchers saw a degradation of their K/9 rates, making me believe neither is going to be around much longer.

Enjoy!


Posted by David Pinto at 11:13 AM | Matchups | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Hey, in case you forgot, the Cubs have a one-game lead in the Central and are playing the 2006 World Champion Cardinals. A loss would put the Cards 7 games out with 14 left to play.

Posted by: Joe at September 16, 2007 02:10 PM
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