Pitchers Archives

Daniel Cabrera pitched tonight like the Orioles thought he could. Not only did he complete the game, he allowed just three hits and walked only one. He managed to keep his strikeouts high at the same time, putting down seven Royals batters via the K. Of course he pitched under control two games ago, but walked seven in the start in between. Baltimore fans have to hope the two good games out of three is a trend.

Kyle Lohse came into today's game against the Rockies with a 3.79 ERA, one run below his career average. I expected him to return to his norm at some point, but I didn't think it would be this fast. He allowed seven earned runs in four innings (five walks didn't help) to raise his ERA to 4.87, 0.08 above his career average. The Rockies win 9-3, gaining a game to move into a tie for third place in the division with the Giants.

I turned on the Padres-Braves and saw Shawn Estes on the mound. He last pitched one game in the majors in 2006. He's been out due to back surgery. His outing wasn't perfect; he gave up two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings, but neither of the two runs were earned. Those runs pull Atlanta within one of the Padres, 4-3 in the seventh. Atlanta has yet to win a one-run game.

Chipper is 0-3 so far today, and is now batting .418.

A nice PITCHf/x article shows the reasons for Greg Smith's early success. I really like the way this data shows how his changeup looks just like his fastball, and how he doesn't give away the pitch with his release point.

Shaun Marcum continues to make a bid for ace of the Toronto staff. He picks up the tenth quality start for Toronto in the last eleven games, lasting into the ninth before allowing two runs. He lowers his ERA to 2.59 which remains the best among Toronto starters.

Scott Rolen homered and is now slugging .564 in his short time with the Blue Jays.

Cliff Lee's impossible season continues. He shuts out the Yankees for seven innings as the Indians take the second game of the series 3-0. Cliff lowers his ERA to 0.81. With seven strikeouts and no walks in the game, Lee's K/BB is now 19.5! The Yankees managed just six hits against Lee, and two didn't get very far. One was a roller to first base that Blake tossed too high in the air when Lee was covering. Another was a nubber down the third base line that just stopped halfway between the plate and third without rolling foul.

Wang takes the loss, his first of the season. In most games, three runs allowed in seven innings works just fine, but Wang was no match for Mr. Lee. (Maybe they should do a Kung Fu movie together! Enter The Bronx. :-))

Jered Weaver's rough year continues. The Royals light him up, scoring eight runs off him in less than four innings. He allows two home runs and ten hits. Coming into the game, his ERA was 4.36, but his strikeouts, walks and home runs weren't really out of line with his career. Tonight, however, makes his 2008 line look very poor. His ERA is up to 5.59 and the Angels trail 9-1.

Barry Zito may walk away from tonight's start with a loss, but also with some positives. He lasted five innings, throwing 99 pitches. That high pitch count is a negative. He allowed five hits, including a home run to Nady. He walked two, but struck out five and only allowed two runs. I like the strikeout number. Zito had only struck out 11 in 28 2/3 innings coming into the game, which is way to low. The five K in five innings indicates Barry is doing something right. He's not all the way back, but there is some hope he's moving in the right direction. The Giants trail 2-0 in the eighth.

FanGraphs researches which NL pitchers come through in Shutdown Innings Pitched (SHIP), pitching in the half inning after your team scores a momentum shifting number of runs.

Correction: Fixed link.

Jon Lieber should have stayed in the pen. He gives up four home runs in the second inning, accounting for five Reds runs. Lieber doesn't come out for the third and the Reds and Volquez hold a 5-0 lead in the third.

Update: John Fay has more on the four home run inning.

The San Francisco Giants are going to start Barry Zito tonight against the Pirates.

Barry Zito returns to the Giants' rotation today against the Pittsburgh Pirates, ending the embattled left-hander's 1 ½-week banishment to the bullpen that didn't include a relief appearance.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy made the surprise announcement before the Giants absorbed a 12-6 defeat by the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

"This is a good time to put him in the rotation," Bochy said. "He's had a chance to do some stuff on the side. Barry Zito is a starter. He is going to be a starter for us. We just felt we needed to break it up a little bit and give him a break.

So the Giants gave Zito a vacation and played with a 24-man roster for over a week? It won't necessarily be an easy task, as Pittsburgh is fifth in the majors in runs per game.

Via MLB FanHouse, La Velle E. Neal III wasn't impressed with Gavin Floyd:

If Gavin Floyd had pulled off a no-no against the Twins on Tuesday it would have been the sloppiest, most unjust no-hitter that I can remember.

Floyd was far from overpowering. In fact, I sent Joe C. a text message around the fourth inning remarking how Floyd couldn't get ANY breaking pitches or his change up, over for strikes. I was convinced that the Twins would sit on the fastball and start pounding him. I thought Nick Blackburn pitched than Floyd in the early innings but didn't have the results to show for it.

That great adjustment by Twins hitters never came, which was disappointing coming off of their game against Kenny Rogers on Sunday.

I turned the game on in the sixth, and Floyd looked great to me. He was hitting spots, throwing good breaking pitches, and pretty much fooling the Twins hitters. I was watching the Minnesota feed, and Blyleven commented that Gavin's pitches improved as the game went on. So far this year, he's been a bit stronger in innings 5 through 7 than in 1 through 4.

Jair Jurrjens keeps looking like the next ace of the Atlanta Braves. He gave the team six innings, spreading out seven hits so he only allowed one run. It helped that he struck out eight batters. With one walk tonight, he's struck out 36 this season while walking just 14.

Chipper Jones reached double digits in home runs as the Braves took down the Padres 5-3.

Gavin Floyd is coming out for the ninth with a 7-1 lead and a no-hitter on the line. He's scheduled to face Harris (1 BB), Mauer (2 BB) and Morneau (0 for 3).

Update: Harris strikes out looking at a big curve ball.

Update: Mauer goes the other way, hitting a perfectly placed low fly ball into the gap in left center. Swisher gave it all he had, even diving about ten feet short, but the ball falls for a double. That's it for Floyd, another great outing.

Update: Jenks gets the last two outs and the White Sox win 7-1. This was Floyd's third start of the season in which he allowed zero earned runs.

Mike Lamb pops up on the first pitch for the first out. Five outs to go.

Update: Everett flies out to center for the second out.

Update: Gomez breaks his bat on a 2-2 pitch, and grounds slowly to shortstop. Cabrera makes a nice play, charging the ball and throwing quickly to get the runner at first.

Floyd takes his no-hitter into the ninth. He's thrown 99 pitches.

Gavin Floyd gets a pop up and two strikeouts as he maintains his no hitter through seven innings. He's thrown 87 pitches, 50 for strikes. He walked three and struck out three so far.

Scott Olsen came within one out of a complete game as the Marlins shutout the Brewers 3-0. After allowing one hit and two walks through eight, he walked two and allowed a single, leaving the bases loaded with two out. Gregg came in to get Hall to fly out to end the game and preserve Olsen's lowered ERA. Olsen lowered that to 2.22, about 3 1/2 runs better than 2007. He's cut his home runs per 9 almost in half.

Gavin Floyd has a no hitter through six innings, but gave up an unearned run. A walk, error and sacrifice fly led to the Twins scoring in the fourth. The White Sox bats are showing a bit of life tonight as they've plated four runs tonight for a 4-1 lead. I wouldn't say their offense is inflated, but they're not blowing the game either. :-)

Despite improving his control, A.J. Burnett still gave up five runs in six innings. That ends the Blue Jays starters streak of nine quality starts.

By the way, I'm not a huge fan of quality starts, but these were, you might say, high quality. The Rays lead the Jays 5-4 in the top of the seventh.

Ian Kennedy pitched very well in AAA tonight. The Yankees broadcast just showed his line, 7 1/3 innings, one hit, zero walks, eight strikeouts. David Cone believes Kennedy got the wakeup call.

A.J. Burentt came into tonight's game with 24 strikeouts and 20 walks. That's way off from his career 2/1 K/BB. He seems to be back under control tonight, however, as he's struck out eight while walking just one of the Rays. The game is tied at three in the bottom of the fourth.

Rays Index looks at how Andy Sonnanstine lowered the variability in his release point this season. Hat tip, The Hardball Times.

Curt Schilling threw today, except whent he lawn mower got in the way.

Curt Schilling will throw for the first time todaysince his injury today:

It is a character trait Curt Schilling has displayed on other occasions over the course of his life, and yesterday he did it again.

He admitted he was wrong.

The Red Sox medical staff, he said, recommended the right course of treatment for his ailing right shoulder, which is why he will be playing catch for the first time this spring this afternoon.

Schilling had another little surprise for those who think he was determined to squeeze every cent out of the Sox even if he never throws another pitch: At his suggestion, he said, the team has dropped the weight clauses in his contract that could have tacked on an extra $2 million to his $8 million deal, and are reworking his deal so that he could earn the money through performance-based bonuses.

I'm a bit of a pessimist here. Curt's doctor is not wrong yet. If Schilling starts throwing and the should falls apart, the pendulum swings over to Dr. Morgan's diagnosis. However, it is good to see that so far, the treatment is working.

Oliver Perez took a line drive to the gut in the first inning against the Dodgers, but at least he recorded an out on that play. In his six innings of work he allowed three home runs and five runs. He had only allowed one homer coming into the game.

The Dodgers bullpen continues to impress. The pitched three perfect innings in relief of Billingsley. The relievers boast an 8-2 record and struck out 94 in 111 1/3 innings after retiring four via the K last night. Over the Dodgers 9-1 stretch, the bullpen is allowing a batting line of .185/.267/.274.

McGowan leaves after seven innings with a 1-0 Toronto lead. That gives the Blue Jays nine straight quality starts. Jesse Carlson is on in relief, but hits a batter with one out and comes out of the game.

Update: Camp comes in and gets out of the inning. Cabrera lines one up the middle, and instead of a run scoring single, Camp deflects it to second and the Jays get a force. All the luck is going against the White Sox right now.

Update: B.J. Ryan just walked the bases loaded with one out in the ninth. They need one run to tie.

Update: Ryan gets Ozuna to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play and the Jays win 1-0. That's the third Toronto shutout in their last five games.

Correction: Ryan, not Wagner. I have some kind of mental block there. This is the second time I've done that.

Sports Agent Blog notes how wonderful it must be to have Micah Owings as a client, since he does so many things well you can ask for even more money! Dan wonders if this will become a trend.

Daisuke Matsuzaka walked five batters in the first three innings while striking out just one. However, the Tigers have yet to record a hit. Matsuzaka continues his strange year of being wild, but at the same time very tough to hit.

Lowell and Youkilis both hit two-run homers to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.

Update: The walks catch up to Matsuzaka in the fourth as he gives up a hit after walking two more. Still, the damage is minimal as Detroit just gets one run in the inning.

The White Sox started the third inning putting men on second and third with none out. McGowan pitched out of it, not allowing a run on a ground out, shallow fly out and strikeout, getting Thome on the K. It's 0-0 in the bottom of the third against the Whit Sox as the Blue Jays go for their ninth straight quality start.

Henry Schulman looks back on one year of Tim Lincecum:

"Over the year, you can look and say I had good numbers," he said, "but I went through some ups and downs the whole year where I battled and struggled at times, and I had to find ways to dig myself out of holes. Pitching is about staying even-keeled instead of having rollercoaster outings. I look back at things I could have done differently in certain situations in certain games. It's about learning from that and making adjustments."

When Lincecum came up, he threw fastballs and curveballs, but he found big-league hitters spitting on the curves in the dirt on which his old college opponents would bite. He has all but ditched the curveball in place of a changeup. His goal as he begins his second year is improving the curve and restoring it to his repertoire.

It's good to see Tim is willing to make adjustments and learn from his mistakes. I wonder how good he'll be at his peak?

The Oakland Athletics staff allowed one run today as they defeated the Rangers 3-1. That lowers their team ERA to 3.19. That's a pretty remarkable number. Since the explosion of offense in 1993, only eleven teams posted ERAs under 3.50, all in the National League. The last American league team to post an ERA that low was the 1992 Milwaukee Brewers, at 3.43. Since the introduction of the designated hitter, only 37 AL teams posted ERAs under 3.50, and the Athletics did it the most, nine times.

What makes it even more amazing, this is a rebuilding year for Oakland. Rich Harden is hurt again, and Joe Blaton has the highest ERA among the regular starters. The Athletics low ERA may be the biggest surprise of 2008.

Johan Santana threw one of the wildest games of his career. He walked four in six innings, only the 16th start of his career in which he walked at least that many. He also set a career high with three wild pitches. He did start a game on 7/15/2002 in which he walked seven and threw two wild pitches. That remains his most wild game, but this is the second highest combination of BB and WP for the Mets ace.

The Mets won the game in the ninth when Connor Jackson threw a potential double play ball into leftfield. The DBacks lose their first series since the Reds took two out of three to open the season.

Aaron Cook tamed the red hot Dodgers today, limiting them to two runs over 7 2/3 innings. Cook, with the win, Cook is now 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA. The other four main starters in the Colorado rotation all have ERAs well over 5.00. The other starters for the Rockies this season are 4-10 with a 6.40 ERA. Aaron is the only one of the group who was able to carry over last season's good pitching into 2008.

Scott Kazmir lost in his first game back from the disabled list, lasting just four innings against the Red Sox. He threw 90 pitches, something that plagued him in 2007. He post good numbers, but throw so many pitches the Devil Rays were forced to go to the bullpen early. Scott did strike out five, but the Red Sox were six for thirteen putting the ball in play. Kazmir still has some work to do .

Darrell Rasner got off to a poor start, giving up a two-run homer in the first inning. He righted the ship, however, and last six innings without allowing any more runs. The Yankees pounded Carlos Silva for eight runs in three plus innings and take the game 8-2. Rasner makes it look like the Yankees do have a bit of pitching depth in the minor leagues.

Melky Cabrera keeps hitting, knocking out his sixth homer of the season. Cano broke his slump a bit, going one for four with his third home run as well.

Greg Maddux pitched poorly today, losing the game and another chance at 350 wins. He allowed 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings, leading to five runs, four earned. The Marlins took the game 10-3 behind a strong outing by Andrew Miller. Miller likely saved himself a trip back to the minors with this game. He entered the game with his hits allowed nearly double his innings pitched. He only allowed four this through six innings today.

Tim Lincecum's first inning today pretty much summed up his whole season. He allowed a leadoff double to Victorino, then struck out Brunlett and Utley and retired Howard on a long fly. Batters are now 4 for 39 with runners in scoring position against Tim with 17 strikeouts.

Update: Lincecum does it again. Burrell doubles leading off the inning. Lincecum does give up a single, but Pat can only move to third. He strikes out two more and comes out of the inning unscathed. Still no score in Philadelphia.

Update: Burrell doubles in the third inning with two on to plate two for the Phillies. The runs against Lincecum were unearned as he almost over came an error leading off the inning.

Darrell Rasner gives up a two-run homer to Adrian Beltre in the first inning to put the Yankees in an early 2-0 hole. Homers where Rasner's problem last year in the bigs as he allowed about one every six innings.

The Yankees demoted Ian Kennedy to make room for Rasner. It's about the only move the Yankees could make. The majors isn't the place for a pitcher to figure out how to fix a 9.00 ERA.

A.J. Murray made his first start of 2008 for the Texas Rangers Saturday night and pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win. As a minor league pitcher he showed a good but not great strikeout rate, a better walk rate and a great home run rate. In his cup of coffee in 2007, he allowed lots of walks and lots of home runs, however. In his start against the Athletics, the twenty six year old kept the ball in the park and only walked two. The Rangers, who need positive signs right now, should take that as one. They've won four in a row, and in their last three games have only allowed seven runs.

Brandon Webb wins his seventh game in seven starts as the Diamondbacks defeat the Mets 10-4. It wasn't Webb's best performance as he allowed four runs in six innings, but with great run support the win was an easy one. He left with a one-run lead, but the DBacks scored five in the bottom of the eighth to ice the victory.

For his career, Webb receives a decision in 75% of his starts. With 26 starts left in the season, Webb should get another 20 decisions. If he pitches to his career winning percentage of .567, he'd earn another eleven wins, for 18 on the season. That just goes to show the difficultly pitchers face trying to win 20 games. If you think his winning percentage since the start of 2006, .660 (35/53) is a better indicator of what Webb can win, that would yield him 13 more wins, good for 20.

Of course, he could have one of those great seasons where everything goes right, but at the moment, 20 wins is much more likely than 25.

The Angels defeated the Orioles this afternoon 3-1. Garland pitched eight strong innings, allowing just three hits. With one walk and one strikeout, the Orioles were just three for twenty four when putting the ball in play.

The Orioles did have a big positive come out of the game. Daniel Cabrera lasted 7 1/3 innings, only walking two. Coming into the game, Cabrera walked as many as he struck out, 21 in 37 innings. He struck out six tonight, and if he can limit his walks to two every seven innings he'll be in good shape for the rest of the season.

It looks like Hank Steinbrenner's rant about Mussina needing to pitch like Moyer turned out to be very effective. Mussina goes six innings this afternoon, allowing just one run. In his last three starts he's pitched eighteen innings, allowed five runs, walked two and struck out ten. That works out to a 2.50 ERA, more than adequate for a fourth or fifth starter, and perfectly fine for a number three.

The Yankees lead 6-1 in the seventh. Damon's accounted for a lot of the offense with two doubles and a home run.

The Toronto scoreless streak continues as Litsch is throwing a one-hitter through five innings. That's 23 straight scoreless innings posted by Blue Jays pitchers. They are getting a little offense as they lead 2-0. Scutaro hit his first home run of the season.

Update: Dye hits a solo home run with two out in the seventh to end the streak at 24 innings. The Blue Jays lead the White Sox 5-1 in the seventh.

Update: The Blue Jays win 5-2. It's the seventh straight game in which Toronto pitchers allowed two runs or less.

Whatever bothered Tim Hudson in two of his last three starts didn't bother him tonight as he pitched a near perfect game. Hudson shutout the Reds, allowing just three hits while striking out ten. Despite the high strikeout total, Hudson threw just 111 pitches, an amazing 81 for strikes.

Edinson Volquez didn't make it an easy win for Hudson as he struck out nine over six innings, allowing two runs, only one earned. Edinson's ERA was so low it actually went up to 1.27. It's his first loss of the season as the Braves take the game 2-0.

I made fun of the Marlins pitching staff in my preseason looks at the team. I was especially hard on the pitching staff, thinking Mark Hendrickson was a poor choice for a number one starter. Hendrickson pitched seven innings, allowing three runs to pick up his fifth win of the season.

Hendrickson's ERA is now 3.71. The biggest difference is home runs allowed. He gave up his third of the season tonight as Greene went deep. For his career he's allowed 1.06 per nine, but this season it's just 0.62.

Shaun Marcum failed to last seven innings tonight. Toronto starters had gone six straight games completing at least seven. Marcum goes 6 2/3 before walking two batters, but Accardo gets out of the inning. That makes Shaun's final line no runs, two hits, three walks and nine strikeouts. Over the last six games, including tonight, the Jays starters have a 1.02 ERA as they've allowed five earned runs in 44 1/3 innings. I thought this team had a chance to be one of the best rotation in the AL, and with this stretch they're looking to earn that spot.

The Jays lead 2-0 in the eighth. Given the poor scoring of the offense, they pitchers are going to need to keep performing if they are going to win.

Last week I posted video of college pitcher Jim Fuller. Jim Storer called this morning to let me know Fuller pitched another great game yesterday, striking out nineteen in eight innings, allowing one hit and one walk. I wonder how high he'll go in the draft?

Odalis Perez hasn't pitched well since 2004, when he posted a 3.25 ERA in 196 1/3 innings for the Dodgers. He's returned to that year this season as he lowered his ERA to 3.18 with seven three hit innings against the Pirates. He allowed two solo home runs, the only runs Pittsburgh scored this evening. He was walking a lot of batters this season, but none tonight. His overall walks and home runs allowed indicate a higher ERA, but he's pitched well in situations, allowing a very low batting average with men on base and in scoring position. So far, he's a nice pickup by the Nats.

A good analysis of Cliff Lee at Defensive Indifference.

Sidney Ponson last eight innings against the Royals, turning the game over to Wilson in the top of the ninth with a 2-1 lead. He struck out five and walked two, and allowed six hits, none for extra bases. Most of all, he was efficient, using just 108 pitches to complete the eight innings.

Grienke pitched very well, striking out nine over seven innings without a walk and just four hits. Unfortunately for Zack, two of those were home runs. He had allowed just two in his first 36 innings. He can't get the win, however.

Update: Wilson strikes out Teahen to end the game and Ponson is looking very good in his comeback bid. His ERA in two starts is 1.35.

I haven't seen the replay, but when I turned on the Cubs game, Gallardo was taking some test throws. He somehow hurt his right leg (he had surgery on the left), and from the way the announcers described it, it sounded bad. He's limping, but he stayed in the game and retired the next two batters to get through five innings. He trails Zambrano and the Cubs 1-0. Zambrano is the whole game for the Cubs as the run came on his solo home run. That's the first of the season for Carlos and the thirteenth of his career.

At Big League Stew, they note the Rays may send down Andy Sonnanstine to make room for Kazmir. I don't know if Jason Hamel is out of options, but wouldn't he be the obvious choice at the moment?

Andy Sonnanstine pitched eight good innings tonight, allowing the Orioles just one run as the Rays down the O's 8-1. That lowers Tampa Bay's ERA to 3.68. They're doing that without Scott Kazmir, who is scheduled to return Saturday. Beware of the Rays.

Cliff Lee moves to 5-0 as Cleveland defeats Settle 8-3. For the first time this season, Lee allows more than one run in a game. He had plenty of room to work, however, as the Indians were up 8-0 before Cliff couldn't get an out in the seventh. He ends the month with an 0.96 ERA and a .151 batting average allowed.

Dana Eveland threw his final warm up pitch before the second inning, then called the trainer out to the mound. They've decided to leave him in the game. We'll see what happens.

Update: Eveland gives up three hits and two runs in the inning, including two doubles.

Jeremy Bonderman gave up two runs in the first inning, then nothing the of the way as he pitches into the eighth in a 6-2 Detroit win over the Yankees. Since the start of last season, nearly 40% of runs against Bonderman came in the first inning.

The Yankees offense continues to struggle as they've scored just 19 runs in their last six games.

Brian Bannister is having a tough night in Texas. He's allowed six hits and a walk, and all seven base runners scored as he allows three home runs to clear the bases, including a grand slam by Hamilton. Bannister allowed just one home run coming into the game.

Manny Acosta did pretty much everything wrong today. In two innings, he gave up two hits, five walks, and two runs. He also committed an error, threw a wild pitch and even started a double play. He managed not to hit a batter. The Braves took a 2-1 lead in the top of the twelfth, but Acosta's pitching allowed the Nationals to tie, then Carlyle gave up the game winning single. The Braves have yet to win a one-run game.

If a pitcher pinch hits, and hits a game winning home run, should he get the win? That's what Micah Owings just did. He came in to hit for Medders, blasted a two-run homer, and gave the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead. Arizona fought back from Houston leads of 4-0 and 6-2 to put themselves in a position to win the game as they play in the top of the seventh.

It's Owings fifth career home run, and he's slugging .632 on the season.

Correction: Sorry, the home run tied the game. I tuned in the game after it happened and I thought I heard the announers say it put the team ahead. In the words of Emily Latella, never mind.

Joe Saunders makes an early bid for Cy Young consideration. He pitches another gem, shutting out the Athletics for eight innings to lower his ERA to 2.03 and bring the Angels back into a tie for first place in the AL West. What's most impressive about Joe this year is how deep he's pitching into games. For his career, he's averaged less than six innings per start. This season, however, he ranks fourth in innings pitched in the AL, going better than seven innings when he takes the mound. He's allowed the Angels to absorb the loss of Lackey fairly painlessly.

Boof Bonser pitches a great game against the White Sox. Bonser strikes out eight and walks one over seven innings, allowing just one run. He might be turning a corner as he's pitched well in three of his last four games, earning two wins.

The win puts the Twins just 2 1/2 games out of first place in a very tight AL Central.

Greg Maddux pitched another great game, but once again his offense provides too little support. Maddux lasts 91 pitches in 6 1/3 innings and leaves trailing 2-1 with two on. Cla Meredith allows one of those to score, and the Padres trail 3-1. Hamels gets a hit off Maddux and is now batting .313, better than every batter in the Padres lineup tonight.

Correction: Fixed the state of the game when Maddux left.