This wasn't the best game Jonathan Sanchez has ever pitched. That would be the no-hitter from last season. This was, however, the most confident and in command that I've ever seen him. The key moment in the game, for me, was in Pittsburgh's half of the 6'th inning when Sanchez walked Garrett Jones on a 3-2 curveball to load the bases with 2 out. The Pittsburgh TV announcers were clucking away about how he should have thrown a fastball and his teammates were losing confidence in him for walking the bases loaded with a curveball. In the past, Sanchez might have come unglued, lost the strike zone or tried to blow fastballs down the pipe. Instead, he calmly faced down Ryan Doumit while inducing a routine flyball to CF. Sanchez' calm demeanor throughout this game leads me to believe that he's turned a corner and is ready to be the dominant pitcher he can be. Key lines:
Aaron Rowand- 2 for 4. BA= .318.
Aubrey Huff- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1). BA= .273. The HR was an inside-the-park job that took a funny carom away from RF Garrett Jones when it hit against the brick trimming of a window in the RF wall near the 421 foot sign. The double was also smoked up Triples Alley.
Eli Whiteside- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1). I was ready to send Whiteside packing after his last start, but he was the hitting hero of this game. Buster can unpack his bags for now!
Jonathan Sanchez- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K's. Maybe still needs to cut down on the BB's but this was a dominant start, not just in stuff, but in the feeling that he was in complete control the whole game. Nothing was ruffling Durty today!
Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. With an off day tomorrow, Wilson needed the work, I guess.
Big series coming up in LA!
Around the League:
BJ Upton hit 2 dingers today. If he is well, look out. He has 40/40 potential if not more.
Sleeper Alert: Jose Guillen is tearing it up for KC, hitting his 5'th HR today. Guillen has been wandering in the wilderness since his infamous run-in with Mike Scioscia. If he's healthy and has his head on right, he can be as productive as any player in baseball.
The Houston Astros sank to 0-8 today with a 2-1 loss to Brad Penny and the St Louis Cardinals.
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As long as he keeps his K/BB ratio above the 2.0 mark, then a high rate of walks is tolerable. A study showed that pitchers who strike out a lot can handle a high walk rate and, in fact, turn out better ERA than similar 2.0+ ratio pitchers who don't strike out so many but walk a lot less people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that, OCD. I have a feeling that Sanchez is going to be walking less people from here on and that will make him one of the elite pitchers in the game. I'm talking challenging Timmy for the Cy Young!
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