Tagged: Tim Lincecum
Duel of the Day – April 6, 2010
Roy Halladay, you are amazing. I thought I loved you before, but, man, I had no idea.
Pitchers who were good (in my eyes at least) yesterday:
Mark Buehrle: W (1-0), 7 IP, 0 R, 3 K’s, 3 H, 1 BB
Roy Halladay: W (1-0), 7 IP, 1 R, 9 K’s, 6 H, 2 BB
Shaun Marcum: ND (0-0), 7 IP, 3 R, 6 K’s, 2 H, 1 BB – No Hitter into the 7th
Scott Feldman: ND (0-0), 7 IP, 3 R, 3 K’s, 5 H, 0 BB
Dan Haren: W (1-0), 7 IP, 1 R, 4 K’s, 3 H, 0 BB
Tim Lincecum: W (1-0), 7 IP, 0 R, 7 K’s, 4 H, 0 BB
Honorable Mentions:
Johan Santana
Ubaldo Jimenez
Yovani Gallardo
The Matchups:
7:10: Baltimore Orioles (Kevin Millwood, 0-0, -.–) at Tampa Bay Rays (James Shields, 0-0, -.–)
7:10: New York Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 0-0, -.–) at Boston Red Sox (Jon Lester, 0-0, -.–)
8:05: San Francisco Giants (Barry Zito, 0-0, -.–) at Houston Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 0-0, -.–)
8:10: Colorado Rockies (Greg Smith, 0-0, -.–) at Milwaukee Brewers (Randy Wolf, 0-0, -.–)
9:40: San Diego Padres (Chris Young, 0-0, -.–) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Edwin Jackson, 0-0, -.–)
10:05: Minnesota Twins (Nick Blackburn, 0-0, -.–) at Los Angeles Angels (Joe Saunders, 0-0, -.–)
10:05: Seattle Mariners (Ian Snell, 0-0, -.–) at Oakland Athletics (Dallas Braden, 0-0. -.–)
The most interesting matchup up the day in my opinion in the Burnett/Lester game. Both of these pitchers have potential to throw No Hitters (oh right, they have), but they aren’t always perfect. That is especially true for Burnett. He is one of the best examples of Jekyll and Hyde when it comes to pitchers. His control will dictate how he does tonight.
Another game to check out would have to be the Giants/Astros. Zito and Rodriguez are both good pitchers (yes, I said Zito is good), so it could be a good one.
Duel of the Day – Friday, September 25, 2009
It’s amazing how much easier a game is when you score 9 runs, the Phillies should try that out more often.
Pitchers that went 7 innings: Bronson Arroyo (W, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 4 K’s), Charlie Morton (L, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 K’s), Justin Verlander (W, 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 11 K’s), Ryan Dempster (ND, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 K’s)
Pitchers that went 8 innings: Felix Hernandez (W, 7 hits, 4 runs – 3 earned, 2 walks, 11 K’s), Brad Penny (ND, 7 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 4 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: Ryan Dempster v. Brad Penny
The Matchups:
7:05: Baltimore Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-8, 5.34) at Cleveland Indians (Fausto Carmona, 3-12, 6.81)
7:05: Atlanta Braves (Javier Vazquez, 14-9, 2.91) at Washington Nationals (John Lannan, 9-12, 4.07)
7:05: Boston Red Sox (Jon Lester, 14-7, 3.33) at New York Yankees (Joba Chamberlain, 8-6, 4.72)
7:05: Los Angeles Dodgers (Jon Garland, 11-11, 4.02) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Jeff Karstens, 3-5, 5.53)
7:07: Seattle Mariners (Doug Fister, 2-3, 4.37) at Toronto Blue Jays (Roy Halladay, 15-10, 3.01)
7:10: New York Mets (Tim Redding, 3-6, 5.25) at Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 12-9, 5.34)
8:05: Tampa Bay Rays (James Shields, 10-11, 4.09) at Texas Rangers (Derek Holland, 7-12, 6.17)
8:05: Cincinnati Reds (Matt Maloney, 1-4, 5.35) at Houston Astros (Brian Moehler, 8-10, 4.86)
8:05: Philadelphia Phillies (Cliff Lee, 14-11, 2.99) at Milwaukee Brewers (Manny Parra, 10-10, 6.42)
8:10: Minnesota Twins (Carl Pavano, 12-11, 4.82) at Kansas City Royals (Robinson Tejeda, 4-1, 2.94)
8:10: St. Louis Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 16-4, 2.34) at Colorado Rockies (Aaron Cook, 10-6, 4.47)
8:11: Detroit Tigers (Eddie Bonine, 0-0, 5.96) at Chicago White Sox (Jake Peavy, 7-6, 4.05)
9:40: San Diego Padres (Kevin Correia, 11-10, 4.08) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Max Scherzer, 9-10, 4.08)
10:05: Oakland Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 5-6, 6.15) at Los Angeles Angels (Jered Weaver, 15-7, 3.87)
10:15: Chicago Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 8-6, 3.91) at San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 14-6, 2.47)
Some good pitching going on today, guys like Halladay and Peavy and Carpenter and Lincecum are going today. However, i’d like to talk about John Lannan. I saw John Lannan live when I was in Washington this summer, he faced the Padres and probably pitched his best game of the season. I think a guy like him can really be a very good lefty in this league for the next 10 seasons at least. Emphasis on “lefty.” Lannan is already considered a crafty left-hander, which is a really good thing. Guys like Jamie Moyer, Randy Wolf, and Doug Davis have had incredible successful careers being the “crafty lefties.” Good luck to Lannan, I hope i’m right and I hope I see him as a good pitcher in the MLB for seasons to come.
Duel of the Dat – Monday, September 14, 2009
What pitching from two unexpected sources yesterday. 7.1 innings from Kyle Kendrick and 8 innings from Pedro Martinez. What did we do to deserve that? I don’t know and I don’t care, all I know is that I would absolutely love to see a lot more of it. I’m sorry I taunted you Pedro, thus far, you’ve been a pleasant surprise. Kyle, please keep it up, I like you, you know that, but the way you pitched last season made me not like you.
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Matt Garza (L, 7.1 innings, 9 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 8 K’s), Clay Buchholz (W, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 5 K’s), CC Sabathia (W, 5 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 1 K), Kyle Kendrick (W, 7.1 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 K’s), Brian Duensing (W, 8 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 6 K’s), Mark Buehrle (L, 5 hits, 3 runs – 2 earned, 2 walks, 3 K’s), Brad Penny (W, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 K’s), Felix Hernandez (W, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 5 K’s)
Pitchers who went 8 innings: Paul Maholm (W, 6 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 2 K’s), Jon Lester (W, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 7 K’s), Pedro Martinez (W, 6 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 K’s)
Pitchers who went 9 innings: Javier Vazquez (W, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 8 K’s), Tommy Hunter (W, 6 hits, 2 runs – 1 earned, 1 walk, 3 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: Tim Redding v. Pedro Martinez, but this very well could be the fullest i’ve ever seen it, look at all those pitchers who pitched really well yesterday, what a day.
The Matchups:
Los Angeles Angels (Jered Weaver, 15-5, 3.76) at New York Yankees (Joba Chamberlain, 8-5, 4.45)
Tampa Bay Rays (David Price, 7-7, 4.65) at Baltimore Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-7, 5.05)
Toronto Blue Jays (David Purcey, 0-2, 7.01) at Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander, 16-8, 3.24)
Houston Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 13-9, 2.76) at Cincinnati Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 12-12, 4.17)
Milwaukee Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 6-9, 5.05) at Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 9-8, 4.03)
Oakland Athletics (Brett Tomko, 4-3, 4.47 – 3-1, 3.90) at Texas Rangers (Scott Feldman, 16-4, 3.46)
Cleveland Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 6-9, 4.78) at Minnesota Twins (Carl Pavano, 12-11, 4.92 – 3-3, 3.65)
Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 11-8, 5.23) at St. Louis Cardinals (Todd Wellemeyer, 7-9, 5.62)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Billy Buckner, 2-6, 7.38) at San Deigo Padres (Kevin Correia, 10-10, 4.30)
Pittsburgh Pirates (Daniel McCutchen, 0-1, 4.85) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Jon Garland, 9-11, 4.23 – 1-0, 3.46)
Colorado Rockies (Jason Hammel, 8-7, 4.31) at San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 13-5, 2.34)
The Duel:
It looks like Tim Lincecum against Jason Hammel might be the best on the schedule today. Tim is making his first start since losing to the Phillies (while striking out 11 I might add) on September 3rd. The Giants will be overjoyed to have him back and they really need great things from him, and the rest of the staff, if they want to make the postseason. Jason Hammel might have something to say about that tonight. The Rockies are 4.5 games above San Fran and even just 1 win in this series can thwart the dreams of the Giants. Hammel has been an incredibly solid arm for the Rockies this season and he hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in a game since June 30th. This is a big series and just imagine how exciting it would be with a Giants sweep.
Duel of the Day – Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Jamie Moyer strikes again and so does the Phillies bullpen. A fantastic spot start made my Moyer only to be blown away by Chan Ho Park, a man I have a lot of faith in. Charlie Manuel has already said he was unhappy with the way the team looked, hopefully it lights a fire under them and hopefully we can take advantage on Washington.
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Daniel McCutchen (L, 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 5 K’s), Matt Garza (ND, 5 hits, 1 run – 0 earned, 1 walk, 7 K’s), CC Sabathia (ND, 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 10 K’s), Josh Beckett (L, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 4 K’s), Mark Buehrle (W, 8 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 K’s), Dave Bush (L, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 3 K’s), Max Scherzer (L, 6 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 3 K’s), Brad Penny (W, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 K’s)
Pitchers who went 9 innings: Chris Carpenter (W, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 10 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: Chris Carpenter v. Dave Bush
The Matchups:
Texas Rangers (Tommy Hunter, 7-3, 3.14) at Cleveland Indians (Carlos Carrasco, 0-1, 18.00)
Texas Rangers (Brandon McCarthy, 6-2, 4.61) at Cleveland Indians (Aaron Laffey, 7-4, 3.36)
Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 8-8, 3.96) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Zach Duke, 10-13, 3.71)
Philadelphia Phillies (Pedro Martinez, 3-0, 3.52) at Washington Nationals (John Lannan, 8-10, 4.09)
Tampa Bay Rays (David Price, 7-7, 4.75) at New York Yankees (Chad Gaudin, 5-10, 4.98 – 1-0, 4.08)
Minnesota Twins (Brian Duensing, 2-1, 3.81) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 11-7, 4.15)
Florida Marlins (Rick VandenHurk, 2-2, 4.91) at New York Mets (Tim Redding, 2-4, 5.70)
Baltimore Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-6, 4.54) at Boston Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 4-3, 4.40)
Atlanta Braves (Javier Vazquez, 11-9, 3.18) at Houston Astros (Felipe Paulino, 2-7, 6.62)
St. Louis Cardinals (John Smoltz, 3-6, 6.63 – 1-1, 2.65) at Milwaukee Brewers (Manny Parra, 10-10, 6.47)
Detroit Tigers (Rick Porello, 12-8, 4.18) at Kansas City Royals (Bruce Chen, 1-6, 5.24)
Oakland Athletics (Brett Tomko, 3-3, 4.40 – 2-1, 3.63) at Chicago White Sox (Carlos Torres, 1-0, 3.86)
Cincinnati Reds (Matt Maloney, 0-3, 6.46) at Colorado Rockies (Jason Marquis, 14-10, 3.75)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 12-9, 3.86) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Billy Buckner, 2-6, 8.29)
Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 14-5, 2.65) at Los Angeles Angels (Scott Kazmir, 8-8, 5.68 – 0-1, 1.42)
San Diego Padres (Kevin Correia, 10-10, 4.29) at San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 13-5, 2.34)
The Duel:
Out of the 3 pitchers i’ve selected, it seems to me that Felix Hernandez and Scott Kazmir has the best duel potential. These two went at it last week in Scott’s first start as an Angel. Kaz struck out 8 and retired 18 in a row at one point, allowing just 1 run and 3 hits in 6.1 innings. Kazmir has struck out a combined 18 hitters in his last 2 starts. Felix Hernandez made 6 starts in Auguest and went 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA, he also started September well with 8 shutout innings. Felix has faced the Angels 3 times this season, going 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA. In one start against them he allowed 6 runs, in the other two he allowed 0. I certainly hope these two can duplicate the success they had last time.
Duel of the Day – Friday, August 28, 2009
Thank god the Phillies are done with Pittsburgh, not just for the reason that there were 2 blown saves and J.A. Happ gave up an unfortunate home run, but I can’t watch those games with MLB Extra Innings, is Pittsburgh really that close to Buffalo? I didn’t think so either. Bring on the Braves, I think it will be a really tough series though.
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Justin Lehr (W, 7.2 innings, 7 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks, 7 K’s), Jorge De La Rosa (L, 8 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 7 K’s), Javier Vazquez (W, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 K’s), Trevor Cahill (W, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 2 K’s)
Pitchers who went 8 innings: J.A. Happ (L, 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks 4 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: J.A. Happ v. Charlie Morton
The matchups:
New York Mets (Pat Misch, 0-1, 4.09) at Chicago Cubs (Ted Lilly, 9-8, 3.40)
Chicago White Sox (Mark Buehrle, 11-7, 3.92) at New York Yankees (CC Sabathia, 15-7, 3.59)
Cleveland Indians (Fausto Carmona, 3-8, 5.92) at Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 3-11, 6.49)
Atlanta Braves (Tommy Hanson, 9-2, 3.12) at Philadelphia Phillies (Pedro Martinez, 2-0, 5.14)
Tampa Bay Rays (Matt Garza, 7-8, 3.74) at Detroit Tigers (Rick Porcello, 10-8, 4.39)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 12-7, 3.73) at Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey, 3-4, 6.82)
San Diego Padres (Kevin Correia, 8-10, 4.46) at Florida Marlins (Chris Volstad, 9-10, 4.73)
Toronto Blue Jays (Scott Richmond, 6-7, 4.09) at Boston Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 14-5, 3.65)
Pittsburgh Pirates (Zach Duke, 10-11, 3.38) at Milwaukee Brewers (Manny Parra, 8-10, 6.54)
Texas Rangers (Tommy Hunter, 6-2, 2.85) at Minnesota Twins (Brian Duensing, 1-1, 4.91)
Washington Nationals (John Lannan, 8-9, 4.03) at St. Louis Cardinals (John Smoltz, 3-5, 7.40)
Houston Astros (Yorman Bazardo, 0-0, 4.50) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Max Scherzer, 7-8, 4.12)
Oakland Athletics (Brett Tomko, 3-2, 3.69 – 2-0, 0.82) at Los Angeles Angels (Trevor Bell, 1-1, 9.49)
Kansas City Royals (Brian Bannister, 7-10, 4.50) at Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 12-5, 2.73)
Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 12-9, 3.36) at San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 12-4, 2.43)
The rundown:
I feel like i’ve seen thing matchup before, oh right, earlier this week. In that outing, Tim Lincecum got the loss after 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks, he also struck out 7. Ubaldo Iimenez went 8, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, and he struck out 9. I think these two studs can go out there and do it again. Hopefully Lincecum has a bit better control this time, 5 walks don’t win you ball games. Jimenez is 5-0 over his last 5 games and 6-0 over his last 8 games. Mr. Lincecum is lookjng for his first win since the 1st of August, he is 0-1 in 4 starts since then.
The notables: Ted Lilly, who has pitched well in 2 starts since returning from the DL. CC Sabathia, who is 5-0 in his last 5 and has struck out 7 or more in his last 4. Tommy Hanson has also been pitching good, 4-0 in his last 4. Josh Beckett, who is due for a rebound after two horrible starts. Zach Duke, who is having a very nice season, and he has pitched well in his last 3 games. Felix Hernandez, who hasn’t been as dominating as he was early on, but still a great pitcher with a live arm.
Duel of the Day – Sunday, August 23, 2009
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Scott Richmond (L, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 10 K’s), Charlie Haeger (W, 3 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, 7 K’s), Tommy Hanson (W, 4 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 7 K’s), Zach Duke (W, 8 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 2 K’s), Aaron Laffey (ND, 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 2 K’s), Matt Garza (ND, 6 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 7 K’s), J.A. Happ (W, 8 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 1 K), Trevor Cahill (ND, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 4 K’s), Chris Carpenter (W, 3 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 6 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday Ted Lilly v. Charlie Haeger
The matchups:
Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 12-4, 2.66) at Cleveland Indians (Fausto Carmona, 2-8, 6.31)
Los Angeles Angels (Trevor Bell, 1-0, 5.91) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 10-5, 3.95)
Philadelphia Phillies (Pedro Martinez, 1-0, 4.50) at New York Mets (Oliver Perez, 3-3, 6.06)
Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 9-8, 5.22) at Atlanta Braves (Derek Lowe, 12-8, 4.45)
Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey, 2-4, 7.53) at Pittshurgh Pirates (Kevin Hart, 4-3, 4.00)
Milwaukee Brewers (Manny Parra, 8-9, 6.33) at Washington Nationals (Craig Stammen, 3-6, 5.13)
Texas Rangers (Scott Feldman, 12-4, 4.06) at Tampa Bay Rays (David Price, 6-5, 5.03)
Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 2-11, 6.72) at Chicago White Sox (Mark Buehrle, 11-6, 3.78)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 6-11, 4.42) at Houston Astros (Bud Norris, 3-1, 4.05)
Minnesota Twins (Carl Pavano, 10-9, 5.32) at Kansas City Royals (Brian Bannister, 7-9, 4.44)
San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 12-3, 2.37) at Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 11-9, 3.41)
Detroit Tigers (Rick Porcello, 10-7, 4.21) at Oakland Athletics (Brett Tomko, 2-2, 4.21)
St. Louis Cardinals (John Smoltz, 2-5, 8.33) at San Diego Padres (Cesar Carrillo, 1-1, 11.88)
Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 6-7, 4.28) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 12-6, 3.70)
New York Yankees (CC Sabathia, 14-7, 3.58) at Boston Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 14-4, 3.38)
The rundown:
After all that offense yesterday, I think it’s time pitching took control in the Giants/Rockies series. Giants ace Tim Lincecum faces off against Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez. Tim might have had a rough outing against Cincinnati, but don’t look into that too much. This is actually the first time he’s facing the Rockies this season and his lifetime ERA against them is about 4.00. Ubaldo Jimenez is coming off a great start against Washington and really has been pitching well for the last month and a half. He is 1-1 against the Giants, but pitched good in both of the starts. This is a big series, and lets hope that these pitchers come up even bigger.
These two pitchers have been aces for years now, and this series too needs a good pitchers duel awakening. Like Lincecum, Beckett did not have a good outing at all last time, giving up 7 runs to the Blue Jays. But again, don’t look to deeply into that outing, every pitcher has a bad game. He has already faced the Yankees 4 times with a 2-0 record and a 4.12 ERA, his last start against them was his best, 7 innings, 0 runs. CC Sabathia has been pitching good too, his last two starts have been 8 innings so he very well could be getting his late season durability. He is 1-1 against Boston in 2 starts with a 2.53 ERA, in his last start against them he went 7.2 innings, striking out 9, and allowing 0 runs.
The notables: Felix Hernandez, who has struck out 19 in his last 2 outings combined. Ricky Nolasco, who, aside from one bad outing, has really been pitching quite well in his last 6 games. Chad Billingsley, who looked pretty good in his first start back from the DL.
The winner:
CC Sabathia v. Josh Beckett, that’s my prediction and i’m sticking to it.
Duel of the Day – Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Brian Bannister (ND, 10 hits, 7 runs – 6 earned, 3 walks, 6 K’s), Charlie Haeger (L, 5 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 2 K’s)
Pitchers who went 8 innings: A.J. Burnett (L, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 5 K’s), Chris Carpenter (W, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 8 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: Ted Lilly v. Kevin Correia
The matchups:
Los Angeles Angels (Trevor Bell, 0-0, 6.75) at Cleveland Indians (Fausto Carmona, 2-7, 6.37)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 6-10, 4.28) at Philadelphia Phillies (Pedro Martinez, 1-0, 5.40)
Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 12-4, 2.72) at Detroit Tigers (Rick Porcello, 10-7, 4.34)
Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 10-9, 3.47) at Washington Nationals (Craig Stammen, 3-6, 5.24)
Milwaukee Brewers (Manny Parra, 8-8, 6.44) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Ross Ohlendorf, 10-8, 4.30)
Boston Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 14-4, 3.10) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 10-5, 3.70)
Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 2-10, 6.63) at Tampa Bay Rays (David Price, 5-5, 5.13)
Atlanta Braves (Derek Lowe, 12-7, 4.08) at New York Mets (Oliver Perez, 2-3, 5.97)
San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 12-3, 2.19) at Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey, 2-4, 7.48)
Minnesota Twins (Carl Pavano, 10-9, 5.16) at Texas Rangers (Scott Feldman, 12-4, 3.90)
Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 8-8, 5.44) at Houston Astros (Bud Norris, 3-0, 3.00)
Kansas City Royals (Gil Meche, 5-9, 4.62) at Chicago White Sox (Freddy Garcia – First Start)
New York Yankees (CC Sabathia, 13-7, 3.64) at Oakland Athletics (Vin Mazzaro, 4-8, 5.44)
Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 6-6, 4.23) at San Diego Padres (Cesar Carillo, 0-1, 30.86)
St. Louis Cardinals (Mitchell Boggs, 1-1, 3.78) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 11-6, 3.73)
The rundown:
Josh Beckett against Ricky Romero looks good to me. I know Romero has been slumping, but with 3 really good pitches (fastball, changeup, slider) I don’t believe he can slump very long. Against Boston this season he is 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA, hopefully he’ll fare a little better this time around. Josh Beckett is having another incredible season, 14 wins, 3.10 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, the man is a machine. In his last 10 starts, he has only one outing shorter than 7 innings (6.2 innings) and a 7-1 record. Surprisingly enough, this will be Beckett’s first start against Toronto this season, it shouldn’t disappoint either.
The notables:
Notable pitchers to watch: Felix Hernandez who struck out 10 and allowed 0 runs in 7 innings, Ubaldo Jimenez who has won 3 in a row and went 8 innings in two of those games, Derek Lowe who has not lost since July 5th, Tim Lincecum who is just absolutely incredible, Scott Feldman who just continues to win, CC Sabathia who has been in true form his last two starts, and Chad Billingsley makes his return to the hill tonight.
Duel of the Day – Friday, August 7, 2009
Great game yesterday for the Phillies, Cliff Lee didn’t bring his best, but, being the ace that he is, he didn’t need his best. Brad Lidge was the best i’ve seen him all year as well.
Pitchers who went 7 innings: Cliff Lee (W, 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 9 K’s), Tommy Hunter (W, 3 hits, 3 runs – 2 earned, 2 walks, 4 K’s), Jason Vargas (L, 9 hits, 8 runs – 7 earned, 3 walks, 0 K’s), Randy Wolf (ND, 9 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 4 K’s)
The Duel of Yesterday: Nick Blackburn v. Fausto Carmona
The matchups:
Boston Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 13-4, 3.27) at New York Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 10-5, 3.89)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 6-10, 4.26) at Washington Nationals (Collin Balester, 1-1, 3.68)
Minnesota Twins (Anthony Swarzak, 3-4, 4.25) at Detroit Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-10, 5.22)
St. Louis Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 10-3, 2.10) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Paul Maholm, 6-6, 4.75)
Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 1-9, 6.93) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 10-4, 3.53)
Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 7-7, 5.00) at Philadelphia Phillies (Joe Blanton, 7-5, 4.02)
Milwaukee Brewers (Carlos Villanueva, 2-8, 5.98) at Houston Astros (Bud Norris, 1-0, 0.90)
Oakland Athletics (Vin Mazzaro, 2-8, 5.73) at Kansas City Royals (Brian Bannister, 7-7, 3.59)
Cleveland Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 3-7, 4.97) at Chicago White Sox (Mark Buehrle, 11-5, 3.79)
Chicago Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 7-4, 3.35) at Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 8-9, 3.76)
Texas Rangers (Scott Feldman, 10-4, 3.91) at Los Angeles Angels (Joe Saunders, 9-6, 5.07)
New York Mets (Oliver Perez, 2-3, 7.03) at San Diego Padres (Kevin Correia, 7-9, 4.73)
Tampa Bay Rays (Jeff Niemann, 10-5, 3.62) at Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 12-4, 2.78)
Atlanta Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 9-8, 2.85) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 11-6, 3.82)
Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey, 2-3, 7.06) at San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 12-3, 2.18)
The rundown:
It’s Red Sox/Yankees, it’s former teammates, it’s got playoff implications, and it could be a good pitchers duel. Josh Beckett is having another season of domination (has anyone else noticed that he goes like every other year?), in his last 8 starts he is 6-1, with 2 complete game shutouts. A.J. Burnett is having a bit of a different season, before he got slammed in his last start, he was 7-1 dating back to the last time he faced Boston. I think the excitement of the game will turn in some emotion-on-your-sleeve performances.
In a battle of aces, Carlos Zambrano will take on Ubaldo Jimenez. In his last start, Zambrano left with a stiff back after only 3 innings, his season hasn’t been much to write home about, but his ERA is still very good at 3.35, but he’s hovering around only 6 innings per start. Ubaldo Jimenez would like a better record, but he’s been able to keep that ERA under 4.00, he’s coming off a good start in Cincinnati and he’ll look to have that carry over.
Jeff Niemann has been the surprise of the season for the Rays, he has been incredible. Originally he was slated to be no better that the 5th starter, but he has become a staple in that rotation. 3 of his last 4 starts have been 8 innings or more, one being a complete game shutout, I look for him to do really good against the Mariners. Speaking of the Mariners, they are throwing Felix Hernandez to the hill, and what can you say? His ERA was on a nice little roll, getting to 2.45, and then he got rocked for 7 runs in Toronto, but the guy is still having a great season.
The notables:
Chris Carpenter will face the Pirates, Ricky Romero takes on the Orioles, Brian Bannister has the A’s to contend with, Mr. Perfect 2009 Mark Buehrle faces division rival Cleveland, Scott Feldman is have a good campaign with the Rangers and he’s facing the Angels, Jair Jurrjens and Chad Billingsley are facing off again, it could be good, Tim Lincecum rounds out the day against the Cincinnati Reds
The winner:
I think you have to take Beckett/Burnett just because it’s Red Sox/Yankees, but you could always catch the Niemann/Hernandez game afterwards
Duel of the Day – Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Quite the throwdown in Philadelphia yesterday. Rich Harden throws 7 innings, giving up 1 run and striking out 6. Joe Blanton also went 7, also gave up a run, but he only struck out 5. Then the bullpen’s dueled until the 13th, when Jayson Werth hit an incredibly 3 run walk off homer. Braden Looper worked 7 scoreless innings giving up 4 hits and 3 walks. The performance of the night goes to John Lannan who pitched a complete game shutout giving up 7 hits, all singles, and walking none. Another complete game was thrown by Cliff Lee, who also gave up 7 hits, he also allowed 1 run. Brett Cecil, facing Lee, threw 7 shutout innings, striking out 9. Jeff Niemann went 8, giving up 8 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, and he struck out 7. His opponent Clayton Richard also went 8, allowing 4 hits, 1 run 2 walks, and he too struck out 7. Chris Volstad threw 7 innings, allowing 1 run and 4 hits against the Padres. Anthony Swarzak and Dallas Braden also went 7 allowing 2 runs.
The matchups:
Milwaukee Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 5-7, 4.43) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Paul Maholm, 6-4, 4.28)
Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 1-7, 6.44) at New York Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 8-4, 3.81)
Chicago Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 6-4, 3.36) at Philadelphia Phillies (Jamie Moyer, 9-6, 5.58)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 5-9, 4.45) at Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 7-9, 3.82)
Minnesota Twins (Glen Perkins, 5-5, 4.75) at Oakland Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 5-8, 4.72)
Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 6-7, 5.77) at San Diego Padres (Josh Geer, 1-5, 6.02)
San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 10-2, 2.27) at Atlanta Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 8-7, 2.77)
Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 10-3, 2.51) at Detroit Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-8, 5.09)
New York Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 7-5, 5.07) at Washington Nationals (Craig Stammen, 2-5, 4.46)
Cleveland Indians (Carl Pavano, 8-7, 5.13) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 7-4, 3.25)
Boston Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 1-0, 1.59) at Texas Rangers (Vincente Padilla, 7-5, 4.67)
St. Louis Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 8-3, 2.26) at Houston Astros (Roy Oswalt, 6-4, 3.65)
Los Angeles Angels (Joe Saunders, 8-6, 4.72) at Kansas City Royals (Brian Bannister, 6-7, 3.66)
Tampa Bay Rays (James Shields, 6-6, 3.75) at Chicago White Sox (Carlos Torres – First Start)
Cincinnati Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 10-8, 5.07) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 9-5, 3.76)
The rundown:
This one has greatness written all over it. Tim Lincecum has been absolutly incredible this season, he is well on hjs way to Cy Young #2 (unless they look past win/loss record, then Dan Haren would have something to say). Jair Jurrjens lives under the radar so not many may know of him, but this kid can pitch. These two could easily put up scoreless inning after scoreless inning, something tells me Tim can pick up the win though, he is just too good.
Chris Carpenter has been fantastic this year, I don’t know if the Cardinals expected this much from him, but they can be happy that he’s given them what he has. Roy Oswalt hasn’t quite been himself this season, but he still has loads of talent and some nasty stuff. I hope Carpenter can keep this up though, it’s good to see, I think he can dispatch the Astros lineup tonight with relative ease.
The notables:
A.J. Burnett is facing the Orioles, Carlos Zambrano is facing my Phillies (go easy on us big man), King Felix is going to take it to the Tigers tonight, one of my favorites Ricky Romero will take on the Indians, James Shields will look to put the White Sox away easily and not give any more heart attacks to a Mr. More Cowbell. To wrap it up, Chad Billingsley will take on Cincinnati in the only 10:00 game of the day.
The winner:
Have to give it to Tim/Jair, this one looks like it will be incredible and I hope it lives up to my expectations, good day everybody, enjoy the pitching!
Duel of the Day – Friday, July 17, 2009
I’d like to thank the Washington Nationals for allowing Rich Harden to have a good start. Vintage Harden, 6 innings, 7 K’s, 0 earned runs (1 run). Another good performance was put up by Cliff Lee, who pitched a complete game against the Mariners. Wandy Rodriguez pitched 6 solid innings and Ervin Santana went 8 against Oakland. Yesterday’s star for me was Jamie Moyer, Moyer turns it on against the Fish and yesterday was no exception, 7 shutout innings in a 4-0 win.
The matchups:
Detroit Tigers (Lucas French, 1-0, 1.93) at New York Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 8-4, 3.77)
Chicago Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 5-4, 3.53) at Washington Nationals (Craig Stammen, 2-4, 4.45)
Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 9-3, 2.53) at Cleveland Indians (Tomo Ohka, 0-3, 6.40)
San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum, 10-2, 2.33) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Paul Maholm, 6-4, 4.60)
Boston Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – First Start) at Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 7-3, 3.00)
Milwaukee Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 5-6, 4.70) at Cincinnati Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 9-8, 5.38)
Philadelphia Phillies (Cole Hamels, 5-5, 4.87) at Florida Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 6-7, 5.76)
New York Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 7-4, 4.47) at Atlanta Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 7-7, 2.91)
Minnesota Twins (Glen Perkins, 4-5, 4.71) at Texas Rangers (Vincente Padilla, 7-4, 4.53)
Tampa Bay Rays (James Shields, 6-6, 3.42) at Kansas City Royals (Brian Bannister, 6-7, 3.66)
Baltimore Orioles (Jason Berken, 1-6, 5.87) at Chicago White Sox (John Danks, 7-6, 3.91)
Arizona Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 5-8, 4.53) at St. Louis Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 7-3, 2.47)
Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 6-9, 3.81) at San Diego Padres (Josh Geer, 1-4, 5.79)
Los Angeles Angels (Joe Saunders, 8-5, 4.65) at Oakland Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 5-8, 4.67)
Houston Astros (Roy Oswalt, 5-4, 3.85) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 9-4, 3.38)
The rundown:
Clay Buchholz has been tearing up Triple-A, but hasn’t seen the big leagues this season. He has stuggled in the past in the majors, but we’ll see if it’s different this time around. Ricky Romero has been very good this year, in his first MLB season. This one should be a good AL East battle with some youngsters on the mound.
James Shields has been solid again this season and so has Brian Bannister. It’s hard to so anything more or anything less because you know these guys can pitch, somedays they go out and get smashed and the next time they’ll throw a gem. I’d like to see a couple of gems right here. James Shields has a good opportunity for a complete game I believe.
Oswalt/Billingsley is the ace vs ace matchup with should be really good. Oswalts season isn’t anything too outstanding, but you know he’s good. Billingsley has been the pitcher for the Dodgers this season and he’s always ready to go out there and blow that fastball by you. Dodgers were shutout yesterday so maybe Oswalt can do it again.
The notables:
Felix Hernandez is on the mound facing the Cleveland Indians, Tim Lincecum makes his way to Pittsburgh, my man Cole Hamels takes on the Florido Marlins, hopefully his second half will be better than his first. Jair Jurrjens takes on the Mets and you know I hope he runs them down. Chris Carpenter is also pitching today as he faces the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The winner:
I’d probably be most interested in Buchholz/Romero, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. Enjoy the pitching!
The Pitcher's Duel 