Now THAT'S Some Pitching
MLBTV brought me another great game tonight. Twins at Detroit, Johan Santana versus Justin Verlander, and the matchup turned out to be as good as promised.
Santana is the best in the game right now. He spent most of the night making the Tigers chase his changeup, that Bug Bunny pitch that comes out of his hand looking like a rocket and then seems to stop in midair on the way to the plate. Five times in the first seven innings the Tigers went out in order, not counting another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth when Carlos Guillen singled but was thrown out stealing. Going into the eighth, Santana had faced only one batter over the minimum, striking out 10 along the way.
Verlander was matching him all the way, with some help from the Twins themselves. The Twins lost two runners on the bases. In the fourth, Michael Cuddyer was hit by a pitch with two out. Justin Morneau followed with a long single, but Cuddyer rounded third too far and was tagged out by the alert Tigers defense. In the eighth, Nick Punto, Utility Infielder, led off with a single and got himself picked off by Verlander. Despite reaching 100 MPH on the speed gun at least once during the evening, Verlander didn't strike out a batter? How is that possible? Easy, when you face the Twins. Their only strategy of hitting seems to be that if the pitcher throws the ball, you are required to swing at it. As hard as Verlander throws, it's hard to strike anyone out when everyone is putting the ball in play on the second or third pitch.
It was still 0-0 in the bottom of the eighth. Santana struck out Guillen, who had singled in his previous two at-bats. Chris Shelton drew a walk, the first allowed in the game by either pitcher. Brandon Inge went down as Santana's 12th strikeout victim, but Vance Wilson, of all people, jumped on a first pitch fastball and drove it out of the yard in left.
That was all it took, although Tigers manager Jim Leyland managed to make it more exciting in the ninth by brining in Todd Jones to relieve Verlander. Jones put the tying runs on but got Tony Batista to pop out to end it.
The Tigers have the following three guys in the bullpen:
Fernando Rodney, 1.59 ERA, .136 Batting Average Against, 17 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 16 K
Joel Zumaya, 2.45 ERA. .180 Batting Average Against, 18 1/3 IP, 11 H, 7 BB, 20 K
Todd Jones, 3.97 ERA, .319 Batting Average Against, 11 1/3 IP, 14 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Which one is the closer? Jones, of course...he's "proven." Actually, Jim Leyland, by using the worst of the three as the closer because of blind obedience to the managerial "cover your ass" laws, has stumbled on the best arrangement, getting Rodney and Zumaya into the game when it's really on the line in the sixth and seventh and eighth.
I'm starting to be a convert to this Tigers teams. I've been skeptical, but tonight I saw a talented team beat the best pitcher in the league by playing a smart game. Shelton is a terrific hitter, Curtis Granderson is turning into an excellent leadoff man, and the rest of the lineup is solid. Verlander is real, and Jeremy Bonderman is also a first-rate starter. Kenny Rogers has pitched well, and Mike Maroth and Nate Robertson are capable of filling out a rotation with league-average pitching.
As for the Twins...well, they have Johan.
Santana is the best in the game right now. He spent most of the night making the Tigers chase his changeup, that Bug Bunny pitch that comes out of his hand looking like a rocket and then seems to stop in midair on the way to the plate. Five times in the first seven innings the Tigers went out in order, not counting another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth when Carlos Guillen singled but was thrown out stealing. Going into the eighth, Santana had faced only one batter over the minimum, striking out 10 along the way.
Verlander was matching him all the way, with some help from the Twins themselves. The Twins lost two runners on the bases. In the fourth, Michael Cuddyer was hit by a pitch with two out. Justin Morneau followed with a long single, but Cuddyer rounded third too far and was tagged out by the alert Tigers defense. In the eighth, Nick Punto, Utility Infielder, led off with a single and got himself picked off by Verlander. Despite reaching 100 MPH on the speed gun at least once during the evening, Verlander didn't strike out a batter? How is that possible? Easy, when you face the Twins. Their only strategy of hitting seems to be that if the pitcher throws the ball, you are required to swing at it. As hard as Verlander throws, it's hard to strike anyone out when everyone is putting the ball in play on the second or third pitch.
It was still 0-0 in the bottom of the eighth. Santana struck out Guillen, who had singled in his previous two at-bats. Chris Shelton drew a walk, the first allowed in the game by either pitcher. Brandon Inge went down as Santana's 12th strikeout victim, but Vance Wilson, of all people, jumped on a first pitch fastball and drove it out of the yard in left.
That was all it took, although Tigers manager Jim Leyland managed to make it more exciting in the ninth by brining in Todd Jones to relieve Verlander. Jones put the tying runs on but got Tony Batista to pop out to end it.
The Tigers have the following three guys in the bullpen:
Fernando Rodney, 1.59 ERA, .136 Batting Average Against, 17 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 16 K
Joel Zumaya, 2.45 ERA. .180 Batting Average Against, 18 1/3 IP, 11 H, 7 BB, 20 K
Todd Jones, 3.97 ERA, .319 Batting Average Against, 11 1/3 IP, 14 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Which one is the closer? Jones, of course...he's "proven." Actually, Jim Leyland, by using the worst of the three as the closer because of blind obedience to the managerial "cover your ass" laws, has stumbled on the best arrangement, getting Rodney and Zumaya into the game when it's really on the line in the sixth and seventh and eighth.
I'm starting to be a convert to this Tigers teams. I've been skeptical, but tonight I saw a talented team beat the best pitcher in the league by playing a smart game. Shelton is a terrific hitter, Curtis Granderson is turning into an excellent leadoff man, and the rest of the lineup is solid. Verlander is real, and Jeremy Bonderman is also a first-rate starter. Kenny Rogers has pitched well, and Mike Maroth and Nate Robertson are capable of filling out a rotation with league-average pitching.
As for the Twins...well, they have Johan.
posted by Jim at
8:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home