first pitch: 6:40 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (4-0, 2.29 ERA) vs Brandon Webb (6-0, 3.32 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com
Now that was an ugly game. Nobody really deserved to win it, but the Snakes hung on to reclaim first place in the NL West.
Who do you blame in a 12-11 loss? Well, this was pretty much a team effort. Poor starting pitching, poor relief pitching, overaggressiveness at the plate where a baserunner or even a ball hit solidly into play could have made a difference, questionable bench substitutions. This one had it all.
One interesting outcome of the loss is Akinori Otsuka has been bumped from the primary setup role. The reason I say “interesting” is that we’ve talked in numerous In-Game Discussions about the slavish obssession with a set bullpen pecking order. (This is less a complaint with Bruce Bochy than with what has become the status quo in MLB, for those wondering.) The fact that Scott Linebrink will assume what had been Otsuka’s role shouldn’t really be much of an issue. Nor should it preclude the likes of Chris Hammond and Rudy Seanez from working the eighth if needed.
But I digress. Thursday night sees the staff aces square off against each other yet again. Their previous matchups this season:
23 Apr @ Ari
IP H R ER HR BB SO
Peavy 7.0 4 1 1 0 1 8
Webb 8.0 5 1 1 0 1 5
29 Apr @ SD
IP H R ER HR BB SO
Peavy 8.0 6 3 3 1 1 7
Webb 6.0 12 4 4 1 2 3
With luck, Peavy can stay true to form and give the Pads 7+ innings to help rest an overworked bullpen.
AB BA OBP SLG
Peavy vs current Diamondbacks 148 .257 .309 .480
Webb vs current Padres 156 .224 .267 .295
Luis Gonzalez (.458/.519/1.000 in 24 AB) absolutely owns Peavy. Alex Cintron (.286/.412/.643 in 14 AB) and Craig Counsell (.308/.438/.615 in 13 AB) have done very well also. What’s up with Counsell this year, anyway? He’s always been a pest, but now he’s almost impossible to get out.
You know the story with Webb; he abuses most everyone in the lineup. He also is much tougher earlier in games than late:
Inn. 1-3: .151/.225/.194 Inn. 4-6: .327/.365/.495 Inn. 7-9: .359/.372/.590
Padres batters lead the NL with 173 unintentional walks; they’re second with 31 stolen bases (at a respectable 74% rate).
X Factor
Xavier Nady started in center field Wednesday night. Batting seventh, he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI before being removed for Damian Jackson as part of a double switch in the fifth. The decision to remove a key hitter in the middle innings of a tie game was “interesting” and was one of the many reasons this loss was a true team effort. I keep expecting to see Kerry Robinson called up from Portland any moment.
And in the awkward segue department, I’ll be in Vegas tonight and for the next few days, so chat away without me. I’ll check in when I can (i.e., when I’m not downing Heinekens at the Golden Nugget Sports Book).
Let’s take this series, shall we?
Anything traveling that fast ought to have a (bleepin’) stewardess on it!
I think it was a titelist…
Yeah I miss the old bat flick. Maybe he’s not so flamboyant anymore in his old age.
The Arizona broadcast just showed the Ben Davis bunt off Curt Schilling to break up the no-no.
Peavy has now faced the minimum through seven.
That is the greatest thing Ben Davis has done in his whole life.
The Padres have never thrown a no-hitter. I don’t know about one-hitters.
.947 DER for the Pads tonight. (unless I made a mistake)
Yeah, I always was anti-Schilling after that because he whined so much about it.
7 innings, 64 pitches. this guy.
I know pitch counts were not kept for a long time, but I wonder what the record is …
Didn’t Ashby have the record for a while? he pitched a 75-pitch complete game to break Maddux’s record of 76, IIRC.
I don’t know about one-hitters, but I know Bruce Hearst had a two hitter once. Maybe Andy Benes too.
Roberts’ on-base was .358 coming into the game, and he’s gone 3-for-4. He hasn’t stolen as many bases as I thought he would, but he finishes with an on-base of .350+, I will be plesantly surprised because of his career numbers coming in.
and the hits just keep on comin. Mercy.
I haven’t seen a WP like that one in well, forever.
The Diamondbacks were just playing the infield halfway in a 9-0 ballgame.
Royce Clayton wants to get DeBarge back together.
I generally like Thom Brennanman when he does Fox games, but his homer antics there in the top of the ninth were a bit much. He was praising the plays of Clayton and Green. Green had a nice catch, but Clayton’s play looked rather routine, but Thom keep describing them as “big-league” plays, and how you don’t see many players give that type of effort in a 8,9-0 ballgame. Give me a frickin’ break, but I guess you need to talk about something when you see the writing on the wall.
He could have talked about Clayton’s hair.
Yeah, but I am sure he has already done that earlier in the season.
That was a beautiful game by Peavy. Just beautiful.
Masterful performance from Peavy. 94 pitch two-hit complete game shutout. He looked like he wanted the ball, and got the message that the bullpen could use a rest. He almost looked like he had taken a page from the Marlin’s pitching philosophy by inducing hitters to swing at their pitch early in the count so he could go a longer distance. Hence the low strikeout numbers.
A well-earned respite for the tired warriors in the pen. Peavy rules
.567 DER for the Snakes tonight.
.923 DER for the Friars.
That’s certainly something.
It’s somewhat amazing that this was Peavy’s first complete game. I say that because he seems capable of going nine every time he pitches.
The icing on the cake? Jake’s even getting love on Baseball Tonight.
Remind me again what “DER” is?
Final pitching stats …
Pitches-strikes – J Peavy 94-65; B Webb 115-71; J Lopez 11-6; K Ligtenberg 18-14; M Koplove 10-8.
Ground balls-fly balls – J Peavy 14-11; B Webb 11-2; J Lopez 0-0; K Ligtenberg 1-1; M Koplove 2-1.
Batters faced – J Peavy 28; B Webb 30; J Lopez 2; K Ligtenberg 6; M Koplove 5.
Oh, oh my that was pretty. Peavy was great. Brought strikes, the guys swung, got a few nice drives but generally allowed him to cruise. So sweet. Nice offense as well, excepting, of course, Nevin. He even looked bad against the leftie reliever. What does it take to have sit a game or two against a RHP and let Sweeney or Nady play a game or two?
Roberts is fun. I still think he should never see an AB against a LHP, but he is fun.
I suppose it should be written DEF_EFF instead of DER. Defensive Efficiency (Rating). It’s the rate at which balls put into play are converted into outs by a team’s defense.
From BaseballProspectus, of course.
what happened to today’s posts?