Last week I saw Andy Pettitte throw six and two-thirds innings of perfect baseball at against the Orioles at Camden Yards. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Adam Jones hit a ground ball to third. Alex Rodriguez was getting the night off, and his replacement at the hot corner, Jerry Hairston, booted it. Having grown up an Orioles fan and somewhere along the way developing into a Yankee-hater, one might think I would have been rooting for the Birds to end Pettitte’s bid for perfection; however, this was not so. As a fan of the game, I wanted to witness history. Sure; I would have preferred seeing an Oriole pitcher throw a perfecto (though even a shutout by one of this year’s starters would have been historic), but I can’t expect miracles.
How ‘bout that?
How about Jonny Gomes? Called up by the Reds on May 22nd after not making the team out of spring training, Gomes has crushed the ball to a tune of a .563 slugging percentage and 19 home runs in just 240 at-bats. His former team, the Rays, could sure use his bat right about now; they’ve lost eight games in a row and have all but eliminated themselves from the Wild Card race.
How about Chris Carpenter? The Cardinals’ righty has put together a strong case for the National League Cy Young Award: mainly a 16-3 record and a major league-leading 2.16 E.R.A. Additionally, he’s allowed less than one baserunner per inning pitched (0.97 WHIP), he’s surrendered only seven home runs in 24 games started, and he’s thrown three complete games – which may not seem terribly impressive but he’s tied for third in the N.L. If all goes well for him and Adam Wainwright (18-7), the duo could become the first pair of teammates to each win 20 games since 2002, when the feat was accomplished in both leagues: Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did it for the Diamondbacks, and Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez did it for the Red Sox.
How about the Pirates’ record away from home? At 18-50, they are worse on the road than the Nationals (19-49). But what is perhaps even more remarkable is that Pittsburgh has a winning record (36-34) at PNC Park. It will be fun to watch and see if the Pirates manage to lose 60 away games while somehow finishing the season with a winning record at home.
The Iron Horse would be proud of Jeter
Keywords: Adam Wainwright, Andy Pettitte, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chris Carpenter, Cincinnati Reds, Curt Schilling, Derek Jeter, Derek Lowe, Iron Horse, Jonny Gomes, Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees, Pedro Martinez, Perfect Game, Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park, Randy Johnson, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals
