The hype over Washington Nationals’ phenom Stephen Strasburg has been followed by terrific pitching from the young right-hander, but the Nats’ front office also deserves a lot of credit. In his first three starts, Strasburg has faced the Pirates, the Indians, and the White Sox, all of whom rank near the bottom offensively. While I think Strasburg has a tremendous amount of talent and is going to be a great pitcher for quite some time, I’d like to see how he fares against the heavy-hitting lineups of the Yankees, Reds, and Red Sox.
How ‘bout that?
How about Mike Leake? The Reds’ rookie pitcher finally took his first loss of the season this week, but still boasts a 3.02 ERA to go with his 5-1 record. His most impressive stat, however, is that he has gone at least six innings in 12 of his 13 starts. In addition to his contribution on the mound, Leake is hitting .385 – more than 100 points higher than the batting average of the hitters he has faced (.270). Leake has been Cincinnati’s most consistent – and best – pitcher in 2010.
How about Carlos Peña? After hitting just .120/.233./.250 with three home runs in the month of May, Peña homered in six straight games last week and is slugging .667 so far in June. For a guy hitting just .197 on the season, Peña has been awfully productive. The Rays’ first baseman leads his team in home runs (15), and his 46 RBIs are second only to Evan Longoria’s 51.
How about the Braves? Atlanta won only nine of 23 games in April but is 31-14 since the beginning of May and leads the NL East by a half-game over the Mets, who have won eight in a row. The Braves have been particularly strong at home, evidenced by a 22-7 record at Turner Field.
Moyer shows he’s still got it
Just when you think he’s got nothing left in the tank, Jamie Moyer proves to the baseball world that he can still compete at the highest level. One start after getting shelled by the Red Sox, Moyer became the oldest pitcher to beat the Yankees, holding the Bronx Bombers to two runs on just three hits in eight innings of work at New Yankee Stadium. What’s particularly impressive is that the performance comes at a time when the Yanks are on a roll, having recently caught the Rays in the AL East.
The New Ageless Wonder is now just one home run allowed shy of Robin Roberts’s all-time record. The former Mud Hen (10-8 with a 2.86 ERA in 1992 – the only year in the last 25 that he did not appear in the majors) is even more prone to the long ball than the late Roberts; Moyer has given up 504 homers in 3,990 innings pitched (42nd on the career list), while Roberts surrendered 505 in nearly 700 more innings of work (4,688.2 – 21st all-time).
Keywords: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Carlos Peña, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Evan Longoria, Jamie Moyer, Mike Leake, New Ageless Wonder, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Robin Roberts, Stephen Strasburg, Tampa Bay Rays, Toledo Mud Hens, Turner Field, Washington Nationals
