Brian Moehler had a chance to finish it, but he tired out in the 9th – he gave up a run on a double, then a fly out, then a groundout, then he gave up a single, then a walk on 4 straight pitches. Wesley Wright came in to get the last out.
But Moehler has come the closest to a CG this year (Chacon really should have at Philly – he threw 8 shutout innings and Cooper pulled him for no obvious reason to let Valverde pad his stats and, um, if didn’t work out real too good…) He gave up 7 hits – 4 doubles (3 of em to Clank) and 3 singles, 1 walk, 3 K and 1 DP. He threw 100 pitches, 68 strikes.
Darn good.
Miggy is still hitting in the 2-hole and doing fine. Lance is still slumping.
Tomorrow, it’s Wandy vs Edisin Volquez, the probable ROY. He hasn’t faced the Astros yet this year, but he’s 12-4 in 20 GS and 1 in relief over 126.2 IP: 105 H, 8 HR, 61 BB, 134 K: 2.77 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a .224 BAA.
The Wand Man got his work cut out for him, he surely do, especially with his nemesis Junior Griffey sure to be in the lineup… He’s 2-2 in 7 GS with a 5.59 ERA against the Reds.
Tags: Houston Astros
Much as I’ve been impressed with Edinson Volquez this season, he doesn’t actually qualify for ROY. You have to have accumulated less than 50 innings pitched, and he pitched 80 with the Rangers prior to this season. But, just a taste of what leaving Ameriquest Field can do for a pitcher – in three seasons, he gave up 14 HR in just 80 innings pitched. I really thought he was the second coming of Ezequiel Astacio. Now he’s with the Reds, and he has only allowed 8 HR in 126.2 innings. Remarkable.
PS – by his previous pace, if you couldn’t do the math, he should have allowed over 21 HR by now.
Moehler did a good job, and it is too bad that he didn’t get his CG, but a win is a win.
Berkman seems to be showing some signs of life. I think that if I were a big time hitter on a nice streak that I’d just decline my invite to the HR derby. I don’t think that it helped Lance at all.
Mo looked great, he was throwing strikes and getting outs. I love when a pitcher goes out and pitches to win, instead of not to lose.
I had thought Moehler was getting a raw deal when he was a mop-up guy. All the posters were releasing him or worse, when he wasn’t getting regular work. I believe even Roy O would not thrive in such a situation.
Maybe the Cockroach will be the feel good story that neither Chacon nor Towles (so far) have been. And why not take Q for that ride, too?
…Oh, and hello LaTroy.
austin,
it might could have been the pitching coach because the GAB is homeriffic too.
travis,
yeh. you don’t have to get a lot of strikeouts to get a lot of outs
wags,
moehler hadn’t been a good pitcher for at least 3 years when we picked him up. he hadn’t been even league average for 4 years.
as for Q – he’s worse than ausmus. check the stats.
I have to agree with wags, Moehler is a .500% pitcher, but being on the marlins and reds didn’t help. and he never really got a shot at any regular play after 2000. and when he did, he was on the Reds.
Anywho, we traded for yet more bullpen help. Our bullpen isn’t even that bad, it’s the save situations that are killing us. Either this is all that the market has to offer us of Wade has tunnel vision.
There are a lot of factors, but that’s kind of my point. Not exactly like he moved from a hitter’s park to a cavernous pitcher’s park. Even in another hitter’s park on a team with a reputation for no pitching he’s been MUCH better. I don’t know if that’s related to being in the NL, having a better pitching coach, more experience, or what. But he’s definitely a different pitcher than I watched for two years in Texas.
not having to face a DH does wonders from what i noticed, just from the various needs the team can feel by having that postion. don’t forget Orel Hershiser was the pitching Coach for a while, maybe his approach was too old school, but Ameriquest Field isn’t just homeriffic it’s dimensions make it great for extra base hits. Also, Volquez got better when mark Connor took Hershiser’s position in 2006.
feel-> fill*