ATLANTA 7, SAN FRANCISCO 2
Derek Lowe lost control of his pitches yesterday, but made it through his start relatively unscathed. Jason Heyward helped pick him up with a home run and the Braves piled on runs with the aid of Giants miscues to win the game 7-2.
The first three innings featured the Giants and Braves trading goose eggs. Atlanta left three runners on base in the first two innings and the Giants left the bases loaded in the third.
San Francisco struck first when Juan Uribe executed a successful hit-and-run with one out, driving in Aubrey Huff from third base. Uribe was thrown out trying to steal and Eli Whiteside struck out to end the inning.
After leaving seven runners on base through four, the Braves got on the board when Jason Heyward hit a letter-high fastball over the wall in left for his second career home run. That tied the game and Derek Lowe made it hold up despite losing control of his pitches. Sandoval grounded to second to start the inning, but Glaus couldn't handle the throw. Lowe then walked Huff on six pitches. He got Mark DeRosa to ground to Prado to start a 5-4-3 double, but then he lost control again and was forced to walk Uribe to load the bases. On the second pitch to Eli Whiteside, he hit a hard grounder that Escobar slid to corral and he spun and fired to Glaus at first. Whiteside slid headfirst into the base but was out by about a step as Glaus picked the ball out of the dirt.
The Braves opened the floodgates in their next three frames, scoring six runs with the aid of four walks, an error, and four wild pitches. Troy Glaus was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the go-ahead run and Jason Heyward had an RBI single to bring home the third run. Infante scored on a wild pitch in the eighth and singled home Eric Hinske in the ninth. Hinske had a pinch-hit double, which drove in Heyward, and reached third on a balk, after which he scored.
Peter Moylan and Takashi Saito each pitched a scoreless inning, with Saito striking out two batters. Jesse Chavez came on to pitch with a 7-1 lead and allowed a walk and two singles, which scored a run, but he got a double play to end the ball game.
My Commentary: Lowe set a career-high in walks in a game with seven (two intentional). He became the 33rd Braves pitcher in recorded baseball history to be credited with a victory and have seven or more walks in his stint. The franchise record is 11, set by Jimmy Freeman on a complete-game effort on September 1, 1972 against the Phillies. The Braves won the game 11-5.
It was almost pathetic to see Lowe lose control of his pitches like he did. To his credit, he kept it up and was able to get out of the sixth inning thanks to that amazing Escobar play and Glaus dig. The advanced fielding metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Fielding Runs Above Average may not show it, but I do believe that Escobar is an above-average fielding shortstop at best.
Jason Heyward's home run shows exactly what kind of power he has. If he can continue to be consistent, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll win the NL Rookie of the Year, even if Stephen Strasburg comes up in the middle of the season.
Showing posts with label yunel escobar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yunel escobar. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
So Much For Small Sample Sizes
ATLANTA 16, CHICAGO 5
Highly-touted prospect Jason Heyward started his major league career with a bang. The right fielder hit his first major league home run which gave the Braves a 6-3 lead. That helped open the floodgates, as the Braves won by a score of 16-5.
After Yunel Escobar tied the game with a two-run single, moving Brian McCann to second base, Heyward endured two up-and-in fastballs from Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Then, Zambrano tried to throw a fastball over the plate around Heyward's knees. With a short, powerful stroke, Heyward blasted the pitch into the Braves bullpen. That sent most of Turner Field and watching on television into euphoria.
The second inning proved to be Carlos Zambrano's last as he committed a throwing error to third base, allowing a straying Martin Prado to score. The last straw was a solo home run given up to McCann. Zambrano became the fourth pitcher since 1920 to last less than 1 2/3 innings on an Opening Day start, giving up at least 7 earned runs:
- Carlos Zambrano, 4/5/10 @ ATL - 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
- Jose Contreras, 4/2/07 vs. CLE - 1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
- Dave Stewart, 4/6/95 @ TOR - 1 1/3 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
- Brad Havens, 4/5/83 vs. DET - 1 1/3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Cubs reliever Jeff Samardzija didn't fare much better than Zambrano. The former Notre Dame wide receiver gave up six runs, five earned, after walking the bases loaded to start the frame.
Braves starter Derek Lowe fared better than Zambrano, but he wasn't exactly stellar. The sinkerballer gave up a first-inning, three-run home run to Marlon Byrd, which gave the Cubs an early 3-0 lead. Lowe lasted six innings, giving up five hits, including two-run home run to Aramis Ramirez in the third, which closed the gap to a score of 8-5.
A pivotal play occurred in the sixth inning with none out and Kosuke Fukudome on first. Byrd hit a hard line drive to left-center. Center fielder Nate McLouth dove at the last second and caught the ball. Unfortunately, when he hit he ball, it squirted free. He threw the ball back to the infield on his back.
In the meantime, Byrd was called out. Aramis Ramirez was confused by that and stood on second base while Yunel Escobar collected McLouth's throw. After Escobar tossed the ball to Troy Glaus, the first basemen stepped on the bag and the umpires ruled it a double play. Television replays clearly showed that McLouth lost control of the ball, but it was somehow shielded from the umpire's view. After Lou Pinella argued and the umpires conferred, the play was upheld and the Cubs runners were erased. Lowe struck out Alfonso Soriano to end the inning and a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the inning ended his day.
The Braves bullpen threw three perfect innings. Relievers Peter Moylan, Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner struck out five batters combined. The three pitchers pitched because of Tuesday's off-day and to get in some work.
The Cubs' Sean Marshall and James Russell tossed 4 2/3 scorless innings in relief of Zambrano, while Justin Berg and John Grabow finished the game. Chicago's pitchers combined for eight walks; six of those runners came around to score.
My Commentary: The Braves showed how patience and some power can lead to very good things. I hope they keep that trend up.
McLouth's failed catch-turned-double play in the sixth inning shows that instant replay needs to be implemented for those plays. It could work with some ground rules on where to place the runners after such a play is overturned.
In my last blog post, I listed the Braves hitters' previous numbers against Carlos Zambrano. Escobar got a two-run single despite being 0-6 over two games (one in 2008, one in 2009). Jason Heyward homered in his first at-bat and Melky Cabrera went 0-1 with a walk and a run scored; both of them had no previous experience against him. Brian McCann had a single and a home run against Zambrano, boosting his career line against him to nine hits in 14 at-bats.
Things like that illustrate that batter vs. pitcher stats aren't particularly meaningful. They are fun stats, but they don't prove that McCann has Zambrano's number or that Zambrano owns Escobar. The sample sizes don't increase quickly enough to have significant statistical meaning.
Highly-touted prospect Jason Heyward started his major league career with a bang. The right fielder hit his first major league home run which gave the Braves a 6-3 lead. That helped open the floodgates, as the Braves won by a score of 16-5.
After Yunel Escobar tied the game with a two-run single, moving Brian McCann to second base, Heyward endured two up-and-in fastballs from Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Then, Zambrano tried to throw a fastball over the plate around Heyward's knees. With a short, powerful stroke, Heyward blasted the pitch into the Braves bullpen. That sent most of Turner Field and watching on television into euphoria.
The second inning proved to be Carlos Zambrano's last as he committed a throwing error to third base, allowing a straying Martin Prado to score. The last straw was a solo home run given up to McCann. Zambrano became the fourth pitcher since 1920 to last less than 1 2/3 innings on an Opening Day start, giving up at least 7 earned runs:
- Carlos Zambrano, 4/5/10 @ ATL - 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
- Jose Contreras, 4/2/07 vs. CLE - 1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
- Dave Stewart, 4/6/95 @ TOR - 1 1/3 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
- Brad Havens, 4/5/83 vs. DET - 1 1/3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Cubs reliever Jeff Samardzija didn't fare much better than Zambrano. The former Notre Dame wide receiver gave up six runs, five earned, after walking the bases loaded to start the frame.
Braves starter Derek Lowe fared better than Zambrano, but he wasn't exactly stellar. The sinkerballer gave up a first-inning, three-run home run to Marlon Byrd, which gave the Cubs an early 3-0 lead. Lowe lasted six innings, giving up five hits, including two-run home run to Aramis Ramirez in the third, which closed the gap to a score of 8-5.
A pivotal play occurred in the sixth inning with none out and Kosuke Fukudome on first. Byrd hit a hard line drive to left-center. Center fielder Nate McLouth dove at the last second and caught the ball. Unfortunately, when he hit he ball, it squirted free. He threw the ball back to the infield on his back.
In the meantime, Byrd was called out. Aramis Ramirez was confused by that and stood on second base while Yunel Escobar collected McLouth's throw. After Escobar tossed the ball to Troy Glaus, the first basemen stepped on the bag and the umpires ruled it a double play. Television replays clearly showed that McLouth lost control of the ball, but it was somehow shielded from the umpire's view. After Lou Pinella argued and the umpires conferred, the play was upheld and the Cubs runners were erased. Lowe struck out Alfonso Soriano to end the inning and a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the inning ended his day.
The Braves bullpen threw three perfect innings. Relievers Peter Moylan, Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner struck out five batters combined. The three pitchers pitched because of Tuesday's off-day and to get in some work.
The Cubs' Sean Marshall and James Russell tossed 4 2/3 scorless innings in relief of Zambrano, while Justin Berg and John Grabow finished the game. Chicago's pitchers combined for eight walks; six of those runners came around to score.
My Commentary: The Braves showed how patience and some power can lead to very good things. I hope they keep that trend up.
McLouth's failed catch-turned-double play in the sixth inning shows that instant replay needs to be implemented for those plays. It could work with some ground rules on where to place the runners after such a play is overturned.
In my last blog post, I listed the Braves hitters' previous numbers against Carlos Zambrano. Escobar got a two-run single despite being 0-6 over two games (one in 2008, one in 2009). Jason Heyward homered in his first at-bat and Melky Cabrera went 0-1 with a walk and a run scored; both of them had no previous experience against him. Brian McCann had a single and a home run against Zambrano, boosting his career line against him to nine hits in 14 at-bats.
Things like that illustrate that batter vs. pitcher stats aren't particularly meaningful. They are fun stats, but they don't prove that McCann has Zambrano's number or that Zambrano owns Escobar. The sample sizes don't increase quickly enough to have significant statistical meaning.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Infielders: Questions To Be Answered Later
Next up, the infielders of the Braves.1B Troy Glaus - (32 PA, .172/.250/.241, 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 32 OPS+)
2B Martin Prado - (503 PA, .307/.358/.464, 38 2B, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 117 OPS+)
3B Chipper Jones - (596 PA, .264/.388/.430, 23 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 71 RBI, 118 OPS+)
SS Yunel Escobar - (604 PA, .299/.377/.436, 26 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 76 RBI, 116 OPS+)
UT Omar Infante - (229 PA, .305/.361/.389, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 100 OPS+)
SS Diory Hernandez - (93 PA, .141/.198/.212, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 9 OPS+)
IF Brooks Conrad - (58 PA, .204/.259/.407, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 74 OPS+)
The Braves have great talent in the infield, but they also have some questions that need to be answered:
- Can Chipper Jones rebound from his worst season in five years (2004), despite his obviously advancing age (38 in 2010) and constant health questions?
- Can Troy Glaus rebound from his lost season and resume putting up quality 120 OPS+ seasons?
- Can Martin Prado continue his .300+/.350+/.450+ production to ease some Braves fans' unrest about the moving of former second baseman Kelly Johnson to Arizona?
Note: 2003-2007 are his minor league statistics
2003: 251 PA, .286/.358/.350, - BABIP, 2 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 23 RBI, 24/30 BB/K
2004: 467 PA, .315/.363/.422, - BABIP, 25 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 30/47 BB/K
2005: 488 PA, .298/.353/.395, .341 BABIP, 20 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 45 RBI, 41/65 BB/K
2006: 448 PA, .281/.321/.360, .326 BABIP, 18 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 26/63 BB/K
2007: 443 PA, .316/.374/.420, .345 BABIP, 23 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 41 RBI, 34/41 BB/K
2008: 254 PA, .320/.377/.461, .357 BABIP, 18 2B, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 21/29 BB/K
2009: 503 PA, .307/.358/.464, .320 BABIP, 38 2B, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 36/59 BB/K
I don't have data for the BABIP of Prado's first two full seasons. However, the trends of his career are reasonably consistent.
Prado hasn't batted lower than .280 and it seems as if his OBP norm would be over .350. His slugging might take a dip according to his stats from the minors but there is little indication that his batting average will take a dive because his BABIP doesn't fluctuate much.
- Can Yunel Escobar continue to produce as one of the top shortstops in the National League?
2007: 355 PAs, 118 OPS+
2008: 587 PAs, 108 OPS+
2009: 604 PAs, 116 OPS+
Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki are in another league by themselves, but Escobar is as roughly (VERY roughly) as good as Jimmy Rollins, just without the speed and stolen bases.
- Can the Braves have another decent bench infielder besides Omar Infnate?
If all the answers to those questions come up well for the Braves, the team should be well on their way to having a successful 2010 campaign.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Braves Take Two Of Three From Reds
I decided since I fell behind that I'm just going to give the scores, basics and Three Stars for this series.
ATLANTA 4, CINCINNATI 3
W - Javier Vazquez (2-1)
L - Edinson Volquez (2-2)
S - Mike Gonzalez (2)
HR - Jeff Francoeur (2)
THREE STARS
GOLD
P Javier Vazquez, Atlanta - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
SILVER
RF Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta - 1-3, GA HR, R, 2 BB, RBI
BRONZE
P Mike Gonzalez, Atlanta - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, SV
ATLANTA 10, CINCINNATI 2
W - Derek Lowe (2-1)
L - Bronson Arroyo (3-1)
HR - ATL - Chipper Jones (2)
Yunel Escobar (2)
CIN - Alex Gonzalez (1)
THREE STARS
GOLD
SS Yunel Escobar, Atlanta - 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI
SILVER
P Derek Lowe, Atlanta - 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
BRONZE
3B Chipper Jones, Atlanta - 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
CINCINNATI 8, ATLANTA 2
W - Micah Owings (1-2)
L - Kenshin Kawakami (1-3)
HR - ATL - David Ross (2)
CIN - Jay Bruce 2 (5)
THREE STARS
GOLD
RF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati - 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, BB, 4 RBI
SILVER
P Micah Owings, Cincinnati - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO; 2-3, 2B, R
BRONZE
1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati - 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
The link to the third game will be changed to the Baseball-Reference link once that box score and play-by-play is posted by the website.
ATLANTA 4, CINCINNATI 3
W - Javier Vazquez (2-1)
L - Edinson Volquez (2-2)
S - Mike Gonzalez (2)
HR - Jeff Francoeur (2)
THREE STARS
GOLD
P Javier Vazquez, Atlanta - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
SILVER
RF Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta - 1-3, GA HR, R, 2 BB, RBI
BRONZE
P Mike Gonzalez, Atlanta - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, SV
ATLANTA 10, CINCINNATI 2
W - Derek Lowe (2-1)
L - Bronson Arroyo (3-1)
HR - ATL - Chipper Jones (2)
Yunel Escobar (2)
CIN - Alex Gonzalez (1)
THREE STARS
GOLD
SS Yunel Escobar, Atlanta - 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI
SILVER
P Derek Lowe, Atlanta - 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
BRONZE
3B Chipper Jones, Atlanta - 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
CINCINNATI 8, ATLANTA 2
W - Micah Owings (1-2)
L - Kenshin Kawakami (1-3)
HR - ATL - David Ross (2)
CIN - Jay Bruce 2 (5)
THREE STARS
GOLD
RF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati - 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, BB, 4 RBI
SILVER
P Micah Owings, Cincinnati - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO; 2-3, 2B, R
BRONZE
1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati - 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
The link to the third game will be changed to the Baseball-Reference link once that box score and play-by-play is posted by the website.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Seesaw Battle With Nats Ends With Braves Up
ATLANTA 6, WASHINGTON 5 (10 INN.)
A game that saw a two-hour rain delay and three blown leads total by both teams ended with the Braves winning in ten by a score of 6-5.
Derek Lowe started for Atlanta and allowed one run through three innings, striking out six. Shairon Martis made his sixth career start for Washington, going three innings. He allowed a three-run shot to Yunel Escobar in the third inning to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.
A rain delay of two hours and two minutes stopped the game in the top of the fourth. Buddy Carlyle took Lowe's place after the delay and Wil Ledezma pitched for the Nationals.
The Braves added another run with Brian McCann's sacrifice fly in the fifth, bringing the score to 4-1. However, the Nationals rocked Buddy Carlyle, Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty for three runs to tie the game. Moylan gave up an RBI double to Ryan Zimmerman and O'Flaherty gave up a single to Adam Dunn that tied the game.
The Braves went back ahead on an RBI single by Jeff Francoeur in the 7th and Rafael Soriano had a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth. The Braves didn't score in the eighth, so Mike Gonzalez came in to attempt his first save of the year. Nick Johnson led off with a liner that Matt Diaz lost in the lights for a double. Elijah Dukes singled and that moved Johnson to third. Jesus Flores flied out to shallow right for the first out and Alex Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Wil Nieves struck out, then Lastings Milledge hit a liner that Gonzalez tried to spear, but it bounced off of his glove into foul territory, scoring a run. Braves announcer Jim Powell said in the radio broadcast that if Gonzalez had never touched the ball, the game would have more than likely been over because Escobar was in position to make a play. Cristian Guzman struck out, but the Nationals had successfully made Gonzalez blow his first save chance of the year.
The Braves didn't score in the bottom of the ninth, so the game went into extra innings. Jorge Campillo did a better job in his second outing, giving up only one walk to Adam Dunn. In the bottom of the tenth, Jordan Schafer led off with a single, then went to second on a groundout to third by Omar Infante. Infante had tried to bunt, but couldn't get one down so he had to swing with two strikes. Kelly Johnson then lofted a 1-2 pitch into right field and the speedy Schafer slid home well in front of the throw, giving Atlanta the victory.
W - Jorge Campillo (1-0)
L - Joe Beimel (0-1)
HR - Yunel Escobar (1)
THREE STARS
GOLD
2B Kelly Johnson, Atlanta - 3-5, 2B, GW 1B, R, RBI
SILVER
SS Yunel Escobar, Atlanta - 3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
BRONZE
LF Adam Dunn, Washington - 1-3, GT 1B, 3 BB, RBI
HONORABLE MENTION
C Brian McCann - 3-4, 3 2B, R, RBI
AP Photo by John Amis
EDIT: Added photo credit, W-L-S-HR tally, and changed boxscore link to Baseball-Reference.com's boxscore.
A game that saw a two-hour rain delay and three blown leads total by both teams ended with the Braves winning in ten by a score of 6-5.Derek Lowe started for Atlanta and allowed one run through three innings, striking out six. Shairon Martis made his sixth career start for Washington, going three innings. He allowed a three-run shot to Yunel Escobar in the third inning to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.
A rain delay of two hours and two minutes stopped the game in the top of the fourth. Buddy Carlyle took Lowe's place after the delay and Wil Ledezma pitched for the Nationals.
The Braves added another run with Brian McCann's sacrifice fly in the fifth, bringing the score to 4-1. However, the Nationals rocked Buddy Carlyle, Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty for three runs to tie the game. Moylan gave up an RBI double to Ryan Zimmerman and O'Flaherty gave up a single to Adam Dunn that tied the game.
The Braves went back ahead on an RBI single by Jeff Francoeur in the 7th and Rafael Soriano had a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth. The Braves didn't score in the eighth, so Mike Gonzalez came in to attempt his first save of the year. Nick Johnson led off with a liner that Matt Diaz lost in the lights for a double. Elijah Dukes singled and that moved Johnson to third. Jesus Flores flied out to shallow right for the first out and Alex Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Wil Nieves struck out, then Lastings Milledge hit a liner that Gonzalez tried to spear, but it bounced off of his glove into foul territory, scoring a run. Braves announcer Jim Powell said in the radio broadcast that if Gonzalez had never touched the ball, the game would have more than likely been over because Escobar was in position to make a play. Cristian Guzman struck out, but the Nationals had successfully made Gonzalez blow his first save chance of the year.
The Braves didn't score in the bottom of the ninth, so the game went into extra innings. Jorge Campillo did a better job in his second outing, giving up only one walk to Adam Dunn. In the bottom of the tenth, Jordan Schafer led off with a single, then went to second on a groundout to third by Omar Infante. Infante had tried to bunt, but couldn't get one down so he had to swing with two strikes. Kelly Johnson then lofted a 1-2 pitch into right field and the speedy Schafer slid home well in front of the throw, giving Atlanta the victory.
W - Jorge Campillo (1-0)
L - Joe Beimel (0-1)
HR - Yunel Escobar (1)
THREE STARS
GOLD
2B Kelly Johnson, Atlanta - 3-5, 2B, GW 1B, R, RBI
SILVER
SS Yunel Escobar, Atlanta - 3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
BRONZE
LF Adam Dunn, Washington - 1-3, GT 1B, 3 BB, RBI
HONORABLE MENTION
C Brian McCann - 3-4, 3 2B, R, RBI
AP Photo by John Amis
EDIT: Added photo credit, W-L-S-HR tally, and changed boxscore link to Baseball-Reference.com's boxscore.
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