Series 3: vs. Rockies, at home
Tracy: 7-for-12, 2 RBI
Cruz: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 ER
Counsell: 4-for-9, 3 RBI
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Gonzalez: 1-for-11
S.Green: 1-for-11, 4 K
Hernandez: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 5 ER
Losing two of three...at home...against the team who finished bottom of your division last year...not good. The much-touted run of "quality starts" came to a sudden grinding halt, with an 0-for-3 this series. Ortiz escapes the zeroes, largely because Hernandez was worse, but there was precious little glory to be found on the mound: between them, our three starters posted this line:
OrtHerBat: 14.2 IP, 23 H, 6 BB, 13 K, 4 HR, 11 ER, 6.75 ERA
On the plus side, our bullpen contined to be an unexpected bright spot, throwing 12.1 innings, but allowing only 5 hits and 2 earned runs, while fanning nine. But if we see many more series where we get less that five innings from our starters, those arms are going to be sorely taxed. That's regardless of how well managed they are - so far, I think Melvin has done a pretty good job, his apparent love for Mulholland aside.
Our bats did show a little sign of waking up, the position players batting .255. Nice to see Tracy start hitting, with a pair of three-hit games, and Counsell did well in the two games he played. At the other end, however, Gonzalez and Green both disappointed: continuingly so in Green's case. True, he did hit a homer, but otherwise looked pretty bad overall: his walkless streak has now reached 28 plate appearances, with seven K's in that time. Said Melvin, "I know his average isn't where he wants it to be, but after 15 games, two weeks, we'll see where it all stands." Yes, let's...
One worrying sign was the K:BB ratio for the team as a whole, which was 16:5 for the series, peaking with yesterday's walkless show. And in these three games, while Francis et al have pitched decently enough, they're hardly household names. Tonight, we face Andy Pettite, who might be a different kettle of fish, though his early season performances have been a mixed bag, shall we say. But more on that later, in the preview.