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It's hard to see how today's game will live up to yesterday's, but to be honest, I'd settle for a good, comfortable victory, where we score early, score often, and Webb gives us seven shutout innings. Mind you, not sure what the odds are of that: Webb has allowed double-digits in hits, both his last starts, and the opposition in May is batting .325 against him - hardly the stuff of aces. [Overall, it's a still-concerning .280; left-handers are a frankly scary .327.]
The good news is, we face a 33-year old journeyman who, despite his age, has a total of just 41 games in the big leagues, over four teams (this is his second stint with the Braves) and nine years. This'll be only his fifteenth start, and his career ERA is 6.62. It's a little surprising to see this, since I always though Atlanta had a reputation as having an endless stream of pitchers on which to draw. But it seems no longer the case: one wonders whether the departure of Leo Mazzone for Baltimore, after more than 25 years with the Atlanta organization, has had a swift effect.
And some hot news, which will cheer up one regular commentator, at least. From Nick Piecoro's blog:
- Kevin Jarvis: Contract purchased from Triple-A.
- Greg Aquino: Optioned to Triple-A.
- Brian Bruney: Designated for assignment.
Jarvis, who has been pitching well as a starter in Tucson, moves into a long relief role in the bullpen, a reactionary move by the Diamondbacks after they received three short outings from their starters over a recent five-game span.
The Diamondbacks believe Jarvis is better suited to pitch multiple innings than Aquino. Jarvis, who was on a minor league contract, needed to be placed on the 40-man roster. To make room, Bruney was designated. He isn?t expected to clear waivers, so it?s likely he?ll end up in another organization, one way or another.