July 28, 2005
Games of the Day
The Astros and Mets are 2-3 in the Wild Card standings as New York visits Houston for the start of a four game series. The Mets send their best to the mound to try to stop the Astros four game winning streak. Pedro Martinez faces Ezequiel Astacio. Astacio shows some promise as he starts his major league career. He's striking out almost 9 batters per 9 innings. The bad news is he's allowed 13 home runs in 31 2/3 innings. When batters do hit the ball, it tends to go a long way.
Opposing batters are just getting nowhere with Pedro. They have a .229 OBA against the righty, and a .297 slugging percentage. Imagine how long a hitter would last in the majors with those numbers.
The Yankees and Twins play the rubber game of their series this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. A win by the Twins ties them with Oakland for the wild card lead; a win by the Yankees puts them in 2nd place in the race ahead of Minnesota.
As the graphs at The Hardball Times show, the Yankees and Twins achieved their similar records through very different means. The Yankees do very well on the runs scored axes, while the Twins are near the top in pitching and defense. There are lots of different ways to win ballgames.
Enjoy!
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Posted by David Pinto at
10:23 AM
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The Mets partially dodged the bullet that drilled the Phillies...all of the top three in the Astros rotation. So I kinda like their chances in the series, at least until Pettitte and Oswalt show up on the weekend. With the Nats crashing and burning, the wild Wild Card race I fantasized about a few days ago is shaping up nicely.
Looks like the Wild Card might get even more interesting. The Nats are down 4-0 to Atlanta after four, which means they're up to their shoulders in the grave. Washington's got two hits. Maybe they'll get another one, and maybe not.
Well, Nick Johnson did get a hit. What's a good hitter like him doing on this team? The Nats have even loaded the bases on a couple walks.
Wow, Baerga got an infield hit and Washington even scored. They'll have to get more runs to win this game than they've gotten in any of their last nine games. But hope springs eternal.
Hope drooped. Wilkerson fouled out. 4-1 middle of the fifth.
My apologies for a premature obit. Washington is rallying in the sixth, with a run in and two on. Hey, they might win! Cox just pulled Sosa.
Alas, poor Nats. They just can't break through that four-run maximum that has boxed them in for the last ten games. Another close loss, 5-4.
The Wild Card race gets tighter all the time.
Do remember that Washington is spelled E-X-P-O-S. They're a decent team, but not good enough to win a division including the Braves & Marlins. All they've shown so far is that they (until recently) have been lucky in 1-run games. Take away the 1-run games and you get a .508 (31-30) ballclub.
Can't you just see the Natspos finishing in last? In first at the break, in the cellar to end it. Total collapse!
Good thing Omar Moreno traded Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore for Colon a few years back.
That trade sure has worked out ... for the Indians.
