Winning streaks, I had forgotten they existed. While you have to give credit to Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee for their home runs, when Wandy Rodriguez delivers 8IP+ of one run pitching and an RBI 2B...it was Wandy's night.
Wandy's final line was 8IP+, 1R, 7K, 2BB, needing only 103 pitches (70 strikes!!). His efficiency is captured in his peripherals: 7.88K/9, 3.5K:BB, and 6.79K/100. Were it not for the jam he got himself into to start the 9th, Wandy would have been able to complete this game to make it second career CG. Regardless of having to bring Jose Valverde in to give Astros fans another near collective heart attack, Wandy was dominant. Outside of the numbers, the postive from tonights game is that even though he had a shaky first inning, Wandy bore down and cruised through the next seven. More importantly, he snapped the Marlins historic fifteen game streak of 10 hit games (yes, the Astros helped them in five of those).
Here's to a winning streak. Until tomorrow, marvel at both Carlos Lee's ridiculously crushed home run and this WPA graph (maybe we can win one soon that doesn't have the dip in the ninth inning):
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wait
Didn’t Papa Grande retire three straight with two K’s? There was the hard hit ball that Pence reeled in, but seems to me Valverde slammed the door on what looked like could have been a scary finish. Or is it the 3-2 counts that give you heart burn? Methinks with the bar set that high, there might be some serious disappointment next season if we don’t bring Jose back.
littlevisigoth - August 21, 2009 via mobile
I was watching on Gameday
So I guess the 3-2 counts gave me more heartburn than I should. More than anything though, I think I was just scared when he was brought in with the two on and none out. The hard it ball to Pence was more frightening than it should have been just because Gameday stayed “In play” for so long before saying “In play, outs.”
What I am trying to say is, he did a great job, it just scared the bejesus out of me from my perspective.
Stephen Higdon - August 21, 2009
I think the scary game Tuesday night probably made us more fearful of a 2 men on base, zero out situation than we should have been. Overall Valverde pitched very well last night. The interesting thing about both Tuesday and last night is that Valverde had a pattern of getting to an 0-2 count and then having difficulty putting away the batter immediately. To some extent, this may just be the fact that Marlins batters are really hot right now. But, versus Valverde, I saw many borderline pitches taken by Marlins batters for balls when they had 2 strikes That’s not always the best strategy for a batter in the 9th, and maybe they were lucky. I suppose getting to 2 strikes first is a lot better pattern for Valverde than going to 3-0 and having to work back to 3-2.
Despite Valverde’s success, I am not a fan of using Valverde in that situation after he threw 38 pitches the previous night. That seems so typical of Cooper’s bullpen practice. I think Hawkins, who warmed up earlier, could easily have stood in reserve for Wandy in the 9th. And Valverde would be more available for normal save situations in the coming series.
clack - August 21, 2009
I definitely have to agree with you on that
Stephen Higdon - August 21, 2009
i finally
took in the $20 all-you-can-eat challenge (any all-you-can-eat deal is a challenge), with half of a handle of sweet tea vodka snuck in various containers in various pockets, so i was bloated with hot dogs and booze by the time the 9th rolled around. my recollection of the 9th is just standing and cheering from the moment the Jaws movie sound-byte started until the 3rd strike on Uggla. the Pence play just made it all that much more exhilarating and the 3-2 counts just made it last longer.
it’s all perspective, i guess.
littlevisigoth - August 21, 2009
Hahaha
It is. And yours is an awesome perspective.
Stephen Higdon - August 21, 2009
Wandy should be in the NL Cy Young discussion
Lincecum should probably win it, but Wandy this season has been right up there with Lincecum and Matt Cain and Adam Wainwright and Dan Haren.
AstroAndy - August 21, 2009
I wondered that last night
When I checked statistics, however, Wandy was nowhere near the top in any significant category for things like ERA (7), Wins(tied with 8 others for fifth) , Win- loss record, innings pitched (18th), strikeouts (tied for 10th). He’s far enough down the list not to make the discussion I’m afraid.
Joe in Birmingham - August 21, 2009
Yeah, you're right
he’s still been an elite pitcher this year…top 10 in the NL in practically every category that means something
AstroAndy - August 21, 2009
I am, of course, being an incredible homer here
There’s no rigorous argument to be made except that Wandy has been very good
AstroAndy - August 21, 2009
We agree
I don’t know if "excited’ or “proud” is the better word to describe how I feel about Wandy.
Joe in Birmingham - August 21, 2009
I'll go with proud
Stephen Higdon - August 21, 2009
crowd gave him a real nice ovation
as he walked off the field last night, and i was quite elated to see him tip his cap at us. he’s been money for us this year, and it was good both for him to get a nice attaboy from the hometown fans, but also for us to know that he appreciated it.
littlevisigoth - August 21, 2009
I think you can safely say that Wandy has been the best LH starting pitcher....
in the NL this year. His ERA is the best among LH starters, except for Happ in Philadelphia. But Happ is probably worse than his ERA indicates. So, looking at Hardball Times’ Pitching Runs Created, Wandy is the best LH starter in the NL so far (10th overall, among all NL starters). That means his PRC is better than such excellent LH starters as Kershaw and Santana.
clack - August 21, 2009
I don't go to MMP very often
But I picked a good one to go to Thursday(It was an Astros Buddies game). Between Wandy and Pence(eight or nine catches, along with a home run), everybody else could have stayed in the dugout!
farm_stros - August 21, 2009
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