Webb Faces Peavy, and the Rest of Wednesday’s Key Matchups
Ack, I’ve been slacking. Bad blogger, no cookie! Anyway, here are a few games I’ll be keeping an eye on today.
American League
- Red Sox at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT – Curt Schilling faces Daniel Cabrera at Camden Yards. Since a poor showing on Opening Day, Schilling has pitched pretty well. Sure, he gave up five runs to the Yankees over the weekend, but have you looked at that lineup? On the other side, Cabrera has his walks down to a reasonable 2.39 per 9 innings so far. That’s down from the very ugly 6.32 he issued per 9 last year. The O’s also feature one of the more dynamic young hitters in the American League, Nick Markakis. I was just talking to a buddy of mine the other day about how quickly Markakis developed. He went from a projectable young guy to a bona fide stud faster than you can say Shawn Green.
- Royals at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT – Like offense? So do Odalis Perez and Sidney Ponson. It’s not that long ago that Perez was a promising young pitcher. He had a great year for the Dodgers in ‘04 and appeared to be poised for a breakout, but nothing much has gone right since then. Opponents are batting .378/.425/.486 against the left-hander this year. That’s a 911 OPS, and 911 is what Perez will be dialing after this one. Ponson, meanwhile, remains in the big leagues despite a profound lack of evidence that he can pitch. Opponents are hitting him to the tune of .389/.450/.667. Man, my neck hurts just thinking about it.
National League
- Brewers at Cubs, 11:20 a.m. PT – Ben Sheets goes up against Ted Lilly at Wrigley. Sheets has struggled in the early going; acknowledging the small sample, his K/9 is particularly troublesome. It’s at 4.00 this year, down from 9.85 in ‘06. Anything can happen in 27 innings, and this could be a fluke; then again… Also, it’s nice to see shortstop J.J. Hardy finally catch up to the other talented young players in that Milwaukee lineup. On the other side, Lilly has looked fantastic and worthy of the huge contract the Cubs gave him this winter. Too bad the rest of his teammates aren’t doing much. Again, it’s early, but if you’re a Cubs fan, how can you not be a little disappointed by a 7-13 start after breaking the bank on free agents? I’m not worried about Lou Piniella’s health just yet, but I’m getting there.
- Braves at Marlins, 4:05 p.m. PT – Is it me, or does it seem like these two teams have been playing each other pretty much since the season started? Tim Hudson and Scott Olsen hook up in this one. Hudson has been brilliant in his first four starts and looks to be over whatever brought him down last year, while Olsen has gotten off to a terrible start in his sophomore season. He’s getting pounded and walking guys — that’s a bad combination.
- Padres at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. PT – My own personal bias notwithstanding, I think this is the pitching matchup of the night. Defending Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb faces perennial CYA candidate Jake Peavy in Arizona. Webb started the season slowly but dominated the Padres last week in San Diego, fanning 13 batters in the process. Peavy, meanwhile, has pitched extremely well in three of his first four starts. He still isn’t as efficient as he could be, but he seems to be working more aggressively to hitters this year than last, so maybe that will work itself out over time. Either way, this has the potential to be a great pitchers duel.
There you go. Watch some baseball already…
Tags: baseball, ben_sheets, brandon_webb, curt_schilling, daniel_cabrera, jake_peavy, lou_piniella, mlb, scott_olsen, ted_lilly, tim_hudsonRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Games Worth Watching
1 opinion for Webb Faces Peavy, and the Rest of Wednesday’s Key Matchups
Knuckle Curve » Zack and Boof Battle, Hughes Debuts
Apr 26, 2007 at 11:14 am
[…] the risk of straining something while patting myself on the back, I called Wednesday’s Jake Peavy/Brandon Webb matchup the one to watch. Although the outcome […]
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