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Post by laurenfrances on Aug 25, 2024 10:36:28 GMT -5
Charlie Blackmon (L) DH
Ezequiel Tovar (R) SS
Brenton Doyle (R) CF
Ryan McMahon (L) 3B
Brendan Rodgers (R) 2B
Michael Toglia (S) 1B
Jake Cave (L) RF
Nolan Jones (L) LF
Drew Romo (S) C
Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
Juan Soto (L) RF
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 3B
Anthony Volpe (R) SS
Jose Trevino (R) C
Alex Verdugo (L) LF
DJ LeMahieu (R) 1B
Marcus Stroman
RHP
8-6, 3.82 ERA, 92 SO
Austin Gomber
LHP
4-8, 4.64 ERA, 94 SO
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 10:42:05 GMT -5
In the series finale this afternoon, the Rockies send one of their two two starters this season, lefty Austin Gomber, to the mound to face the Yanks. Gomber was drafted by the Cards in the 14th round of the 2014 June Amateur Draft, and they let him pitch some that same year after signing him: 11 starts at summer-A in which his ERA was good, but his hit rate was high (10.5 per 9). The put him in full season low-A the next season and he pitched extremely well, 15-3 with a 2.67 ERA in 22 starts. For 2016, they moved him up to high-A, and he pitched well in 16 starts. They called him to AA for 1 game, then sent him back to high-A to finish the season. The moved him up to AA for all of 2017, and he again had a solid season: 10-7 with a 3.34 ERA. He started 2018 in AAA, threw 4 good starts, then got hit hard in 3 games, but when he recovered and had back-to-back solid starts in late May, the Cards called him up to the majors.
Gomber did OK in 15 games of middle/set-up relief, but they had need of him in the rotation, so they sent him back to AAA in July to build his pitchcount back up, recalling him in late July. He stayed with the major league team to the end of the season, going 6-2 in 14 games, 11 starts, but with a mediocre ERA of 4.60. He seemed a lock to open 2019 with the Cards, but pitched poorly enough that spring that they sent him back to AAA; he might have been hiding an injury, but he made 8 good starts at AAA before the Cards shut him down for 3 1/2 months with some sort of biceps/shoulder injury. When he came off the IL in late July, he made one rehab apperance at high-A, and three more at AA, pitching less than 5 innings total, and the Cards declined to bring him back to the majors in September. He spent the early part of the COVID season rehabbing some more in developmental camp, but opened the shortened season on the Cards' roster. He pitched well in 10 relief games and two "opener" games, and the Cards let him start twice at the season's end with a pitchcount cap of 75. It seemed he was headed for a rotation spot in St. Louis for 2021, but the Cards made him a key part of the 5-for-1 trade for Nolan Arenado just before spring training started.
From 2021 through 2023, he pitched the bulk of each season with the Rockies, but had 2 months on the IL in 2021, pitched so poorly in the rotation in 2022 that Colorado moved him to the pen after the All-Star Break, and missed all of September last season on the IL with a back injury. In the 3 seasons combined, Gomber was a typical Rockies starter: barely competent. He did well to go 23-25 in the three years as the Rockies as the Rockies averaged 67-95 for the 3 seasons, but his ERA was 5.22. Even after adjusting for the effects of Coors Field, his ERA+ was still 8% below league average. This year, he got off to a great start. In his first 10 games, he was just 1-2, but the ERA was outstanding: 2.80 as was his WHIP, 1.11, a terrific number considering...well, Coors. But the last of the 10 good starts was a terrific 8 innings vs. the A's and it seemed to take a toll on Gomber, He was bombed in his next 10 starts, going 1-5 with an ERA of 7.15. He seems to have straightened things out mostly in August, 2-1 in 4 starts with an ERA of 3.91. On the season, Gomber is 4-8 with an ERA of 4.64 in 24 starts. He's thrown 132 innings, allowing 137 hits, 69 runs, 68 earned, 25 HR, and 32 BB with just 94 K's. He has the 2nd lowest K/9 among 62 qualified starters this year in MLB, and if Marcus Stroman had pitched another 2/3 of an inning, he'd be right behind Gomber at 3rd lowest. Gomber's WHIP on the season is slightly above MLB average at 1.280.
Gomber has faced the Yanks once before and it was a good one: 6 innings of 2-run ball, giving up 6 hits, 1 HR and no BB while striking out 2, in a 7-2 Rockies win at Coors Field in mid-July. He's 1-0 against the Yanks with an ERA of 3.00, and a WHIP of 1.00. The team quadruple slash line against Gomber is .261/.261/.435/.696, but obviously, very few PA, just 23.
Repertoire: Gomber is essentially a 4-pitch lefty; he supposedly has a sinker that he's thrown twice this year, but it could be a miscoding of a 4-seamer or his change. The four pitches he certainly throws are 4-seamer, change, knuckle curve and slider. The 4-seam has average rise, but excellent run away from righties. The curve has average break both down and in on righties. The change gets a little below average drop and below average tail away from righties. The slider gets slightly below average drop and slightly better than average break away from lefties. In run values, the slider is a moderate plus, the change is a small plus, the curve and 4-seamers are moderate minuses. The 4-seam FB velocity is bottom 10% among all pitchers who throw one; the spin is below average as well. The curve spin is slightly above average. His extension is well above average. His hard hit rate is high, his barrel rate is very high. His line drive rate is about average, the groundball rate below average, the flyball rate above average and the popup rate below average. His called strike rate is average, but the swinging strike rate is well below average, and the CSW is below average. His luck factors are all very close to average, so his ERA estimators are just a little higher than his actual ERA of 4.64 at 4.77. His pitch mix so far this season: 4-seamer averaging 90-91 about 41% of the time; curve 77-78 about 22%; change 81 about 21%; and the slider 84 about 16%.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:14:36 GMT -5
Playing the Name Game: the use of Austin as a first name is much more modern than it is old, but not quite exclusive to contemporary times. There was an Austin McHenry who played for the Cards from 1918-1922, and he wasn't bad: lifetime BAVG of .302 in a little over 2000 PA in those 5 seaons. Most Austins played in MLB in the last 20 years or so. There have been a couple of decent hitter outfielder Austins: Austin Kearns, who played breifly with the Yanks in 2010 after having several solid seasons with the Reds the decade before, and Austin Hays, one of the better players for the Orioles in the years of darkness before the teardown and rebuild came to fruition last year. Hays did not get to stay with the O's to see the rebuild all the way through to serious title contention over the next 3-5 seasons, but don't feel too bad for him. As a consolation, he got traded to an outstanding Phillies team in exchange for the O's current closer, Seranthony Dominguez, so he'll compete for a title this year, and probably for as long as he can hold a regular job in Philly.
They have been multiple solid long-term backup catchers, including former Yankee Austin Romine and current catchers Austin Barnes of the Dodgers and Austin Hedges of the Guardians. Current Yankee catcher Austin Wells looks like he might have a long and productive career if he can stay healthy, but he starts at a fairly large deficit to the current best Austin in MLB history, the recently-injured Austin Riley, who's played All-Star/downballot MVP vote level 3rd base for the Braves for the last 3 1/2 seasons, averaging 6 WAR a season from 2021 through last year. As for pitchers, it might be hard to believe, but as relentlessly average as he's been in his time in the majors, Gomber is not just the only Gomber in MLB history, he's the best pitching Austin as well. Aaron Nola is an outstanding pitcher, and he has a brother named Austin who's a good backup catcher, but that doesn't count.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:16:21 GMT -5
The Yanks send Marcus Stroman out against the Rockies today. Stroman has had a very up and down season. He was great in April and May, 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA, then was horrible for 10 starts: 2-4 with a 6.32 ERA. In the last two starts, he seems to have turned things around agan; 5 solid innings for a win against the Rangers at home, and six shutout innings match up against Tarik Skubal in the Little League game last Sunday night for a no-decision when Holmes blew his 1-0 lead in the 9th. On the season, Stroman is 8-6 with a 3.82 ERA in 24 starts. He's pitched 127 1/3 innings, allowing 122 hits, 61 runs, 54 earned, 18 HR, and 54 walks while striking out 92. His peripheral numbers don't support that ERA at all: very low K, rate, very high HR and BB rates, worst K/BB ration in MLB among quailifed starters. I don't do the ERA estimators for Yankees' starters, we know their abilities and flaws very well, but Stroman's ERA estimators think his ERA should be a full run higher than it is. It's not exactly fair to say he's doing as well as he has using "smoke and mirrors"; he's smart and very competitive. It's more accurate to say that he does as well as he can with the stuff he has, which isn't remotely overpowering at this point. Whether that will continue to play in the big games to come in September and October...I have no idea.
Stroman has pitched very well in 7 previous starts against the Rockies: 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA. In 42 innints, he's allowed 31 hits, 14 runs, 13 earned, just 2 HR, 8 BB and struck out 28. His WHIP against them is a tiny 0.93. It isn't because he's avoided Coors Field; 3 of his seven starts against the Rockies were at high altiutde and he got hit hard in just one of them, the other two game were good ones. Today, he has the advantage of pitching in the much better pitcher's park of Yankee Stadium (no matter what Smoltz says). The most recent start against the Rockies was a poor one late last year, after he suffered his arm injury. In 3 innings, he gave up 5 hits, 3 runs (earned), walked 1 and struck out 2, but the Cubs' lineup took him off the hook for the loss in a 6-3 Cubs win at Wrigley Field.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:18:43 GMT -5
Yankees' lineup vs. Gomber
1. Torres (2B) is 2-3 with 1 K
2. Soto (RF) is 6-16 with 1 double, 1 BB, 3 K and 1 GIDP
3. Judge (CF) has never faced Gomber
4. Stanton (DH) is 2-3 with a HR, 2 RBI
5. Chisholm (3B) is 3-7 with 1 double, 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 K
6. Volpe (SS) is 0-2 with 1 GIDP
7. Trevino is 0-2 with 1 GIDP
8. Verdugo (LF) is 2-3 with 1 double with 1 RBI
9. LeMahieu (1B) is 2-5 with 1 double, 1 K and 1 GIDP
On the bench: Grisham is 2-15 with 2 solo HRs, 5 K, 1 sac bunt and 1 GIDP;
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Rockies lineup vs. Stroman:
1. Blackmon (DH) is 3-12, with 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 BB and 1 K
2. Tovar (SS) is 1-1
3. Doyle (CF) is 1-1 with 1 double and 1 RBI
4. McMahon (3B) is 3-15 with 1 double, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K and 2 GIDP
5. Rodgers (2B) is 0-8 with 2 BB and 2 K
6. Toglia (1B) is 0-3 with 2 K
7. Cave (RF) hasn't faced Stroman
8. Jones (LF) is 1-2 with 1 double and 1 K
9. Romo (C) hasn't faced Stroman before
On the bench: Hilliard is 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI
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Post by Max on Aug 25, 2024 11:24:29 GMT -5
Question is...Did the Rockies reach their peak yesterday?   |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:30:15 GMT -5
Question is...Did the Rockies reach their peak yesterday? This seems like a rhetorical question, Max, but if it's not, I gave the answer late in the game thread yesteday. I was curious to know if this was, as your jesting comment suggests, another case of the 12-2 beating the White Sox gave the Yanks in the first game in Chicago, which was their most one-side blowout of any opponent all year. The answer can be found here (if I'm linking this correctly): bronxbombers.boards.net/post/276354/Edit: Ahhh. The link works. Yay for old-timers and their ability to use the internets thingy. |
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Post by azbob643 on Aug 25, 2024 11:32:36 GMT -5
Question is...Did the Rockies reach their peak yesterday? They definitely elevated their game. |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:35:41 GMT -5
Yesterday, the Rockies got to Will Warren early and often, a run in the 1st, one more in the 2nd and ended his day with 4 more in the 3rd. He had a bit of bad luck, but his command wasn't nearly good enough again, and he made a couple of bad breaks for himself with two balks. The Yanks managed little against his rookie openent Bradley Blalock and got soundly trounced 9-2. Despite giving up 5 earned runs in his 3 innings, Warren's ERA rose by just a run, up to 9.68. Blalock got his 1st major league win. The loss broke the Yanks' 3 game win streak, and dropped them back to 22 over at 76-54 with 32 left on the schdule.
In other AL East games, rookie starter Bowden Francis carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Angels, but Taylor Ward broke it up by leading of with his 17th HR of the year. Ex-Yankee Chad Green came in to get the next 3 batters for his 14th save. Joey Loperfido knocked in one Jays run with a double, and Vlad Guerrero knocked in the other two with a double and a solo HR, and the Jays won, 3-1. Bowden won for the 3rd straight time to get to 7-3 on the season, Carson Fulmer threw 6 solid innings but took another loss; he's 0-5 on the year. The win was the Jays 3rd straight.
In Baltimore, the O's came from behind again, if not as dramatically as Friday night, and beat the Astros for the 2nd straight day, 3-2. Houston got solo HRs from Jose Altuve leading off the game and Jeremy Pena in the 6th to build a 2-0 lead, and starter Framber Valdez was still in there with a man on first with 2 outs in the 6th, still up 2-0, but got pulled after giving up singles to Jimenez and Cowser to load the bases. Astros manager Espada took out Valdez and brought in righty Taylor Scott to pitch to righty back-up infielder Emmanuel Rivera, but O's manger Cash pushed the button and sent up lefty phenom Jackson Holliday, who smashed a 3-run double to the gap in right center giving the O's a lead that wouldn't change the rest of the way. Seranthony Dominguez followed last night's win with his 5th save for the O's and 6th of the year, Keegan Akin got the win in relief, getting to 3-0 for the year, and Valdez took the loss, dropping to 13-6.
At Fenway, Diamondbacks' ace Zac Gallen re-found his good form after a lengthy stretch of poor pitching by throwing 6 shutout innings at the Red Sox, Eugenio Suarez backed him with a 2 run double in the 4th, the D'backs added two more in the 7th on a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch, and the bullpen did the job for a 4-1 Arizona win. Paul Sewald entered in the 9 with a 4-0 lead, and gave up two hits and the only Boston run, but closed it out. Gallen's win moved him to 10-6 on the season. Kutter Crawford gave up the first two Arizona runs in five innings and took the loss, dropping to 8-11. The Sox are now 6-10 in their last 16 games; the D'backs have won 5 in a row, 11 of 14, and 23 of 29.
In Los Angeles, Rays and Dodgers had a real baseball donnybrook: the Rays hit Clayton Kershaw hard with a 4-spot in the first on two RBI singles and a two-run double by Morel, but the Dodgers struck back for 3 in the 4th on a Betts RBI double and a two run shot by Teoscar Hernandez. The Rays got one back in the 5th on a sac fly to make it 5-3, but LA came right back with 3 more in the bottom of the inning on a Rojas single and Ohtani's 41st HR, a 2 run shot and took the lead 6-5. The Dodgers got a solo HR by Rohas in the 7th, but the Rays struck back for 1 in the 8th on another sac fly to make it 7-6. Evan Phillips came in to blow the save in the 9th, giving up a leadoff solo HR to uberrookie Junior Caminero, then striking out the side too late. Jose Caballero hit a 2-run HR in the 10th for a 9-7 Rays lead, and even though Betts hit a sac fly to get one back, Cleavinger got Freedman to ground out and end it, getting his 4th save on the season. Manuel Rodriguez pitched the 9th for the Rays, getting to 3-3 on the year. Kelly took the loss to drop to 1-1.
Coming into the game this afternoon, the Yanks lead over Baltimore which nearly got to 2 1/2 games late Friday evening, is again down to 1/2 game, the Sox remain 8 games back in 3rd, the Rays gain a game to get to 10 1/2 back in 4th, and the Jays move up to 14 games back in 5th.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:39:37 GMT -5
In other East games today/tonight: The Diamondbacks play the final game of their series with the Red Sox at 1:35 pm. Merrill Kelly (3-0, 3.63 ERA) makes his 3rd start for Arizona since coming off the IL; in the first two, he pitched a good one against the Phils and a bad one against the Rays. Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.01 ERA) goes for Boston; since getting hit hard by the Rangers early this month, he's pitched 3 good games in a row, 2 of them against a hot Astros team, but has no wins to show for the 3 games. The Angels and Blue Jays last game of their series at Rogers Centre at 1:37 pm. The Angels start their ace, Tyler Anderson (10-11, 3.46 ERA); since he beat the Yankees at the Stadium 2 1/2 weeks ago, he's been blasted by the Jays and the Royals. Keving Gausman (11-9, 4.24 ERA) goes for Toronto; he's 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last 3 starts. At Dodgers Stadium, the Rays play the rubber game of their series against the Dodgers at 4:10 pm. Shane Baz (1-2, 3.48 ERA) starts for Tampa; he finally won his first game since 2022 last time out and has gone 7 innings or more in each of his last two. Rookie Gavin Stone (11-5, 3.44 ERA) starts for LA; he's won his last two, giving up just 1 run in 12 innings, striking out 16 and walking just 2. The Astros and O's play the last of 4 games at Camden Yards at 7:10 pm. Yusei Kikuchi (6-9, 4.37 ERA) starts for Houston; he's pitched great since being traded to the Astros, 2-0 in 4 starts with a 2.44 ERA and 31 K's in 22 1/3 innings. Dean Kremer (6-9, 4.30) throws for Baltimore; after a 6-start slump, Kremer has thrown back-to-back starts of 1 run in 6 innings.
And, in a little less than an hour from now at the Stadium, it's Gomber vs. Stroman.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:42:04 GMT -5
And now, The Sunday Standings™ for Sunday, August 25th
The Guardians continued their slow slide this week, dropping 4 of 6, but they're still in first at 74-55. They've lost 13 of their last 20. The Twins also lost 4 of 6, dropping to 17 games overe .500 and remaining 2 behind Cleveland. The Royals took 4 of 6, picking up two games on both of the teams in front; they're in a flat-footed tie for 2nd with the Twins behind the Guardians. The Tigers took 3 of 5 this week including the Sunday night Little League showdown, and improved to 2 games under .500. They're 8 1/2 back of both Minnsota and KC, and 10 1/2 out of 1st. The White Sox continued their plummet toward history by dropping 4 of 5. They're now 31-99, on pace for 39 wins, and just a few percentage points better than the 1916 A's.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:43:42 GMT -5
In the West...
The Red Sox and the Orioles slowed down the Astros freight train, each of them taking two games. Houston went 3-4 this week, and have dropped to 69-60, still in first in the division. The Mariners tried to halt their collapse by firing manager Scott Servais and replacing him with former catcher Dan Wilson. They won Friday, lost yesterday. They went 2-4 this week, slipping to .500, and remain 4 1/2 back of Houston. The champion Rangers put up a good week, going 4-2, but is it too little, too late? They're now 10 games under, 5 behind Seattle, 9 1/2 out of 1st. The A's went 2-5 this week, breaking their momentum, droping to 19 games under .500. They're 4 1/2 back of Texas, 9 1/2 behind Seattle, and 14 out of 1st. The Angels lost 6 of 7, dropping 22 games under, and remain in last, 1 1/2 back of 4th.
The current AL Wild Cards...The O's have the leading Wild Card. The 2nd and 3rd Wild Cards are still the Twins and Royals. The Red Sox are the only team within 5 games of the Royals; they're 4 1/2 back. The Rays and Mariners have fallen to 7 and 7 1/2 games back, respectively.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:45:06 GMT -5
Over in the NL...
In the East, the Phillies lost 4 of 6, dropping to 75-54, and still in first in the division. The Braves got hot again, despite losing 3rd baseman Austin Riley for maybe 2 months with a broken hand. They went 5-1 this week, and have won 8 of 11. They're up to 11 over .500 and just 5 games behind Philly again. The Mets won 4 of 7, now 6 games over .500, 2 1/2 back of the Braves, and 7 1/2 out of 1st. The Nats lost 4 of 6, but are calling up their next top prospect, OF Dylan Crews. They're 14 games under .500, 10 games behind the Mets, 12 1/2 back of the Braves, and 17 1/2 out of 1st. The Marlins won their game last Sunday, and resumed their business of getting ground into the mud, losing 5 in a row after that. They've lost 13 of 17 after a brief stretch of good play (7-3). They're 37 under .500, and in a dog fight with the Rockies for the worst record in the NL. Right now, they're 1 1/2 back of Colorado.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:46:17 GMT -5
In the Central: The Brewers went 4-2 this week, solidifying their stranglehold on the division at 72-52. The Cubs won 4 of 6, finally climbing back to .500 and have jumped over the Cards into 2nd, 10 games behind. The Cards continued along in a middling way, splitting 6 games. They're still 1 game under .500, 1/2 game back of the Cubs, and 10 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. The Reds continued to fall out of the playoff chase, losing 4 of 7, dropping to 4 games under, 2 back of the Cubs, 1 1/2 behind the Cards, 12 games out of 1st. The Pirates have slowed their collapse by winning 4 of 7. They're 7 games under .500, 1 1/2 back of the Reds, 3 back of the Cards, 3 1/2 behind the Cubs, and 13 1/2 out of 1st.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 25, 2024 11:47:18 GMT -5
Out West, the Dodgers finally heard the closing footsteps of the D'backs and Padres, and turned it around again. They blew a lead late against the Rays last night, but had won 5 in a row before that. They now have the best record in baseball, 76-53, and remain in 1st. The Diamonbacks started the week by losing a game to the Rays, but have since won 5 in a row. They're now 18 games over and just 3 back of the Dodgers. The Padres hot streak slowed down this week by losing 4 of 7. They're 15 games over, 1 1/2 back of Arizona and 4 1/2 out of 1st. The Giants split 6 games, treading water for the week and for the season as well. They're at 1 over .500, 7 back of SD, 8 1/2 behind Arizona and 11 1/2 behind LA. The Rockies beat the Yanks yesterday, putting them at 3-3 for the week, and moving them 1 1/2 ahead of the Marlins in the battle to avoid being the worst team in the NL.
The NL Wild Cards are still held by the D'backs, the Padres and the Braves. Teams within 5 1/2 games of Atlanta are: the Mets (2 1/2 games back), and the Giants (5 back). Also still in the fight are the Cubs (5 1/2 back), the Cubs (6 back), the Reds (7 1/2 back). The Pirates have fallen to 9 back.
And that concludes The Sunday Standings™ for this week. See you in about 45 minutes.
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