Rangers have 3 straight shutouts
Posted by John Autin on July 16, 2011
Colby Lewis shut down the Mariners on 4 hits over 8.2 IP Friday, and Neftali Feliz got the last out for the Rangers' 3rd straight shutout, following Derek Holland's 5-hitter on Thursday and a combined 6-hitter on the last day of the 1st half. It matches the club's longest shutout streak in the last 30 years, done in May 2008.
-- The only other shutout streak of at least 3 games in the franchise's 51-year history (including the expansion Senators) was a 4-game streak in April 1981, featuring individual shutouts by Doc Medich, Danny Darwin and Rick Honeycutt and a combined effort started by Fergie Jenkins.
-- No team has had more than 3 straight shutouts since Baltimore had 5 in a row to close the 1995 season (two by Mike Mussina).
-- Scheduled pitchers for Saturday are C.J. Wilson and Felix Hernandez. Wilson is 24-11, 3.29 since converting back to a starter last season, but he has never thrown a shutout. He is 2-0 against Seattle this year, with a CG win (12 Ks, 1 ER) in his only start in Safeco.
-- The 2 straight shutouts suffered by Seattle matches their franchise record, done last on July 31-Aug. 1 of last year.
-- It was the 8th shutout loss for the M's this year, and the 4th started by Doug Fister. They've scored 2 runs or less in 15 of his 19 starts; Fister is 3-11 with a 3.18 ERA.
-- Four hits in 31 ABs trimmed Seattle's team batting average to .222. Ichiro Suzuki was 0-4 and is hitting .264.
-- The Mariners have lost 6 straight, scoring 9 runs total.
July 16th, 2011 at 2:00 am
I think Josh Hamilton makes or breaks the Rangers, he's the best hitter in baseball.
July 16th, 2011 at 2:58 am
wow, that's rich..
July 16th, 2011 at 3:23 am
It's remarkable what's happened with Ichiro this year. Not only has his hitting drastically fallen off, but statistically his fielding has also.
July 16th, 2011 at 5:45 am
So Twisto you are on record as saying Gary Carter was a better hitter than Joe Carter, right?
July 16th, 2011 at 10:21 am
@1
".......he's the best hitter in baseball."
Bait refused.
July 16th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@5
Yeah, speaking of bait, I never said quickest... cause that is Zambrano, unless you're counting cheeseburger eating, then your talking Pierre, then there is violent swings, which of course is Fielder, son of Cecil, who was a contemporary of Joe Carter
There, I think I covered everything for Timmy.
July 16th, 2011 at 10:44 am
@ Jimbo,
I thought Ichiro had 3000 hits in 15 years in his pocket. Retire at 41, HOF at 47. He only needs to average 150 more a season, but at I can't see Seattle keeping him leadoff if his OBP (.311) dips any lower.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:25 am
" It matches the club's longest shutout streak in the last 30 years, done in May 2008."
JA, not disparaging the quality of Texas pitching, but the three shut outs have been against Oakland and twice against Seattle. The excellent mound performances have against the two worst offenses in baseball, as measured by OPS+.
Cause and effect are difficult to separate out here, as the last part of your blog implies. Perhaps the more remarkable story is the futility that is the Mariners hitting.
Interesting though, that Ron Washington feared Jack Cust enough to not allow Colby Lewis to finish the game with Cust representing the tying run.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:25 am
@7, Duke -- Sadly, Ichiro's .311 OBP is 3rd among the Mariners' regulars, and I don't see Smoak or Cust supplanting him at the top of the order.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@8, Neil -- Your comment is spot-on. But then, it's perfectly normal for context to play a big role in all kinds of feats; see Karstens, Jeff, 2011 record vs. Houston.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Also @8, Neil -- I'd guess that Ron Washington's decision to lift Lewis was less about Jack Cust (who actually didn't represent the tying run), and more about the 121 pitches Lewis had thrown and the opportunity to get a cheap save for Feliz.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:45 am
@8 @11
Yes, sorry, JA. Texas was up by four runs at the time, not two. I glanced too quickly at the line score.
Using the C.J. Wilson-Felix Hernandez probable as an excuse to mention this, C.C. Sabathia vs. Ricky Romero and the Bautista-less Blue Jays this afternoon isn't a bad matchup either.
July 16th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
@12, Neil -- I'll be pulling for your Blue Jays to create a little tension in the AL East race today!
From a stat-geek angle, I'm especially hoping they can score 7+ runs without a HR -- it would be the first time in franchise history that they did that in 3 straight games. Even 6 runs with no HRs would match the franchise record of 3 straight at that level, done just once (2008).
July 16th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
"The 2 straight shutouts suffered by Seattle matches their franchise record, ....."
To emphasize Seattle's struggles at the plate, they scored two runs in the first inning against the Angels in their last game before the break. The M's have not plated a run in 26 innings! Ouch.
The blame can't be all placed at Ichiro's feet, but what does a general manager do to fix a lineup like this?
July 16th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
@13
Thanks, John, but realistically it is "Wait until next year" for the Jays. However, I can't share your wish for a lack of big flies by Toronto today. 🙂
JA, I have been quietly following the similarities between the Mets' and Blue Jays' plights this season at least in the context of their respective divisions. Both teams in inordinately strong divisions, both teams with 0.500 records, Jays 8 games out of the WC, Mets 8.5 out, etc.
I've kind of been tracking this on the side since I knew you root for the Mets. I realize there are huge differences in the circumstances of the franchises but the two sets of fans can kind of relate to each other this year.
July 16th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Neil -- I'm sorry to say that the "tension" I'm hoping the BJ's can create involves the Yanks, Rays & Bosox....
---------
"What does a general manager do to fix a lineup like [Seattle's]?"
-- I dunno ... fall on his proverbial sword, maybe? Wasn't it Zduriencik who signed Chone Figgins?
OK, but seriously ... there's no quick fix for the M's. Seems like they've had a low-OBP culture for a long time; just look at their league rank in walks drawn over the past several years.
July 16th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Breaking "news". Nothing about it yet on the ESPN or MLB web sites.
In listening to the pre-game show on radio, Joe Girardi, in his morning conference with the NY and Toronto media has just accused the Blue Jays of stealing signs and not in the "usual" way, but by having a "hidden camera" somewhere in the stadium.
What a laugh. Is that how he explains 23 runs against in two games? Or he is just trying to divert attention from his team's poor defensive play in the first two games of the series?
Sorry for the tangent, but you heard it here first before articles are posted in the other sites.
July 16th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Neil -- FWIW, the Yankee TV crew last night were talking about sign-stealing, suggesting that Freddy Garcia got so distracted by such concerns that he forgot to execute his pitches.
I suppose there's always the simpler possibility that Garcia is really the league-average pitcher we've seen over the past 5 years, but the sign-stealing drama is much more entertaining!
July 16th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Russell Martin took a seat for today's game. (Cervelli called a great game; Jays were off-balance all day - freezing on hittable pitches, and chasing bad ones)
During the telecast, there was a brief glimpse of Martin in the bullpen with Tony Pena, apparently working on different sign sequences.
July 16th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Does Cervelli call a better game than Martin?
July 16th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
@ JA
Thinking of just how awful Chone Figgins has been, I did a quick search of guys who qualified for batting with these joyless statistical combinations; BA < .200, OBP < .250, SLG < .250.
I got three returns, two of the guys had < 400 ABs, but played in the 1940s.
Was there a different methodology for qualification back then? And when did the 'modern' 3.1 x teams games played?
Anyway, Chone is 3 ABs shy of 'qualifying', and I can't see him getting enough starts to qualify, but we could be seeing history here, a 37 OPS+ from a 9 million dollar man. And a 4th man to aforementioned 'list'.
On a tangent: Just finished watching the Mets pound the Phils, and Beltran was a late scratch with flu like symptoms, leaving the Mets without Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Ike Davis. I could not believe how well this line-up did considering. So I checked, and Angel Pagan was the longest tenured Met in the lineup, with 340 games played as a Met. Next was Daniel Murphy with 200 something, the rest, including Jason Bay, all had below 200. I wonder if there ever was there ever a game played with a lineup entirely of such inexperienced players?
Maybe some expansion teams, but they always seemed to have a few veterans to round them out and fill seats.
July 16th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
@21, Duke -- Yes, the "qualifying" rules have changed over time. The 3.1 PA/G rule began in the early '50s, as I recall. Before that, the predominant rule was 100 games played, although on at least one occasion the league president ruled by fiat to prevent a "qualified" player from being recognized as the batting champion.
Interesting comment about the Mets. As I watched last night's game, I felt rather depressed about the 2nd half. While I don't think the K-Rod deal really impacts the team's chances of being competitive (and I have no illusions of contention), it's certainly possible that the players feel differently -- and they looked flat as hell last night, with Beltran providing the only real spark on offense.
Anyway, it occurred to me that, with Beltran likely to be traded, and with my hardened outlook re: injured players ("expect nothing"), it seemed that what has been a fun and entertaining season so far could be headed off the cliff before the month is out. Facing Hamels, without Beltran, in a national TV game, I expected the bleeding to intensify.
The moral, as always: You can't predict baseball!
July 16th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
BTW, Duke -- I would guess that the 1998 or '99 Marlins often had a lineup with even less experience than what we saw of the Mets today.
July 16th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
@5 Not sure saying Hamilton is the best hitter in baseball is that controversial. He is last years MVP and the Rangers are a completely different team since he came back from being hurt.
July 16th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
@6 Duke Snider is a convicted felon.
July 17th, 2011 at 1:51 am
So Twisto you are on record as saying Gary Carter was a better hitter than Joe Carter, right?
Why, did Joe hit a few homers last night to pull into the lead?
July 17th, 2011 at 1:56 am
BTW, Timmy, my recent posts tonight have been fortified by Scotch. Not Johnny Walker, but I hope you approve regardless.
July 17th, 2011 at 2:04 am
How have I gone so long without mentioning Juan Pierre? He had 4 hits tonight, including ...[drumroll]... a DOUBLE !
July 17th, 2011 at 2:25 am
Juan Pierre? He had 4 hits tonight, including ...[drumroll]... a DOUBLE !
In the words of Doug E. Fresh....stop lying!
July 17th, 2011 at 6:03 am
@27 Even cheap scotch is good. I did notice you seem to be making a lot of sense tonight, keep up the good work!
July 17th, 2011 at 6:16 am
@28 Pierre had 2 stolen bases tonight also! He's hitting .275 and I think he's back in form.
July 17th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Somehow, Timmy, your devotion to Juan Pierre has touched me, to the point that I'm actually pleased to see him do well.
I guess it's kind of how I felt seeing Charlie Brown's love for Joe Shlabotnik in the old Peanuts comics....
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Joe_Shlabotnik
July 17th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
I did notice you seem to be making a lot of sense tonight, keep up the good work!
I'll do my best! Just let me know when you think I have the wrong spirit in my system.