Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Kevin Slowey picks up first Major League Win

It wasn't quite an awe-inspiring performance, but it's good to see Kevin Slowey get his first Major League win in his second MLB start. Slowey only went 5 innings, giving up 10 hits, 5 runs, and 4 ER, but thanks to good work from the offense and from the bullpen it was good enough for the win.

The bullpen pitched 4 hitless and scoreless innings to preserve the lead, showing their strength. Look at the ERAs of the guys that pitched:

Matt Guerrier: 1.72 (in 36.2 IP)
Carmen Cali: 0.00 (in 4.2 IP)
Pat Neshek: 1.26 (in 28.2 IP)
Joe Nathan: 2.05 (in 26.1 IP)

If I was doing any online sports betting, I would say this is the best bullpen in the MLB once again.

Also, it becomes more and more clear (at least to me) that Pat Neshek is the best middle reliever in the MLB. In the 28.2 IP he has struck out 34 batters, walked only 10, and allowed only 12 hits. That puts his WHIP at 0.77, his OBA at .217, and SLG against at only .200. Those are unbelievable numbers.

Offensively, the Twins got their power from Michael Cuddyer (3/4, 1 HR, 3 RBI), and a couple of other unlikely sources, as both Nick Punto and Jason Bartlett hit their first homers of the year.

All in all, a nice day and a nice job to come from behind to salvage one game of the 3-game set, as we head into another round of interleague play. 3 games at home against a mediocre Washington Nationals team sounds like a recipe for success.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Neshek's ERA is even inflated by the three run homer that he gave up April 19 at Seattle. That makes up for 75% of his ERA.