Sunday, May 29, 2005

Halla-dazed

Really not too much to say about today's game. The Twins' offense was once again shut down, but on this occasion I really can't give them too much crap. Roy Halladay, who in my opinion is going to win the AL Cy Young this year, pitched an absolute gem, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 10 while working a complete game shutout as the Blue Jays cruised past the Twins 4-0. Halladay has tremendous stuff, he was hitting the catcher's glove all night long and using his terrific breaking pitch to strike out Twins batters consistently. Joe Mays pitched fairly well for the Twinkies and took a tough loss, allowing just 2 runs over 7 innings. JC Romero, on the other hand, allowed 2 runs over 1/3 of an inning. Despite his outstanding 1.83 ERA, I would venture to say that Romero is the team's least reliable relief pitcher. I would honestly rather see Matt Guerrier or *gulp* Terry Mulholland come in to pitch in a close game than JC.

Fortunately, the Twins didn't lose any ground in the standings as the White Sox were whipped by the Rangers 12-4. Jon Garland, whose extremely hot start was regarded by many as a fluke, was rocked for 7 runs over 6 innings. I'm not saying that this one start means the guy isn't legit -- after all, Santana had a start just as bad a couple weeks ago and this one did come against a very good offense -- but don't be surprised if you see Garland toss a few more like this one.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As long as Torri "black hole in the middle of the line-up" Hunter bats behind Mornau, he's not going to get anything hit. Torri "bat my weight" Hunter has never commanded that kind of respect with the bat. All that for $9 million

Nick N. said...

I agree completely... you know how we feel about Torii. Some people don't believe in the concept of lineup protection, but I think it goes without saying that if the guy behind you is basically an automatic out, there is no reason to throw you anything over the plate. That said, these pitchers are throwing strikes, they are just working the outside corner and if Justin can't adjust and start taking those things the other way he's going to be in for a long year.