Stats & Info: Kerry Wood
MLB roundup: Scott, Maholm, Wood
January, 15, 2012
Jan 15
11:08
AM ET
By Mark Simon and Katie Sharp | ESPN.com
Right: Scott’s power hot/cold zones vs right-handers (2011)
Click here to create your own Scott heat maps
The player that the Rays hope they signed is the Scott of 2010, the one who prior to shoulder surgery in 2011, was one of the best power hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching.
That season, Scott was a fastball masher. His batting average (.372) and OPS (1.130) against fastballs, cutters, and sinkers from right-handers were each sixth-best in baseball, alongside the likes of Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto.
He was arguably the best hitter in baseball against hard stuff from righties in the lower-third of the strike zone and below.
He netted 41 hits and made only 37 outs when he made contact against such pitches. That included 11 doubles and five home runs. His miss rate of only 13 percent was three percentage points below the league average.
Scott’s numbers against right-handed pitching in 2010 represent a significant upgrade from those that the man he’s replacing at designated hitter, Johnny Damon, put up against right-handers last season (see chart on right).
-- Mark Simon
Paul Maholm: Signs one-year deal with Chicago Cubs
The 29 year-old Maholm, who rebounded from a dismal 5.10 ERA in 2010 to record a career-best 3.66 ERA in 2011, faces a stiff challenge in trying to repeat that breakout performance in Chicago.
Maholm is a worm-burning specialist, posting a ground-ball rate of over 50 percent in each of the last three seasons. Last season, he was most successful at getting outs on grounders up the middle.
That trend was hardly surprising given the defensive strengths of his two primary middle infielders, Ronny Cedeno and Neil Walker.
Cedeno ranked as the third-best shortstop turning batted balls into outs last season with a Plus-Minus rating of +15 overall. He was at his best on balls hit to his left, where he converted nine more balls into outs than the average shortstop.
Walker was below average overall in making outs, but most of his problems were in getting to balls hit to the first base/second base hole (-18). When going after balls hit up the middle, he converted an incredible 24 more of them into outs than the average second baseman.
Maholm now joins a Cubs team that is expected to have Starlin Castro at shortstop and Darwin Barney at second base in 2012. Castro was one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league and his biggest shortcoming was on balls hit up the middle, where he turned eight fewer balls into outs.
Barney ranked in the middle-of-the-pack defensively but his only strength was in getting to balls hit to the first base hole (+4). When going to his right on balls up the middle, Barney was below average, making two fewer plays than the average second baseman.
-- Katie Sharp
Kerry Wood: Signs one-year deal with Chicago Cubs
Wood got hit a bit harder in 2011 than he did in 2010 and much of the damage was done against pitches over the middle-third of the plate, height-wise.
Of the 16 extra-base hits Wood allowed last season, 13 of them came on pitches to that area. He only allowed three extra-base hits on pitches to that area in 2010.
He cut his walks per nine innings nearly in half and much of the decline came against lefties. After walking nearly one-quarter of the lefties he faced in 2010, Wood walked only one out of every 10 opposite-handed batters in 2011.
Wood made the biggest jump in his ability to throw strikes against lefties when the count was full. In 2010, fewer than two-thirds of the 28 pitches he threw on a 3-2 count were strikes; in 2011, he threw 27 of his 29 3-2 pitches for strikes.
Because of that, he walked just two of the 19 lefties that reached full counts last season, after allowing more than half (10 of 19) to take a base in 2010.
-- Mark Simon and Katie Sharp
Jamie Squire/Getty Imag
The Cardinals (managed by Tony La Russa, on left) and Rangers (managed by Ron Washington, on right) lead their teams into the 36th Game 7 in World Series history.
For the 36th time in baseball history and first since 2002, a Game 7 is needed to decide the World Series, this time between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. If recent history is any indication, start popping the corks in St. Louis. Since 1980, home teams are 8-0 in World Series Game 7s (prior to 1980, home teams were 10-17).
Furthermore, of the last nine World Series to go seven games, eight were won by the team that won Game 6. The only team since 1979 to lose Game 7 after winning Game 6 was the Cleveland Indians against the Florida Marlins in 1997.
Playing in a Game 7 is nothing new for the Cardinals. In fact, they are making their 15th appearance in a postseason winner-take-all Game 7, the most all-time. And they’ve had quite a bit of success, winning 10 postseason Game 7s, also the most all-time.
St. Louis leads all franchises with seven Game 7 wins in World Series action, but has lost three of its last four. On the other side, Texas is making its first appearance in a Game 7 of any series in franchise history.
Pitching Matchup
Matt Harrison will make his second World Series start for Texas. Harrison took the loss in Game 3 after allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Harrison will try to be the first starting pitcher who lost a game earlier in the series to win Game 7 of a World Series since Frank Viola (1987 Minnesota Twins).
It was reported Friday that the Cardinals will start Chris Carpenter, and that should make St. Louis fans breathe a sigh of relief. Carpenter is 8-2 in his postseason career, including 3-0 this season. In three career World Series starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and has allowed just four earned runs in 13 innings against the Rangers this series.
Carpenter has pitched on three-days rest just once and it was earlier this postseason in Game 2 of the NLDS at Philadelphia.
According to Elias, Carpenter will be the ninth pitcher to start two winner-take-all games in one postseason.
The others were Blue Moon Odom (1972 Oakland Athletics), Pete Vuckovich (1982 Milwaukee Brewers), Bret Saberhagen (1985 Kansas City Royals), John Smoltz (1991 Atlanta Braves), Jaret Wright (1997 Indians), Curt Schilling (2001 Arizona Diamondbacks), Roger Clemens (2001 New York Yankees), Kerry Wood (2003 Chicago Cubs) and Pedro Martinez (2003 Boston Red Sox). No pitcher has ever won two winner-take-all games in one postseason, no matter if he started the game or not.
Stat of the Game
Elias tells us that Tony La Russa needs a win in Game 7 to avoid becoming the first manager to lose the clinching game of four World Series on his home field. In 1988, the Athletics lost in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Game Five at the Oakland Coliseum; in 1990, the Athletics were swept by the Cincinnati Reds, with Game Four in Oakland; in 2004, the Cardinals lost all four games to the Red Sox, with Game Four at Busch Stadium.
David Price set a single-game Tampa Bay Rays record with 14 strikeouts in a 12-0 victory Sunday over the Toronto Blue Jays.
PricePrice's 14 strikeouts passed the previous Rays record of 13 set by James Shields earlier this season and first done by Scott Kazmir in 2007. Price's strikeout total finished one shy of the most by an American League pitcher this season. Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels struck out 15 -- also against the Blue Jays -- on April 10.
The most strikeouts in a game this season belongs to Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies, who struck out 16 against the Atlanta Braves in seven innings on May 6.
Price, who just turned 26 years old on Friday, flirted with the possibility of nearing the MLB record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game of 20 held by Roger Clemens (done twice in 1986 and 1996) and Kerry Wood in 1998.
Price struck out 10 batters through four innings, which was one more than what Clemens had in his two 20-strikeout games and was two more than what Wood had.
Price proceeded to strike out two more batters in the fifth, which kept him on pace with what Clemens had and was one ahead of Wood's pace. However, Price did not strike out a batter in the sixth inning, the only frame in which a batter did not go down on strikes.
But the left-hander finished with two more in his seventh and final inning of the game. He became the fourth pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts in seven or fewer innings.
Price became the fourth pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts on the road against the Blue Jays and the first since Bartolo Colon on May 29, 1998. The first to do it was Mark Langston in 1988 at Exhibition Stadium, the Blue Jays original home from 1977 until 1989.
So how was Price able to rack up so many strikeouts? He relied on what he always does, the fastball. He picked up 10 of his 14 strikeouts on pitches ending on the fastball. It's his third start this season in which he had 10 strikeouts with his fastball. No other starter in baseball even has one. This season, Price has 128 strikeouts ending on the fastball, 30 more than Colon, who is second with 98.
Blue Jays hitters swung 32 times against the pitch and put only four in play, the fewest fastballs ever put in play in a start against Price with a minimum of 20 swings.
The most strikeouts in a game this season belongs to Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies, who struck out 16 against the Atlanta Braves in seven innings on May 6.
Price, who just turned 26 years old on Friday, flirted with the possibility of nearing the MLB record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game of 20 held by Roger Clemens (done twice in 1986 and 1996) and Kerry Wood in 1998.
Price struck out 10 batters through four innings, which was one more than what Clemens had in his two 20-strikeout games and was two more than what Wood had.
Price proceeded to strike out two more batters in the fifth, which kept him on pace with what Clemens had and was one ahead of Wood's pace. However, Price did not strike out a batter in the sixth inning, the only frame in which a batter did not go down on strikes.
But the left-hander finished with two more in his seventh and final inning of the game. He became the fourth pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts in seven or fewer innings.
Price became the fourth pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts on the road against the Blue Jays and the first since Bartolo Colon on May 29, 1998. The first to do it was Mark Langston in 1988 at Exhibition Stadium, the Blue Jays original home from 1977 until 1989.
So how was Price able to rack up so many strikeouts? He relied on what he always does, the fastball. He picked up 10 of his 14 strikeouts on pitches ending on the fastball. It's his third start this season in which he had 10 strikeouts with his fastball. No other starter in baseball even has one. This season, Price has 128 strikeouts ending on the fastball, 30 more than Colon, who is second with 98.
Blue Jays hitters swung 32 times against the pitch and put only four in play, the fewest fastballs ever put in play in a start against Price with a minimum of 20 swings.
An ace in the hole for a Game 7 hasn't always guaranteed a postseason victory.
Just because the Texas Rangers have Cliff Lee (3-0, 0.75 ERA this postseason) sitting and waiting to start Game 7, that doesn't guarantee they will advance to the World Series.
There have been numerous instances in postseason history when a team had a series lead, with a high-level ace waiting to pitch Game 6 or Game 7, and still ended up losing.
Here are five examples:
1925 Washington Senators
Washington had a 3-1 series lead on the Pittsburgh Pirates with all-time legend Walter Johnson waiting for Game 7. The Pirates won games five and six, then beat Johnson 9-7 to win the World Series. Johnson allowed all nine runs.
1968 St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals had a 3-1 series lead on the Detroit Tigers and Bob Gibson waiting in Game 7. (Gibson was 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA that season, and already had two Game 7 wins to his credit.) Mickey Lolich, the Tigers No. 2 starter that season behind 31-game winner Denny McLain, was the star of the series with three wins, including a 4-1 victory over Gibson in the final game.
1984 Chicago Cubs
The Cubs were up 2-0 in the best-of-five series against the San Diego Padres. They also had Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe -- who was 16-1 with the Cubs in the regular season -- waiting to pitch Game 5, if necessary. The Padres won games three and four (the latter on a dramatic walk-off home run by Steve Garvey) to set up the decisive game. Sutcliffe had a 3-0 lead but couldn't hold it. The Padres won 6-3, and went on to the World Series.
1985 Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals
The Blue Jays and Cardinals each had a 3-1 lead on the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS and World Series, respectively. Both teams had their ace -- Dave Stieb (AL-best 2.48 ERA) and John Tudor (21-8, 1.93 ERA) -- ready for a seventh game. The Royals came back in each instance, beating both of those starters in Game 7 to win the series.
2003 Chicago Cubs
The Cubs had a 3-1 series lead on the Florida Marlins and had Mark Prior and Kerry Wood set to start in games six and seven. They got beat by Josh Beckett in Game 5, blew a late lead in "The Steve Bartman Game" in Game 6, and blew a 5-3 lead in Game 7, losing 9-6.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Sabathia battled for six innings, but he helped the Yankees force the series back to Texas.
CC Sabathia (six innings, 11 hits, two earned runs, no walks, seven strikeouts) is the first pitcher since Bruce Hurst in 1986 to allow at least 11 hits and two runs or fewer in a postseason start.
From the Elias Sports Bureau: Since joining the team in 2009, Sabathia has now won a team-high 16 starts (including two in the postseason) following a Yankees' loss.
Robinson Cano's four home runs in this series is one shy of the most HR in a postseason series by a second baseman. Chase Utley hit five HR in last year's World Series.
Cano and Josh Hamilton each have four HR in this series. The only other postseason series where opposing players each had four HR was the 2004 NLCS: Houston's Carlos Beltran and St. Louis' Albert Pujols.
During the regular season, C.J. Wilson allowed just one home run with no outs in an inning. In Game 5, Nick Swisher and Cano both homered off Wilson with no outs in the third inning. The home runs by Swisher and Cano were the first back-to-back home runs in a postseason game by the Yankees in an LCS since Game 3 of the 2000 ALCS at Seattle (Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez).
Kerry Wood has picked off two Rangers in this series (Ian Kinsler in Game 1, Elvis Andrus in Game 5). He's the first pitcher with two pickoffs in a postseason series since Mark Mulder did it in the 2001 ALDS against the Yankees.
In three wins, the Rangers are hitting .448 (13-for-29) with runners in scoring position, and just .176 (3-for-17) in two losses.
Kim Klement/US Presswire
One Ranger who's had success against the Yankees is Vladimir Guerrero.
Top Things To Know
The Texas Rangers have lost nine straight postseason games against the New York Yankees. They were outscored in the last six of those contests, 23-2. The good news: None of the hitters from those 1998-1999 Rangers teams are still playing for Texas.
The Yankees significantly outrate the Rangers from a historical perspective with their 27 World Series titles, but on the field, they were even-steven this season, with each team winning four times when they matched up head-to-head. Home-field proved to be key: the Yankees swept three games at home against the Rangers, while the Rangers went 4-1 in their home meetings with the Yankees and were 51-30 at home during the regular season.
Neither of the 2010 AL MVP candidates -- Josh Hamilton and Robinson Cano -- were factors against the other team during the regular season. Hamilton hit .250 with one RBI in five regular-season games against the Yankees. Cano hit .233 with one RBI in eight games. Cano, who had some struggles against left-handed pitching towards the end of the regular season, was 3-for-7 against lefties in the ALDS. Hamilton is still looking to right himself after going 2-for-18 in the ALDS. He went 1-for-11 at Yankee Stadium this season, but was 7-for-14 there in 2009.
Deciding Factor
The Yankees would seem to have a significant edge in the back of the bullpen. Mariano Rivera righted himself in the ALDS after some late-season struggles, while Neftali Feliz looked a bit nervous in his ALDS appearances. Both closers were vulnerable against their respective opponents in the regular season. Rivera’s experience, and an 0.99 ERA in the ALCS features only one year with any blips -- 2004. Other than that, he’s a perfect 10-for-10 in LCS save chances.
If the 22-year-old Feliz can get a save at Yankee Stadium, he’d be the youngest pitcher to record one against the Yankees there in the postseason. The current mark is held by 23-year-old Steve Howe, who closed out the Yankees to win the 1981 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Bronx.
Most Interesting Matchups
Derek Jeter is a .432 career hitter combining regular season and postseason play against Cliff Lee. That’s the highest batting average against Lee for any hitter with at least 25 plate appearances against him.
If the game is close in the late innings, Rangers DH Vladimir Guerrero has good experience against both Kerry Wood and Rivera. He’s 8-for-15 in his career against Wood, mostly from Wood’s days as a flamethrower for the Cubs. He’s also 4-for-11 against Rivera, though Rivera did get him to ground out with the tying run on third base to end a 7-6 Yankees' win on Aug. 11.
Decisions, Decisions
The Yankees chose to pitch Phil Hughes in Game 2 and Andy Pettitte in Game 3, rather than the other way around. That may have something to do with Hughes having good history in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. In 15⅓ innings there, he’s never allowed an earned run. Pettitte, early in his career, had some dreadful appearances in that stadium (8.22 ERA there), and is being pushed back to Game 3.
Pettitte has never pitched a postseason game in that ballpark, though he’s faced Texas three times at Yankee Stadium. That sets up an interesting Game 7 scenario that would put Pettitte against Lee. Pettitte has never started in Game 7 of a postseason series for the Yankees.
The Rangers have to decide if they’re going to play Jeff Francoeur in right field against both CC Sabathia and Pettitte. Francoeur was 8-for-20 with no strikeouts against left-handed pitchers in the regular season after being traded by the Mets to the Rangers. He opened the scoring in Game 1 of the LDS with an RBI hit against lefty David Price.
Stat of the Day
Lee enters this series with the Yankees with a 6-0 career postseason record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the best unbeaten postseason record for a pitcher whom the Yankees beat in a postseason game was 4-0, by former Milwaukee Braves starter Lew Burdette, and ex-Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez.
J. Meric/Getty Images
Cliff Lee has allowed one earned run or fewer in six of his seven postseason starts.
The Texas Rangers' Cliff Lee is now 6-0 in seven postseason starts. Bob Gibson, Lefty Gomez, Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hernandez and Jack Morris are the only other pitchers in MLB history with six wins in their first seven postseason starts.
He’s the seventh pitcher to throw a complete game and strike out at least 10 in a series-clinching game, and the first since John Smoltz in the 1997 NLDS.
This was the fourth postseason start by Lee in which he struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter. Four other pitchers have done that in postseason history (Tom Seaver, Deacon Phillippe, Don Newcombe, Sterling Hitchcock), but each did it only once in their career.
Not only did Lee beat the Tampa Bay Rays twice in the series, but both wins were at Tampa Bay. He’s the sixth pitcher to win two road games in a series and allow one run or fewer in each start.
From the Elias Sports Bureau: Lee also became the first pitcher to start and win both the first game and a winner-takes-all game in the same postseason series since Kerry Wood did it for the Chicago Cubs in the 2003 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.
More from the Elias Sports Bureau: Conversely, David Price was the losing pitcher in games one and five. He’s the sixth starting pitcher to lose both Game 1 and a winner-takes-all game in the same series, and the first since the Braves' Jaret Wright in the 2004 NLDS against the Houston Astros.
More on Lee’s performance:
• First complete game in a winner-takes-all situation since Curt Schilling in the 2001 NLDS.
• Fourth winning pitcher to throw a complete game and strike out at least 10 batters in a winner-takes-all situation, and the first since the St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson in the 1967 World Series.
• Fifth pitcher to throw a complete game and not walk a batter in a winner-takes-all situation, and the first since the Cardinals' Danny Cox in the 1987 NLCS.
• His 11 strikeouts are the most in a winner-takes-all game in postseason history.
More from the Elias Sports Bureau: Conversely, David Price was the losing pitcher in games one and five. He’s the sixth starting pitcher to lose both Game 1 and a winner-takes-all game in the same series, and the first since the Braves' Jaret Wright in the 2004 NLDS against the Houston Astros.
More on Lee’s performance:
• First complete game in a winner-takes-all situation since Curt Schilling in the 2001 NLDS.
• Fourth winning pitcher to throw a complete game and strike out at least 10 batters in a winner-takes-all situation, and the first since the St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson in the 1967 World Series.
• Fifth pitcher to throw a complete game and not walk a batter in a winner-takes-all situation, and the first since the Cardinals' Danny Cox in the 1987 NLCS.
• His 11 strikeouts are the most in a winner-takes-all game in postseason history.
Yankees thankful for Wood, bullpen
September, 22, 2010
9/22/10
10:00
AM ET
By Katie Sharp | ESPN.com
While CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera dominate the headlines as the Yankees rotation ace and shutdown closer, the team would likely not have the majors’ best record if it weren’t for the recent brilliant performance by their new “glue guy” in the bullpen.
On the 99th anniversary of the 511th and final win by Cy Young – who literally defines pitching excellence – let’s take a look at a player who certainly isn’t on the short list of candidates for the award that carries his name, yet who has been arguably the unsung hero and most valuable member of the Yankees relief corps over the past two months.
When the Yankees acquired Kerry Wood and his uninspiring 6.30 ERA at the trade deadline, it was hard to see how he could possibly help a Yankees bullpen that had struggled for much of the first half of the season to find any consistency beyond Mariano Rivera.
Since pitching in pinstripes for the first time on August 1, not only has Wood been the most effective pitcher out of the bullpen for the Yankees, he has been one of the top relief pitchers in all of baseball. Among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched since the start of August, he has the lowest ERA in the majors and, as you can see in the accompanying chart, dominates the American League leaderboard in several other stats.
Consider a few other nuggets since he joined the Bronx Bombers:
• He has allowed just one run in 21 appearances – a solo homer to Aaron Hill on August 3 – and is currently riding a career-best streak of 19 consecutive scoreless appearances.
• Of the 69 outs he has recorded, 26 of them (38 percent) have been by strikeout, including 11 in four pitches or less.
• Of the 54 pitches put in play by opposing batters, just 10 have been recorded as “well hit” by the video scouts at Inside Edge, despite the fact that 34 have reached the outfield as line drives or flyballs.
Though Wood has been prone to allowing baserunners (13 walks and 13 hits in 23 innings), he had been nearly untouchable when those runners are in scoring position. Of the 28 batters he’s faced with a runner on second and/or third base, he has struck out 11 of them (39 percent), while giving up only two measly singles, neither of which scored a run.
As good as he’s been with runners in scoring position, he has been perhaps even more overpowering when getting into a two-strike count. Of the 57 batters he’s faced, he has retired 26 of them with a third strike and has allowed just five hits. He is perfect in September, having sat down all 20 batters reaching two strikes, including 11 via punchouts.
Wood was used mostly in low-leverage spots during his first month, as Joe Girardi called upon him almost exclusively to navigate the seventh inning. But since September 1, he’s established himself as the de facto “Bridge To Mariano” with six of his 10 appearances in the eighth inning or later and in high-leverage situations.
Wood has responded to this increased pressure and responsibility by pitching even better this month. In fact, you could argue that he’s been the Yankees most valuable pitcher in September, leading the staff with a Win Probability Added of 0.95 in 10 appearances.
As the Rays and Yankees jockey for position to finish as the best team in the majors, the continued dominance of Kerry Wood in the late innings could be the key factor in whether the Yankees are able to hold off Tampa for the division title and homefield advantage during the playoffs.
Tune into ESPN at 7 ET tonight to see the Rays and Yankees battle for the AL East lead in the opening game of a Wednesday Night Baseball doubleheader.
On the 99th anniversary of the 511th and final win by Cy Young – who literally defines pitching excellence – let’s take a look at a player who certainly isn’t on the short list of candidates for the award that carries his name, yet who has been arguably the unsung hero and most valuable member of the Yankees relief corps over the past two months.
When the Yankees acquired Kerry Wood and his uninspiring 6.30 ERA at the trade deadline, it was hard to see how he could possibly help a Yankees bullpen that had struggled for much of the first half of the season to find any consistency beyond Mariano Rivera.
Since pitching in pinstripes for the first time on August 1, not only has Wood been the most effective pitcher out of the bullpen for the Yankees, he has been one of the top relief pitchers in all of baseball. Among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched since the start of August, he has the lowest ERA in the majors and, as you can see in the accompanying chart, dominates the American League leaderboard in several other stats.
Consider a few other nuggets since he joined the Bronx Bombers:
• He has allowed just one run in 21 appearances – a solo homer to Aaron Hill on August 3 – and is currently riding a career-best streak of 19 consecutive scoreless appearances.
• Of the 69 outs he has recorded, 26 of them (38 percent) have been by strikeout, including 11 in four pitches or less.
• Of the 54 pitches put in play by opposing batters, just 10 have been recorded as “well hit” by the video scouts at Inside Edge, despite the fact that 34 have reached the outfield as line drives or flyballs.
Though Wood has been prone to allowing baserunners (13 walks and 13 hits in 23 innings), he had been nearly untouchable when those runners are in scoring position. Of the 28 batters he’s faced with a runner on second and/or third base, he has struck out 11 of them (39 percent), while giving up only two measly singles, neither of which scored a run.
As good as he’s been with runners in scoring position, he has been perhaps even more overpowering when getting into a two-strike count. Of the 57 batters he’s faced, he has retired 26 of them with a third strike and has allowed just five hits. He is perfect in September, having sat down all 20 batters reaching two strikes, including 11 via punchouts.
Wood was used mostly in low-leverage spots during his first month, as Joe Girardi called upon him almost exclusively to navigate the seventh inning. But since September 1, he’s established himself as the de facto “Bridge To Mariano” with six of his 10 appearances in the eighth inning or later and in high-leverage situations.
Wood has responded to this increased pressure and responsibility by pitching even better this month. In fact, you could argue that he’s been the Yankees most valuable pitcher in September, leading the staff with a Win Probability Added of 0.95 in 10 appearances.
As the Rays and Yankees jockey for position to finish as the best team in the majors, the continued dominance of Kerry Wood in the late innings could be the key factor in whether the Yankees are able to hold off Tampa for the division title and homefield advantage during the playoffs.
Tune into ESPN at 7 ET tonight to see the Rays and Yankees battle for the AL East lead in the opening game of a Wednesday Night Baseball doubleheader.
Lots to think about with Yanks-Rays
September, 15, 2010
9/15/10
11:29
AM ET
By Mark Simon and Katie Sharp | ESPN.com
Chris Williams/Icon SMI
Mark Teixeira's effectiveness against James Shields' changeup may play a big role in the outcome of Wednesday's Yankees-Rays matchup
Previously in this space, our bloggers have suggested reasons to watch a particular ESPN Wednesday Night Baseball game. The reason to watch the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees tonight is obvious --first place in the AL East is on the line.
With that in mind, here are a few statistically-based questions to ponder, while you are watching.
Would the Yankees be better positioned to make a playoff run if they finished in second place?
Even with Tuesday's win, the Yankees are mired in their worst slump of the season, having just endured their first four-game losing streak and their first sweep of three games or more.
The team that’s been responsible for this poor stretch of games –- the Texas Rangers –- is the same team the Yankees would have to face in the divisional round if they win the AL East title. They'd currently get the Twins if they won the wild card.
The Rangers have one advantage that could doom the Yankees in a potential playoff matchup. They can trot out two quality left-handed starters, Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson.
The Yankees have lost their last five games against left-handed starters and their .259 batting average against them is ranked sixth in the AL. Several key Yankees are really struggling vs southpaw starters (see accompanying chart) –- if it wasn’t for Marcus Thames, the overall numbers would be much uglier.
Who will be the Bridge to Mariano in the postseason for the Yankees?
The Yankees bullpen, which entered the All-Star break with a 4.14 ERA that ranked ninth in the league, has a 2.25 ERA that leads all AL bullpens since the break.
It hasn’t been just Mariano Rivera either. Boone Logan, Kerry Wood and David Robertson each have been excellent.
Chamberlain has been called upon to pitch the eighth inning 44 times this season, the most among the relief corps. But as you can see, his numbers in those appearances and in high leverage situations (situations with big win probability swings) are worse than each of the other three likely eighth inning candidates this season.
Will Mark Teixeira ever figure out James Shields?
The most interesting matchup to watch tonight is the James Shields-Mark Teixeira battle, Teixeira is 4-for-28 with 13 strikeouts in his career against Shields.
In 13 plate appearances against Shields this season, Teixeira has seen 59 pitches, nearly half of which (29) have been changeups. Of those, Teixeira has seen 20 strikes, with eight misses on 18 swings.
As a right-handed hitter, Teixeira has crushed changeups this season, but as a lefty, the pitch has been a major weapon in getting him out. His batting average against the pitch has dropped more than 100 points from 2009’s .253. He may get a chance to try to raise it tonight.
Who is the MVR (Most Valuable Ray’er)?
What if, instead of giving the MVP to one player, you gave it to the best pair from the same team. By one system, that would mean giving it to Rays teammates Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria.
Fangraphs.com has charted Wins Above Replacement (WAR) all season and their methodology computes that the Rays are the only team in baseball with two position players with a WAR of at least 6.0.
For those who have trouble deciding which of the two is more valuable, you’re not alone. Crawford nosed ahead of Longoria after Tuesday. He rates third-best in the American League with a 6.4. Longoria is right behind at 6.3. Their 12.7 combined score edges out the 12.1 of Rangers outfielders Josh Hamilton (8.0) and Nelson Cruz (4.1) for the highest-rated duo in baseball.
In the 8th inning of the San Diego Padres loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Matt Stairs hit his 21st career pinch-hit HR to establish an MLB record. Stairs previously shared the record with Cliff Johnson.
Jed Lowrie won it for the Boston Red Sox with a walk-off HR in the 11th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. It is Lowrie's first career walk-off HR and the first walk-off HR for the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox entered the game as one of just six MLB teams without a walk-off HR this season. Lowrie now has three HR this season, all in his last five games.
The Kansas City Royals take Game One of their doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox on the strength of Yuniesky Betancourt's fifth career walk-off hit in the 11th inning. The Royals trailed 5-1 before Betancourt's grand slam tied it in the 7th inning. Betancourt has three grand slams this season, which matches a Royals single-season record and is tied for the most in MLB this season with Alex Rodriguez.
The Washington Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 at Citizens Bank Park. The Bank has a reputation as a hitter's haven, but the Phillies have now scored fewer than 2 runs at home 16 times this season. That is more than any other National League team and the most such games the Phillies have ever had since the park opened in 2004.
Stephen Strasburg left the game in the fifth inning with a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm. He will undergo an MRI on Sunday. If this is his last appearance of the season, his rate of 12.18 K per 9 IP would be pretty historic. Among rookies with at least 10 starts, only Kerry Wood (in 1998) struck batters out at a higher clip.
The New York Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1, in a rain-shortened game. This might sound insignificant. However, with the win the Mets clinch their FIRST road series win against an NL opponent all season! The Mets are the only team in MLB with 2 rain-shortened wins this season.
The Cardinals snap their five-game losing streak and hand Tim Lincecum his fourth straight loss. Lincecum allowed six hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings to fall to 0-4 with an 8.38 ERA this month. It's his first career loss to the Cardinals and the first time he's allowed 4+ ER in three straight starts. His eight losses this season are a career high and he's lost four straight starts for the first time in his career.
Brennan Boesch got his 100th hit of the season in the Detroit Tigers win over the Cleveland Indians. He and Austin Jackson are the first pair of Tigers rookies with 100+ hits in a season since Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell in 1978.
Jed Lowrie won it for the Boston Red Sox with a walk-off HR in the 11th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. It is Lowrie's first career walk-off HR and the first walk-off HR for the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox entered the game as one of just six MLB teams without a walk-off HR this season. Lowrie now has three HR this season, all in his last five games.
The Kansas City Royals take Game One of their doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox on the strength of Yuniesky Betancourt's fifth career walk-off hit in the 11th inning. The Royals trailed 5-1 before Betancourt's grand slam tied it in the 7th inning. Betancourt has three grand slams this season, which matches a Royals single-season record and is tied for the most in MLB this season with Alex Rodriguez.
The Washington Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 at Citizens Bank Park. The Bank has a reputation as a hitter's haven, but the Phillies have now scored fewer than 2 runs at home 16 times this season. That is more than any other National League team and the most such games the Phillies have ever had since the park opened in 2004.
Stephen Strasburg left the game in the fifth inning with a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm. He will undergo an MRI on Sunday. If this is his last appearance of the season, his rate of 12.18 K per 9 IP would be pretty historic. Among rookies with at least 10 starts, only Kerry Wood (in 1998) struck batters out at a higher clip.
The New York Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1, in a rain-shortened game. This might sound insignificant. However, with the win the Mets clinch their FIRST road series win against an NL opponent all season! The Mets are the only team in MLB with 2 rain-shortened wins this season.
The Cardinals snap their five-game losing streak and hand Tim Lincecum his fourth straight loss. Lincecum allowed six hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings to fall to 0-4 with an 8.38 ERA this month. It's his first career loss to the Cardinals and the first time he's allowed 4+ ER in three straight starts. His eight losses this season are a career high and he's lost four straight starts for the first time in his career.
Brennan Boesch got his 100th hit of the season in the Detroit Tigers win over the Cleveland Indians. He and Austin Jackson are the first pair of Tigers rookies with 100+ hits in a season since Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell in 1978.
Another weekend day game between AL East foes at Rogers Centre, some more history for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Tampa Bay Rays and was just one ground ball away from one of the more dominating no-hitters in MLB history on Sunday. Alas, Evan Longoria's grounder bounched off of Aaron Hill's diving attempt at it and Morrow was forced to strike out Dan Johnson to secure the 1-0 win.
Morrow joins an elite club of Blue Jays pitchers to lose a no-hitter when they were just one out away. Roy Halladay gave up a hit to Bobby Higginson of the Detroit Tigers back in 1998 when he was one out away. But Morrow has nothing on Dave Stieb, who lost three no-hitters in a two-season span between 1988 and 1989, including two in back-to-back starts.
The only Blue Jays no-hitter ever thrown was by Stieb on September 2, 1990 at the Indians.
Maybe we should have seen an effort like this coming from Morrow. On September 5, 2008, Morrow threw 7.2 hitless innings against the New York Yankees in his first MLB start. It was broken up by a Wilson Betemit double that actually scored a run. Morrow is now the ONLY pitcher to take a no-hitter through five innings three times this season.
The Tampa Bay Rays seem to have no-hitters on their brain as they narrowly escape becoming the first team in MLB history to be no-hit three times in a season. In fact, of the last six no-hitters across the bigs, the Rays have been involved in four of them (one by Matt Garza while three have come against them).
Instead of wallowing in what might have been, we should celebrate what Morrow did achieve. 17 strikeouts is one shy of the club record that Roger Clemens set against the Royals back in 1998. The list of pitchers with a one-hit shutout along with 17 Ks in the live-ball era (since 1920) is just three names deep. Curt Schilling in 2002 with the Diamondbacks, Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game back in 1998 and now Morrow.
Some other crazy facts:
•Home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg was also behind the dish for Anibal Sanchez and Ubaldo Jimenez's no-nos. The last umpire to have home plate for two no-hitters in a season was Drew Coble in 1990.
•On July 26 (two weeks ago tomorrow), Morrow turned 26 years old. Check out the ages of the pitchers who threw the five no-hitters this season: Ubaldo Jimenez (26), Dallas Braden (26), Roy Halladay (33), Edwin Jackson (26) and Garza (26). From July 30, 1973 until the end of last season, there were just five total no-hitters thrown by a pitcher who was exactly 26 years of age.
•According to Bill James' metric "Game Score," which is a one-number summary of how good a pitcher's single-game performance is, Brandon Morrow's 17-strikeout, 2-walk, one-hitter got a score of 100. That is tied for the 4th-best single-game pitching performance since 1920. It was the highest by any pitcher in a single game since Randy Johnson scored 100 in his perfect game back in 2004.
Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Tampa Bay Rays and was just one ground ball away from one of the more dominating no-hitters in MLB history on Sunday. Alas, Evan Longoria's grounder bounched off of Aaron Hill's diving attempt at it and Morrow was forced to strike out Dan Johnson to secure the 1-0 win.
Morrow joins an elite club of Blue Jays pitchers to lose a no-hitter when they were just one out away. Roy Halladay gave up a hit to Bobby Higginson of the Detroit Tigers back in 1998 when he was one out away. But Morrow has nothing on Dave Stieb, who lost three no-hitters in a two-season span between 1988 and 1989, including two in back-to-back starts.
The only Blue Jays no-hitter ever thrown was by Stieb on September 2, 1990 at the Indians.
Maybe we should have seen an effort like this coming from Morrow. On September 5, 2008, Morrow threw 7.2 hitless innings against the New York Yankees in his first MLB start. It was broken up by a Wilson Betemit double that actually scored a run. Morrow is now the ONLY pitcher to take a no-hitter through five innings three times this season.
The Tampa Bay Rays seem to have no-hitters on their brain as they narrowly escape becoming the first team in MLB history to be no-hit three times in a season. In fact, of the last six no-hitters across the bigs, the Rays have been involved in four of them (one by Matt Garza while three have come against them).
Instead of wallowing in what might have been, we should celebrate what Morrow did achieve. 17 strikeouts is one shy of the club record that Roger Clemens set against the Royals back in 1998. The list of pitchers with a one-hit shutout along with 17 Ks in the live-ball era (since 1920) is just three names deep. Curt Schilling in 2002 with the Diamondbacks, Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game back in 1998 and now Morrow.
Some other crazy facts:
•Home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg was also behind the dish for Anibal Sanchez and Ubaldo Jimenez's no-nos. The last umpire to have home plate for two no-hitters in a season was Drew Coble in 1990.
•On July 26 (two weeks ago tomorrow), Morrow turned 26 years old. Check out the ages of the pitchers who threw the five no-hitters this season: Ubaldo Jimenez (26), Dallas Braden (26), Roy Halladay (33), Edwin Jackson (26) and Garza (26). From July 30, 1973 until the end of last season, there were just five total no-hitters thrown by a pitcher who was exactly 26 years of age.
•According to Bill James' metric "Game Score," which is a one-number summary of how good a pitcher's single-game performance is, Brandon Morrow's 17-strikeout, 2-walk, one-hitter got a score of 100. That is tied for the 4th-best single-game pitching performance since 1920. It was the highest by any pitcher in a single game since Randy Johnson scored 100 in his perfect game back in 2004.
One major theme over the past 48 hours is that contenders were looking to beef up their bullpen when it came to the trade deadline. Joba Chamberlain's lack of success may have triggered the New York Yankees into a move to bolster the back end of their bullpen. However, the acquisition of Kerry Wood may not be the right move. 
Since Wood became a full-time reliever in 2007 and his key numbers are going in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, the Braves acquired Kyle Farnsworth five years ago to the day in a trade with the Tigers and he pitched spectacularly for them as they won their last division title. Two of the players the Royals received in the Farnsworth/Ankiel trade, Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez, are becoming familiar with hotels. Collins was traded on July 14 from the Jays to Braves in the Yunel Escobar-Alex Gonzalez deal. Chavez was traded last November from the Pirates to Rays in exchange for Akinori Iwamura.
He was traded again as the primary piece the Rays sent to the Braves in exchange for Rafael Soriano this past December.
If there's one thing new Dodgers RP Octavio Dotel can do, it's strike people out. In his 12 seasons in the Majors, Dotel has posted a K/9 mark of 10.0 or greater in 9 of those seasons, including every year since 2007. Only 11 relief pitchers in the game have posted a 10.0+ K/9, ERA under 3.80 and thrown at least 200 innings over that span. Of those 11, Dotel ranks 3rd in K/9.
Since Wood became a full-time reliever in 2007 and his key numbers are going in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, the Braves acquired Kyle Farnsworth five years ago to the day in a trade with the Tigers and he pitched spectacularly for them as they won their last division title. Two of the players the Royals received in the Farnsworth/Ankiel trade, Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez, are becoming familiar with hotels. Collins was traded on July 14 from the Jays to Braves in the Yunel Escobar-Alex Gonzalez deal. Chavez was traded last November from the Pirates to Rays in exchange for Akinori Iwamura.
He was traded again as the primary piece the Rays sent to the Braves in exchange for Rafael Soriano this past December.
If there's one thing new Dodgers RP Octavio Dotel can do, it's strike people out. In his 12 seasons in the Majors, Dotel has posted a K/9 mark of 10.0 or greater in 9 of those seasons, including every year since 2007. Only 11 relief pitchers in the game have posted a 10.0+ K/9, ERA under 3.80 and thrown at least 200 innings over that span. Of those 11, Dotel ranks 3rd in K/9.
1st Pitch: Ethier most clutch HR hitter ever?
May, 7, 2010
5/07/10
2:05
PM ET
By Ryan McCrystal, ESPN Stats and Info | ESPN.com
Today’s Trivia: Today is the anniversary of Herb Score getting hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Gil McDougald, effectively ending his promising young career. Two years prior, Score set a rookie record with 245 strikeouts which has since been topped only by Dwight Gooden. Since Score’s 1955 season only Gooden and two other rookies have eclipsed the 225 strikeout plateau. Can you name them?
Quick Hits: Andre Ethier hit his sixth career walk-off home run on Thursday, all of which have come in the last three seasons. Here’s a few notes to put that into perspective:
* It was the first Dodgers walk-off grand slam since Russell Martin on April 21, 2007 against the Pirates
* He’s just the sixth player in baseball history with six walk-off homers in a three-year span. Roy Sievers and Jimmie Foxx are the only ones with seven
* He now trails only Duke Snider and Gil Hodges for the most walk-off home runs in Dodgers history. Snider and Hodges each hit seven
* Ethier is 2-2 with two grand slams with the bases loaded this season
* Over the past three seasons Ethier has a .452 OBP with the bases loaded
Today’s Leaderboard: Kelly Johnson went deep for the 10th time on Thursday, and once again his home run came against a fastball. Eight of his 10 homers have been off of fastballs, and he currently leads the majors with a .847 slugging percentage against the fastball.
Key Matchups: Josh Hamilton is batting .400 with two HR and six RBI during his current six-game hit streak, but he’ll have a hard time keeping that streak alive tonight. Hamilton is 0-13 in his career against Zack Greinke with seven strikeouts. All seven strikeouts have been of the swinging variety.
Expect Jim Thome to be in the Twins lineup when they take on Kevin Millwood tonight. In his career against Millwood Thome is hitting .625 with three home runs in just eight at bats. He’s also walked four times.
Trivia Answer: Hideo Nomo (236 in 1995) and Kerry Wood (233 in 1998). The closest any rookie has come since Wood was Daisuke Matsuzaka with 201 strikeouts in 2007.
Quick Hits: Andre Ethier hit his sixth career walk-off home run on Thursday, all of which have come in the last three seasons. Here’s a few notes to put that into perspective:
* It was the first Dodgers walk-off grand slam since Russell Martin on April 21, 2007 against the Pirates
* He’s just the sixth player in baseball history with six walk-off homers in a three-year span. Roy Sievers and Jimmie Foxx are the only ones with seven
* He now trails only Duke Snider and Gil Hodges for the most walk-off home runs in Dodgers history. Snider and Hodges each hit seven
* Ethier is 2-2 with two grand slams with the bases loaded this season
* Over the past three seasons Ethier has a .452 OBP with the bases loaded
Today’s Leaderboard: Kelly Johnson went deep for the 10th time on Thursday, and once again his home run came against a fastball. Eight of his 10 homers have been off of fastballs, and he currently leads the majors with a .847 slugging percentage against the fastball.
Key Matchups: Josh Hamilton is batting .400 with two HR and six RBI during his current six-game hit streak, but he’ll have a hard time keeping that streak alive tonight. Hamilton is 0-13 in his career against Zack Greinke with seven strikeouts. All seven strikeouts have been of the swinging variety.
Expect Jim Thome to be in the Twins lineup when they take on Kevin Millwood tonight. In his career against Millwood Thome is hitting .625 with three home runs in just eight at bats. He’s also walked four times.
Trivia Answer: Hideo Nomo (236 in 1995) and Kerry Wood (233 in 1998). The closest any rookie has come since Wood was Daisuke Matsuzaka with 201 strikeouts in 2007.
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