Thursday, May 29, 2008

MLB News and Notes: 5/29

  • Jorge Campillo has been a revelation for the Braves. The former Mexican League pitcher has shut down the Mets, Diamondbacks, and the Brewers. After holding the Brewers to one run this afternoon, he lowered his ERA to 0.99. He has good command of his pitches and pitches backwards to hitters which might surprise hitters the first time they see him. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to be successful facing teams the second time around the league.
  • The Braves are 22-7 at home and only 6-18 on the road.
  • I think Brad Wilkerson was a good pickup by the Blue Jays. Why did the Mariners get rid of him? He struggled with them but the whole team is struggling offensively.
  • Eric Chavez finally returns to the A's starting lineup this afternoon and will make his 2008 debut. He was sidelined with a back injury.
  • A's starting pitcher Dana Eveland has a 0.94 ERA at home.
  • The Boston Red Sox are really struggling on the road. They got swept by Oakland and lost two of three to the Mariners. They head to Baltimore this weekend to face the Orioles. They have not been hitting on the road and ran into some solid pitching. Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard both shut down the Red Sox.
  • Arizona is showing some kinks in its armor. Eric Byrnes is on the DL and Justin Upton is struggling at the plate. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren have lost their last few starts as well. They will try to avoid a sweep by the Giants tonight. Barry Zito will oppose Randy Johnson.
  • Arizona is 13-7 against lefties this year.
  • The Royals are on a 10 game losing streak. Their pathetic offense actually scored eight runs last night but their bullpen gave up five runs in the top of the ninth inning and lost the game in extra innings.
  • Jose Guillen called his teammates "babies" after the loss to the Twins.
  • The best pitching matchup today is in the afternoon when Eveland faces off against Jesse Litsch of Toronto. Litsch quietly has six wins already and a excellent 3.57 ERA.
  • Johnny Damon's infield hit last night against the Orioles in the ninth inning helped give the Yankees an important insurance run. The bases were loaded and Damon's two out single showed his hustle and speed out of the batter's box. It was an important hit by a savvy veteran.
  • Brad Penny starts for the Dodgers against the Mets tonight. Penny is 5-12 with a 6.21 ERA lifetime against the Mets.
  • Since OF Matt Diaz is on the DL and out for four to six weeks, why won't the Braves sign Barry Bonds?

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