Zack Greinke- LAN- Cold- Greinke's control was suspect from the start last night. I went to the game, figuring I would write about him today. I made a note on my phone after 24 pitches that half of them were balls. I thought that I would use that as a starting point and then detail how he settled down. However, I kept updating that note, making it 36 pitches, then 44, then just about every two pitches until I got to 60. Greinke didn't start consistently finding the strike zone until the 4th inning and then he got hit hard, allowing 4 runs in the inning. He had been hit hard earlier, with the outs he recorded in the 3rd all being fly balls to the warning track. Greinke may still be feeling effects of his broken collarbone.
Jeff Bianchi- MIL- Hot- Bianchi went 2-for-4 last night, raising his average to .389 in 18 PAs. It was his 3rd start in the last 4 Milwaukee games, all of which have been multi-hit ones. Not surprisingly Bianchi has a very high .467 BABIP, so luck is a huge component in his performance. With Rickie Weeks still slumping and Aramis Ramirez needing the occasional day off, Bianchi may get some more playing time. However the results from this small sample size so far are unlikely to be sustained.
Yunesky Maya- WAS- Cold- Maya recorded only 1 out and gave up 2 hits including a walk off homer in his first appearance since being recalled from AAA Syracuse. Maya had appeared in 8 games at AAA, all starts, posting a 5.07 ERA. His FIP was 3.64, so there was some bad luck involved, but Maya's K/9 continued to slip, down to 6.16. He spent all of last season at AAA and as the contract he signed when he left Cuba runs out this year is likely his last chance to make an impression on the Nationals. So far it hasn't been a good one.
Marco Scutaro- SF- Hot- Scutaro has a 19-game hitting streak and multiple hits in all but 4 of them. He is 38-for-79 in that time span, raising his average from .215 to .337. Scutaro has gone past regression to the mean and seen the pendulum swing to an extreme in the opposite direction. His BABIP now stands at .356. Still, with a Batting EYE of 1.08, Scutaro is one to hold on to and not sell high. His drop will still leave him with value.
Edinson Volquez- SD- Cold- Volquez gave up 5 runs for the second straight start, this time allowing 8 runs, walking 1 and striking out 5 in 6 IP. He had only allowed 1 run through the 4th inning and looked like he might be getting back to the pitcher that had thrown 4 quality starts in 5 outings before he gave up the 5 runs in his last start. Then he yielded 4 runs in the 5th inning. Volquez did throw 62 of his 87 pitches for strikes so if you ignore the big inning, there is hope he will get back to where he was. Consistency, though, is an issue until Volquez strings more good starts together.
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