The start with the best game score this year is not Ervin Santana’s no hitter (94). It’s not Justin Verlander’s no-hitter (90), or his 12 K performance (93). It’s certainly not Fransisco Liriano’s no-hitter (83). It’s not a start be James Shields (topping out at 93 with a major league high seven starts at 80 or more). It’s Chris Capuano (he of the career 4.36 ERA) from last night.
Capuano absolutely dominated the Braves; 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K. The lefty made Michael Bourn miserable with 4 punch-outs, and the 13 overall K’s weren’t cheapies – he didn’t get any of them versus opposing pitchers. In fact, the only Atlanta starters he didn’t get on strikes were Martin Prado and Alex Gonzalez. On top of that, one of the baserunners he allowed was immediately erased via a double play ball.
It looks like Capuano mesmerized the Braves’ batters, pounding the strike-zone with his fastball then throwing the change-up (more to righties) and the slider (more to lefties) down to get them to chase. In fact, Capuano threw as many change-ups as fastballs and about half as many break-balls, so hitters were more likely than not to see an off-speed pitch. That seems effective when you’re ahead in the count so much, and he threw 77 of his 118 pitches for strikes.
So if the Braves were taking they were going down – since he was throwing strikes – and if they swung they seemed to have no chance. They whiffed at 25% of the fastballs they swung at – by comparison, for the season Justin Verlander has a 15% or so whiff rate on his heater. Capuano also had a 38% whiff rate on the slider (Clayton Kershaw is at 41% with his for the year), and 48% with the change (Cole Hamels is at 46%). Pre-ttay, pre-ttay, pre-ttay good.
Also last night: The Orioles beat up on the Yankees, 12-5, hitting 3 home runs; James Shields picked up his 10th complete game of the season as the Rays beat the Jays 6-1; the A’s offense continued their second-half roll as the hung 15 on the Red Sox in Boston; and much more.
What to watch tonight: Ervin Santana and CJ Wilson face off as the Angels try to catch the Rangers in the AL West; Justin Verlander tries to become the major’s first 20-game winner, against the Twins; and Eric Surkamp makes his ML debut for the Giants against the Astros (so it’s a nice transition from the minors to the majors). Full schedule with probable pitchers here.
