Justin Masterson pitched quite well for the Indians yesterday; 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. The relievers that followed him were charged with a grand total of zero runs.
Matt Cain pitched quite well for the Giants yesterday; 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The relievers that followed him were charged with a grand total of zero runs.
But the game isn’t still ongoing, which means someone had to scratch out a run somewhere. And so it was, in unusual fashion. Here’s how the bottom of the 7th went for San Francisco:
- Nate Schierholtz doubled but was thrown out at third nice break for Cleveland).
- Miguel Tejada reached on an error by second-baseman Cord Phelps (in his 9th career major league game – and already his third error).
- Chris Stewart popped out (seems like the duel will continue with the pitcher’s spot coming up).
- Matt Cain reached, on an error. By Cord Phelps. (That’s 4 in just 77 defensive innings now. His fielding percentage is .897.)
- First and second, two outs. Just need to get Andres Torres. Which will be the job of Tony Sipp, who came into the game for Masterson.
- Sipp walks Torres to load the bases.
- Sipp retires Emmanuel Burriss, but not before bringing in a run on a balk. Yes, a balk (called, of course, by “Balkin'” Bob Davidson).
So Masterson took the loss, showing once again why win-loss record is not a good way by which to judge pitchers. The only “bad” thing Masterson did in that inning was give up a double, which was immediately erased.
This was actually the 9th time this season that a pitcher ended up with an L despite giving up zero earned runs. The Giants have actually been on the receiving end twice, with Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner each taking losses. I don’t have much intuition on how rare losing 1-0 on a balk is, but the last time it happened was in 2006 (Jamie Moyer was the culprit, as the Rays beat the Mariners). Probably not a fun post-game.
Also last night: CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, and Jair Jurrjens moved into a tie for the major league lead in wins with their 10th victories; the Reds outhomered the Orioles 5-4 (and won 10-5), as the ball was flying out of Camden Yards; Trevor Cahill shut down the Phillies and beat Cole Hamels; and much more.
What to watch tonight: Not often will Clayton Kershaw be up against a pitcher with an ERA a full run below his (3.01), but that’s what’s going on in LA as the Angels send Jered Weaver (2.01) to the hill; the A’s Josh Outman will hope his his name is representative, as he duels Roy Halladay (trying to move into a tie for the major league lead in wins). Full schedule with probable pitchers here.
