Masterson the Man for the Indians
Justin Masterson started what will hopefully be another winning streak as the Tribe beat Baltimore on Friday night.
Masterson gave up one run on four hits in seven innings as the Indians beat the Orioles 8-2 for their fifth consecutive win at Progressive Field. Masterson is now 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA on the season.
”He was tremendous,” manager Manny Acta told The Beacon Journal. ”He threw 20 first-pitch strikes to the 26 guys he faced. He had good velocity and good sink on his fastball. All they could do was beat the ball into the ground.”
”A lot of it is throwing strikes, pitching ahead in the count rather than behind,” Masterson said. ”It’s very simple, subtle stuff [altering his mechanics], but I’ve done it enough that I don’t have to think about it.”
The Indians are now 9-2 in their last 11 games, fueled by starting pitching that has been off the charts.
During that stretch, the starters have thrown 74 innings and given up just 15 earned runs – a 1.82 ERA. They’ve also gone an average of 6.2 innings in their starts.
Compare that, for example, to the much-hyped Phillies rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton.
In their last 11 starts, the Phillies starters have a 4.19 ERA, giving up 31 earned runs in 66.1 innings of work.
Oh, and the Tribe is paying its starting rotation just a shade over $8 million this year. The Phillies? They have $67 million invested this year in their starting five.
Impressed yet?
And as good as the starters have been, the main guys in the bullpen have been even better. Tony Sipp, Chris Perez, Rafael Perez and Vinnie Pestano have yet to give up a run in 22 combined innings of work.
Josh Tomlin gets his turn today (weather permitting) to build on the streak of solid outings from the starters.
Red Right 88 