Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
Streaking
Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)
The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year appears to finally be pitching like the ace of a staff with World Series aspirations. Verlander (9-4, 3.59 ERA) allowed three earned runs over six innings in an 8-5 win over the Royals last week, but most importantly he struck out 11 and walked none, proving his control is getting better.
The right-hander also is first in the AL with 141 total punchouts.
All that adds up to bad news for the Indians. In two starts against the Tribe earlier this year, Verlander combined to strike out 22 and allow only one run on four hits in 16 innings.
“This is certainly the best I've felt in a while," Verlander told the Associated Press. "This is why I worked so hard in the spring to get back to my natural arm angle. It wasn't easy - I felt like I was throwing sidearm for a week when I had only moved it an inch - but it is paying off."
Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)
The wild success of the 21 year old is one of the best kept secrets around the Dodgers organization.
Kershaw (6-5, 3.27 ERA) has been much better the past several weeks than his numbers would suggest. The left-hander has allowed only two runs in the past 29 2-3 innings as he has been dominant for Los Angeles. Kershaw, however, has been kept on tight inning and pitch counts and hasn’t lasted past the seventh inning this season.
If Kershaw learns how to keep down his walks – he has issued 54 free passes, second-most in the National League – he likely will be able to go deeper in games and be even more dominant. Last week in his most recent start, Kershaw gave up just three hits in six shutout innings against the Mets.
Slumping
Dustin Nippert (Texas Rangers)
Nippert barley made it through more innings (3 2-3) than earned runs he allowed (3) in his first start this season after being activated from the DL.
Texas had hoped the 28-year-old right-hander would bolster its staff, but instead Nippert will likely be pitching to keep the No. 5 spot in the team’s rotation against the Mariners. His nagging injury has been a strained right shoulder.
Nippert once was a young prospect for the Diamondbacks, but after failing to make an impact in Arizona, he tried to find a spot on the pitching-poor Rangers. If Nippert, who began the season with just 11 career starts, can’t keep a spot in the rotation, he will need to find a new place to call home.
Bruce Chen (Kansas City Royals)
Chen almost had us fooled. After allowing four runs in 6 1-3 innings against Pittsburgh in his season debut last month, the 10-year veteran appeared a little rusty, but solid. Then, he followed that performance by giving up just two earned runs in six innings against the White Sox.
But last week, Bruce was back to being the Bruce Chen we all know: seven earned runs, five walks and three home runs allowed in just 4 2-3 innings as the Tigers smoked the Royals, 8-5.
Good luck against the Red Sox, Bruce.
"That's five homers in three starts he’s allowed," Royals manager Trey Hillman said of Chen to the Associated Press. "And, four of them have been on the same pitch -- a changeup that he leaves up. When you keep making the same mistakes on the same pitch, you need to make some kind of adjustment.”
