2021 Series #33 | Indians @ Blue Jays | Aug. 2-5

Gotta love the 15 hits. Too bad we didn't have a major league starter going tonight but that's what happens when you lose two starters to injury.

I thought Mejia might have a decent start against a heavy right-handed lineup but he wasn't up to it.

cliffdawg said:

At this point I whether stretch out Stephan then see Mejia start again…….

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I don't understand why this hasn't happened, but what in the hell do I know.

That was a super bad start, but a great finish! I'm glad to see they finished strong, both hitting and pitching wise.

bullpen went 5.2 shutout innings - but a big asterisk when it took garza all of one pitch to allow both base runners he inherited to score - had he been better out of the chute, well....

A BP giving 5+ innings of scoreless baseball and an offense scoring 6 runs should end in a win about 95% of the time. One can't help but wonder where this team would be with Bieber and Civale in the rotation.

I'm starting to think OMiller can be the guy at 2B. At the very least he should be able to give you what we got from Kipnis.

Mott the Hoople said:

I'm starting to think OMiller can be the guy at 2B. At the very least he should be able to give you what we got from Kipnis.

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baby steps - tonight a multi-hit game - improvement say from June when he didnt even have a multi-hit month

Mott the Hoople said:

I'm starting to think OMiller can be the guy at 2B. At the very least he should be able to give you what we got from Kipnis.

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Kip was a 4 WAR player when he was healthy.

In his MLB debut at the same age as Miller, he put up an .840 OPS...one third higher than league average.

Time for good Tristan tonight. His last 8 starts:

5/21 3.1 IP, 6 ERs
5/26 5.0 IP, 0 ERs
5/31 5.1 IP, 5 ERs
7/9 7.0 IP, 0 ERs
7/20 4.0 IP, 5 ERs
7/25. 6.0 IP, 2 ERs (v. Tampa)
7/31 4.0 IP, 6 ERs

He's been alternating good and bad starts most of the season. Now I'm looking for him to start increasing that to two good starts for every bad start. Tonight he's due for a good start but he's up against the #2 offense in the A.L. so it won't be easy.

He might want to walk Springer to start the game. Which reminds me, he's walked only 6 batters in his last 21 innings. Big improvement. The problem has been six home runs in his last three starts.

Three of those home runs were by Altuve and Nelson Cruz, so no shame there. What hurt were the two home runs by a White Sox catcher hitting .143, including a grand slam. Those were the first two home runs of his career.

Home runs have accounted for 9 of the 13 runs McKenzie has allowed in his last three starts. If he can continue to keep the walks down while reducing the home runs it would help tremendously. But he walks a fine line with that high fastball. If it's too high batters recognize it's a ball and don't swing. If it's too low it gets blasted. If it's right at the top edge of the zone he gets the foul balls and swings-and-misses. It's a Goldilocks pitch - it has to be just right, and if he misses he needs to miss high.

Both Mercado and Owen Miller are showing signs of relaxing at the dish while slowing the game down.. moreso for Miller.. Mercado's bat appears to be getting a LOT quicker..

Gson said:

Both Mercado and Owen Miller are showing signs of relaxing at the dish while slowing the game down.. moreso for Miller.. Mercado's bat appears to be getting a LOT quicker..

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Since his last call-up Miller is only 3-for-14 but he does have three walks and, most importantly, 3 K's in 17 plate appearances. That's huge improvement from before when he was striking out 50% of the time. He's either walked or put the ball in play in 14 of 17 PA's and that's definitely progress. He also is showing some pop as he has a HR and a double in those three hits.

I think it was the game against the White Sox where he hit a change-up on the outside corner at the knees over the center field wall. Then he got jammed and hit a fly ball to the warning track in right. I remember thinking, "Damn, this kid has more pop than your typical middle infielder".

Mercado is hitting .262/.744 the last 30 days. Those are better numbers than Harold Ramirez, Zimmer, and Naylor have put up this year. Also better than Eddie Rosario (.254/.685). If Oscar can keep it up we may just have something when you factor in his range in the OF and speed on the bases.

Wham with the Right Hand said:

Since his last call-up Miller is only 3-for-14 but he does have three walks and, most importantly, 3 K's in 17 plate appearances. That's huge improvement from before when he was striking out 50% of the time. He's either walked or put the ball in play in 14 of 17 PA's and that's definitely progress. He also is showing some pop as he hit a HR and a double in those three hits.

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I liked Owen's single to right center against the Jays last night.. an inside the ball swing of his bat that stayed in the hitting zone for about a half hour..

I'm ready to say no mas on Mejia. He's obviously overmatched and I'm wondering if continuing to throw him out there is damaging his confidence. He's not ready for the ML.

Wham with the Right Hand said:

Since his last call-up Miller is only 3-for-14 but he does have three walks and, most importantly, 3 K's in 17 plate appearances. That's huge improvement from before when he was striking out 50% of the time. He's either walked or put the ball in play in 14 of 17 PA's and that's definitely progress. He also is showing some pop as he has a HR and a double in those three hits.

I think it was the game against the White Sox where he hit a change-up on the outside corner at the knees over the center field wall. Then he got jammed and hit a fly ball to the warning track in right. I remember thinking, "Damn, this kid has more pop than your typical middle infielder".

Mercado is hitting .262/.744 the last 30 days. Those are better numbers than Harold Ramirez, Zimmer, and Naylor have put up this year. Also better than Eddie Rosario (.254/.685). If Oscar can keep it up we may just have something when you factor in his range in the OF and speed on the bases.

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musta been the apples and oranges and cherry stats tree - zimmer over the last 30 days is 309/815

Wham with the Right Hand said:

Since his last call-up Miller is only 3-for-14 but he does have three walks and, most importantly, 3 K's in 17 plate appearances. That's huge improvement from before when he was striking out 50% of the time. He's either walked or put the ball in play in 14 of 17 PA's and that's definitely progress. He also is showing some pop as he has a HR and a double in those three hits.

I think it was the game against the White Sox where he hit a change-up on the outside corner at the knees over the center field wall. Then he got jammed and hit a fly ball to the warning track in right. I remember thinking, "Damn, this kid has more pop than your typical middle infielder".

Mercado is hitting .262/.744 the last 30 days. Those are better numbers than Harold Ramirez, Zimmer, and Naylor have put up this year. Also better than Eddie Rosario (.254/.685). If Oscar can keep it up we may just have something when you factor in his range in the OF and speed on the bases.

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After a pathetic start Miller is showing a little something at the plate but his so so glove and poor throws should be a concern.