Luis Gonzalez- LAN- Hot- Gonzalez is riding a 5-game hitting streak in which he has gone 6-for-15 to bring his batting average back up to .317. So far this season he has recorded an astounding Batting EYE of 1.80. Of course, it's early so don't count on Gonzalez maintaining it that high, but he is normally at or above the 1.00 level in Batting EYE by the time the season has come to a close. Dodger Blue seems to be a good color for him so far.
Kyle Davies- ATL- Cold- Of Davies' 90 pitches in 4 innings of work against the Marlins yesterday, 46 of them were out of the strike zone. That is rarely a good sign, and it certainly wasn't for him. Davies ended up getting charged with 5 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks in the appearance, while striking out 2. It gives him 11 walks in 16 innings. Davies seemed to be getting a handle on control problems that had plagued him early in spring training, but they are back. In his first start of the year he threw 117 pitches (including 22 in the 7th inning before he was removed with 2 outs) and each successive outing has been worse. There may be some sort of carryover factor there, either fatigue or injury. If Davies tosses another stinker his next time out, the latter would seem more likely.
Dontrelle Willis- FLA- Cold- Maybe Willis was distracted on the mound by the happy thoughts of his impending fatherhood. It certainly didn't impair his hitting. However, despite getting the win, the D-Train has now thrown two consecutive poor games. His 8 hits and 3 walks leading to 5 runs in 6-2/3 innings while striking out 3 is not what he wants to do on a regular basis. Yet, add that to his previous start and Willis has given up 12 earned runs on 18 his and 5 walks in 11-2/3 IP. His ERA has ballooned to 5.58. Willis' pitch counts this season have not been excessively high, a factor that has correlated with cold streaks in the past, so that's not a cause. Watch him the next time out to see if he rebounds.
Jamey Carroll- COL- FYI- In a desperate attempt to generate offense from Rockies whose last name does not start with the letter "H,"manager Clint Hurdle moved Carroll back to the top of the order. Last year, Carroll tied for the highest OBP by a leadoff hitter, with a .372 mark. The move did not pay off immediately, as Carroll went 0-for-4 with a walk. Still, his .321 OBP while not stellar by any means, is one of the better marks on Colorado. Carroll has shown a comfort level in the leadoff spot, so this move could benfit him and help him increase the OBP as well as his batting average, currently an anemic .224.
Brad Lidge- HOU- FYI- It was more inconsistency from Lidge yesterday. Mopping up in the bottom of the 8th, he struck out the side, but also surrendered 2 hits, including a double, to lead off the inning before settling down. Lidge just seems to need a change of venue to find himself again. Or maybe he should try Hare Krishna.
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