Alex Rios had himself a ballgame last night as he went 4-6 with a HR, 3 runs scored and an RBI. The performance brings Rios’ BA up to .281 on the year and I think he’s starting to finally break out. The young slugger is hitting .454 (10-22) in his last 5 games with four multi-hit performances in that span. He’s also started to show a little power with three 2B and 1 HR during this stretch as well as 5 R and 3 RBI. We’ve been waiting for Rios to finally get his act together and it appears he’s done that by way of getting the ball in the air a little more and also turning his luck around (BHIP is up noticeably since June 13). The only downside of Rios’ play lately is the absence of SB (none in his last 10 games).
Ever since Aaron Laffey was pummeled by Texas on June 2nd, he’s been back to tossing quality starts on a regular basis. He extended his QS to four consecutive last night as he allowed just 1 ER and 3 BB in 6.2 IP but failed to get the win due to the ever-present, infallible inadequacy of the Cleveland Bullpen. In his last 25.1 IP, Laffey has allowed 7 ER on 23 H, has walked 9 and struck out 8. The K/BB is no surprise as he’s about control rather than power and he seems to be able to get himself out of jams when he issues free passes. His BHIP will rise in all likelihood from its current .274 mark and I think his strand rate will drop as well, meaning his ERA will not stay sub-3.00 for much of the season. However, I do believe he’s a guy who won’t give you a ton of disaster starts and is good for ERA and WHIP control on the back end.
Zach Greinke put together his third straight quality start as he struck out 10 Rockies in 6 IP, allowing 3 ER on 9 H. Greinke has been very solid since his outing against the Yankees a couple weeks ago, allowing just 4 ER in 20 IP with 22 K. There were question marks regarding whether he could put together a complete season of solid numbers when he gave up 8 runs to the White Sox and then 4 more to the Yanks but he has quieted those questions quickly. I slotted him back in the rotation for the Arizona game and it has paid off.
After heating up from June 5th to June 11th, Bobby Abreu has cooled off big time in his last 10 contests. Abreu finally showed signs of life last night with a meaningless two-run jack in bottom of the ninth, concluding his 1-4 night and keeping his BA at .273. Since June 12th, however, Abreu is hitting a pitiful .121 (5-41) with 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R and just 2 BB. Abreu is a far better hitter when he does what he does best – draw walks. He forces the pitcher to throw at least 4-5 pitches per AB, and while he still may be doing that he’s simply not making good contact when he finally swings. I think inconsistencies like this can be expected of Abreu from here on out as he gets older. I wouldn’t worry though, he’ll hit an upswing again and hopefully the homer last night will spark it.
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