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Three Pitchers Get Their First Career Hit in the Same Game

Pat LackeyPosted Jul 7th 2008 11:28PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Houston, Astros, Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh, The Word

When I sat down tonight to watch the Pirates and Astros, I didn't really think I'd be seeing anything all that special. The Pirates and 'Stros are tied for last in the NL Central, after all, and both teams have been pretty frigid of late. When Phil Dumatrait picked up an RBI single in the first, the announcers mentioned it was his first career hit. Then i the in the fourth, Runelvys Hernandez laid down a bunt into noman's land and scored a run. Again, the announcers noted it was his first career hit. That seemed mildly more interesting. In the bottom of the fourth, Denny Bautista came to the plate. Yep, RBI single, first career hit. Now that's odd.

Now, I'm only a baseball historian on Sunday afternoons after three beers, but it strikes me as incredibly rare that three pitchers all managed to pick up their first career hits and have them all be RBI singles in the same game. I'm sure it's happened before, but probably not all that often. I guess it's not all that surprising that it happened in a game where the starters combined to give up 17 runs, but I'm still impressed.

In case you'd forgotten, Runelvys Hernandez is the guy that kicked off the whole Shawn Chacon saga by taking Chacon's spot in the Astros rotation. Tonight he managed to actually give up ten runs (including two RBI singles to pitchers that had no career hits coming into the night), which is pretty rare for a starter. I imagine Shawn Chacon's looking in a mirror somewhere and feeling pretty good about himself.

The Pirates Get Good News

Pat LackeyPosted Jun 23rd 2008 6:54PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, MLB Injuries, Pittsburgh

It would be a pretty staggering blow for just about any Major League team to lose two pitchers from the starting rotation at the same time. It would be particularly crippling for the Pirates, who really only have five even remotely capable starters in the entire organization. That's the situation they faced yesterday after putting Phil Dumatrait on the disabled list with a shoulder problem, then watching Ian Snell leave his start early with elbow discomfort.

Today both starters went into the hospital for exams (Snell an arthogram, Dumatrait an MRI) and the Pirates got some good news; neither pitcher has any structural damage in their pitching arms. Snell has "golfer's elbow" and might miss a start, while Dumatrait has bursitis, but no real damage to his rotator cuff. He should be ready to go when his DL stint is up on July 5th.

Of course, this is only middling good news for the Pirates. Snell has been flat out terrible this year and a little bit of golfer's elbow doesn't seem to be enough of an injury to explain his struggles. Dumatrait and his 4.66 ERA is probably the most pleasant surprise on the Pirates' staff, which is more than depressing. Still, both of them being reasonably healthy means that John Van Benschoten won't be getting a ton of starts in the near future. Let's be thankful for small favors.

Spot Jobs: Lovin' Billingsley, Avoiding Ollie, and Waiting on Joba

Matt SnyderPosted Jun 9th 2008 12:26AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: MLB Locking Your Lineup, Fantasy MLB

Our version of "fantasy start'em/sit'em" for one-start pitchers of the week. We hope you assume the Brandon Webbs are auto-starts and the Dave Bushes are auto-sits. Specific lineup questions? Email us!

Five Up

Chad Billingsley -- Only the Nationals have scored less runs in the NL than the Padres, and that ballpark is absolute rape on fly balls. That should help Billingsley, who is somewhat susceptible to the longball. He's been plagued by a lack of run support this season -- and that may continue with Randy Wolf on the opposite bump in that park -- but has been dealing of late. In his past five starts he's compiled a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings while striking out 31. Of course, he's only 2-1 in that stretch. Hopefully the Dodgers can push two across for him Wednesday night, because that should be enough.

Sean Gallagher -- The Braves offense is already much worse on the road, but now it appears Chipper -- the only Brave hitting better than .271 on the road thus far at .371 -- will likely miss the entire series at Wrigley. The young Gallagher has settled decently into the Cubs rotation, going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 17/5 K/BB in 17+ innings during his last three starts.
Continue Reading Spot Jobs: Lovin' Billingsley, Avoiding Ollie, and Waiting on Joba

Two Start Pitchers: Week 10

Will BrinsonPosted Jun 1st 2008 11:55PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: MLB Locking Your Lineup, Fantasy MLB

Not a particularly strong two start pitcher group this week. However, there are some rather odd names. Rich Harden is odd, only because he is rarely healthy. When he is -- that being now -- he is a must start. Another interesting name is Joba Chamberlain, who is now a starter with the Yankees and gets two runs this week. Start him, but keep your expectations low; he is going to be limited per the Joba Rules.

In terms of nice sleeper options, Kevin Slowey has been pretty outstanding over his last 15 innings, winning both starts and going the distance against the Royals while only allowing one run and three walks with eight strikeouts in that span.

Justin Masterson is a long shot to get two starts but it's not inconceivable that the Sawx are careful with Dice-K, meaning he could be a nice option.

Jo-Jo Reyes and Jorge Campillo for the Braves both have good starts and are certainly usable in deeper leagues. Jonathan Sanchez is a high risk starter but personally, I like rolling the dice because of his K potential. Phil Dumatrait is a reasonable gamble if you feel like playing behind courtesy of the Pirates.

Got questions about your lineup? Hit up Fantasy FanHouse via email.

Pitcher Team First Start Second Start
Carlos Zambrano CHC at SD at LAD
Roy Halladay TOR at NYY v. BAL
Rich Harden OAK v. DET v. LAA
Aaron Harang CIN at PHI at FLA
Adam Wainwright STL v. PIT at HOU
Continue Reading Two Start Pitchers: Week 10

Phil Dumatrait Gets His First Win

Pat LackeyPosted May 7th 2008 10:04PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh

I'm gonna let you in on a secret: despite my rough, cynical, blogger exterior, I occasionally feel happy for baseball players. I particularly have a soft spot for guys that spend lots of years toiling in the minors, only to eventually find some modicum of big league success. I'm not talking back from the dead or anything, just things like Phil Dumatrait picking up his first big league win with the Pirates tonight.

Back in 2000, the Red Sox picked Dumatrait in the first round with the 22nd pick. In 2003 he was traded to the Reds and he promptly blew out his arm, missing all of 2004 and delaying his debut until late last season. He didn't pitch very well with the Reds and on September 9th, he actually gave up three homers in a row to start a game against the Brewers. After the season was over, he was placed on waivers by the Reds and claimed the Pirates. Ouch.

He managed to make the Pittsburgh squad as a reliever, but he's recently moved into the rotation with the release of Matt Morris. I'd be lying to you if I said expectations were high, but tonight Dumatrait tossed 5 and 2/3 scoreless innings against the Giants and the Pirates held a slim lead to pick up his first career win. And yeah, it was against the Giants, but it doesn't count any less. If you look hard enough beyond the steroids and alleged statutory rape and blow-up sex toys, every once in a while there's a guy worth being happy for.

On Deck: Zito Returns

Tom FornelliPosted May 7th 2008 12:06PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Yankees, Indians, Mets, Pirates, Dodgers, Giants



On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Pittsburgh Pirates (13-19) vs. San Francisco Giants (14-19) - 7:05PM Est.

The Giants tried Barry Zito as a starting pitcher for a little over a year, but it didn't work out.

The Giants tried Barry Zito as a relief pitcher, but after only eight days in the bullpen, that wasn't quite working out either.

The Giants wanted to try Barry Zito as a corpse at the bottom of McCovey Cove, but the law doesn't look highly upon such actions, so with no other alternatives, they've decided to try him as a starter one more time.

Tonight baseball's worst contract will return to the mound as a starter, bringing with him that 0-6 record, the 7.53 ERA, and that 1.95 WHIP of his.
Continue Reading On Deck: Zito Returns

The Pirates Release Matt Morris

Pat LackeyPosted Apr 27th 2008 12:42PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh, MLB Transactions

At some point, everyone has to say enough is enough. The Pirates' started the year with Matt Morris in their rotation, mostly in hopes that he could shake off last year's awful second half and replicate 2007's hot start, allowing the Pirates to ship some of him and his $10 million salary out of town. Of course, most people didn't expect that and wondered just how long the Pirates would stick with Morris. The answer? Five starts, 22 and 1/3 innings, six home runs, and 24 earned runs. After being shelled by the Phillies last night, the Pirates had had enough:
"It's been kind of a whirlwind morning,'' manager John Russell said. "Matt Morris has been a true professional. He's had a great career. He wanted to help us win, and it just wasn't happening."
It was obvious to everyone that Morris didn't have anything on the ball. His last two starts were more painful to watch than anything, because it was obvious that he was every bit as frustrated by his struggles as the fed-up Pirate fans. In the end, it was obvious to even the low-budget Pirates that eating the remainder of his salary was best for both Morris and the team. Well, I don't know that putting Phil Dumatrait into the rotation can qualify as "best for the team," but a change definitely had to be made.

Sean Burnett Has a Kid, Gets Cut

Pat LackeyPosted Mar 28th 2008 11:38AM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh, MLB Transactions

There's not many people that can manage to feel bad for professional athletes. Getting paid huge sums of money to entertain and play a kids game isn't exactly a profession that many people find worthy of sympathy. Still, it's not all smooth sailing for every athlete. Some guys spend most of their lives playing baseball and still manage to get a raw deal. Pirates' pitcher Sean Burnett is definitely one of those guys.

The Pirates made Burnett a first round pick out of high school in 2000 and he mostly cruised through the minors towards his major league debut in 2004. After a good beginning with the Pirates (he won five starts in a row at one point), he had some elbow pain and needed Tommy John surgery, resulting in him missing all of 2005. Since he's come back, he's struggled with arm strength and control and turned in two subpar years in AAA, finally resulting in
him being dropped off the 40-man roster this winter in favor of Ray Olmedo.

This spring, new Pirates' GM Neal Huntington asked Burnett to move into the bullpen and he responded beautifully. In ten innings he only allowed one run and three hits, striking out eight. Given his history, that might not be enough to make the pen on most teams, but the Pirates only had three bullpen spots filled when camp opened this year and Burnett far out-performed most of the other candidates for a spot. Still Burnett found himself on the outside yet again this year because he can be demoted to AAA while Evan Meek has to make the team as a Rule 5 pick and Phil Dumatrait is out of options. Unfortunately, he had to receive the news over the phone because he was out of camp. He was out of camp because he was celebrating the birth of his first child.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntington said Burnett was "angry, frustrated, and disappointed," over being cut. Indeed.

Phil Dumatrait Probably Had a Worse Day Than You

Pat LackeyPosted Sep 9th 2007 8:48PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Reds, Brewers, NL Central, Cincinnati, Milwaukee

Maybe you're thinking you had a pretty crappy day today. After all, by the end of the day there will have been 13 NFL games played, which means that 13 teams will have lost. Or maybe you're a Cubs fan and you saw your team fall out of first place. Maybe you're a Jay Gibbons fan (don't laugh, my roommate in college was one) and you're down about his alleged steroid use. Still, Reds' pitcher Phil Dumatrait probably had a worse day than you did. I'll let the box score illustrate for you. Keep in mind that the following is unedited and is from the first inning of today's Reds/Brewers game.
Pitching: Phil Dumatrait
Rickie Weeks: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Rickie Weeks hits solo home run to left-center field
J.J. Hardy: Ball, J, J, Hardy hits solo home run to right field
Ryan Braun: Ball, Foul, Ryan Braun hits solo home run to center field
Prince Fielder: Prince Fielder singles to left-center field
Corey Hart: Ball, Corey Hart singles to center field, Prince Fielder to second
Tom Shearn in for Phil Durmatrait
That's right. Three straight homers to lead off the game, then two singles for good measure. Dumatrait threw 12 pitches and three of them got whacked out of the park, while two more of them got hit for singles. The Brewers ended up hitting three more homers before the game was over (Weeks and Braun went yard again and Johnny Estrada joined the party) to cruise to the 10-5 victory that put them back in first place in the NL Central alone for the first time since August 16th.
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