This Past Weekend's Performances June 27, 2010

For the second weekend in a row, pitching proved powerful against the bats. Here's a rundown of some of those performances

Edwin Jackson
Jackson threw a complete game no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays. He needed 149 pitches to become the 2nd player in Arizona Diamonbacks history to throw a no-hitter (Randy Johnson threw a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves on May 17, 2004.) Jackson walked 8 and struck out 6 in the victory. He is the 4th pitcher to throw a no-no against his former team since 1950 and the first since 1990.

Jeff Niemann
Niemann was on the losing end of Edwin Jackson's no-hitter. Niemann pitched 7.1 innings giving up 6 hits , 1 Run (1 Earned), 2 walks and 8K's for only his 2nd loss of the season. The Rays are the first team to be no-hit three times in 12 months. Also, the Rays are the first team since the '01 Padres to be no-hit twice in one season, and they are the first American League team since the 1977 California Angels.

C.C. Sabathia
8.0IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 7K's against the Dodgers

Vincent Padilla
7.0IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 7K's against the Yankees

Carl Pavano
CG 3H, 0R, 1BB, 4K's. 2nd straight complete game victory (Phillies and Mets)

Trevor Cahill
7.2IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 10K's, against the Pirates to improve to 7-2 with a 2.88ERA

Josh Johnson
8.0IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 9K's, 1.83ERA in loss to the Padres

Aaron Cook
CG 8.0IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 3K's in loss to the Angels

Joe Saunders
7.0IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 8K's against the Rockies

Chris Narveson
8.0IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 7K's against Seattle

Jon Lester
9.0IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 9K's, 2.86ERA against the Giants

Clayton Kershaw
7.0IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 5K's in a No-Decision against the Yankees.

Let's see if the trend continues next weekend.
FH

The Red Sox's Rotation is set and stacked

Sometimes you have to give the devil his due. My friends who are Red Sox fans would say that the "Devil" tag belongs to the Yankees but hey, it's my blog and I'll say what I want to, LOL. Anyway, the Red Sox on Monday announced that they have extended Josh Beckett's contract by four-year $68 million dollars. Now that he's signed until the end of the 2014 season, this gives the Red Sox tremendous stability in their starting rotation. Both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are signed for another five seasons. John Lackey was this past off-season's big signing for Boston and has him side-by-side with Lackey until 2014. This is not even taking into account that Daisuke Matsuzaka is signed until 2012 and Tim Wakefield until 2011.


I know some of the Red Sox faithful have complained about Dice-K in the last two seasons but there is no denying that he paid dividends in his first two seasons when he went a combined 33-15 with a 3.72 ERA (18-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 2008). Sure that gives the Bosox a decided edge in pitching against the rest of the majors for years to come. Lets see if the bats can produce enough runs to outscore what the pitching gives up.

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for the New York Times article on the Beckett Signing