Two Pitchers; Two Styles; One Result

Season: 73-69; Home Stand: 1-0
Wrap, Box

I loved this game. Two very different pitchers at work, few mistakes, pure baseball.

The Bulls guy, Bradin Hagens, is a pitch-to-contact guy. By that I mean that the opposing hitters are going to get a chance. And they did last night. But they just mostly hit the ball to Bulls fielders. Hagens did not give up a single walk in his 7 innings and had only one strikeout, the last batter. He even took on some of the fielding work himself with an unassisted putout in the 2nd and fielding two comebackers in the 3rd. Stats geeks will love him as well. His Game Score was 70, one of the best by a Bull all season. To top it off, he is finishing the season with four wins in a row.

The Tides guy, Chris Jones, was a bit more conventional and ended the night with 6 out of 7 innings of solid pitching, including 7 K’s with his 1 walk.

If not for the 1st inning, things could have been 0-0 when both pitchers left the game. But the 1st was enough. Rehabbing Steven Sousa (broken hand) was dh-ing and batting second. He got a hit. Taylor Motter walked. Sousa scored on a Corey Brown single. Motter scored on a Cameron Seitzer single. And that was essentially it for the rest of the game.

Yes, reliever Robert Zarate provided some thrills in the 9th. But a little cardio work is good after you’ve been sitting all that time.

I’m liking two of the new guys a lot. The first, who’s been here a while, is Joey Rickard. Quick hands at bat. Good in the outfield. Have not seen his arm tested yet. The second is recent arrival Cameron Seitzer, who appears to be a real pro at first base, in spite of last night’s E, and a decent left handed bat.

With this win (actually with Friday’s win) the Bulls are sure to finish the season above .500. Good news.

The Bulls set a new season attendance record with well over a half a million fans through the gates.

Outside the game —

• Hak-Ju Lee passed through waivers and has been assigned to the Bulls. At a guess he will be in uniform either tonight or tomorrow. Not sure of the rules.
• Gwinnett lost to Charlotte last night, but neither the South Division championship nor third place in the division is set. Nor has the West Division championship been decided. Standings.

Stee-rike!

Season: 63-66; Home Stand: 4-0
Games Left in Season: 15; Home Games: 10
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The game story from last night is, as it should be, Matt Moore’s 16 Ks (a Bulls record) and the 4 more by the relievers to set a season team high of 20 Ks. Certainly very fine performances by Matt Moore, Robert Zarate (who got the win) and Kirby Yates. And yet after Moore gave up the home run in the 6th, the Bulls were losing the game.

So, yes, there was some great pitching on both sides until the 7th. However, the Clippers put in Michael Roth to take the place of Toru Murata and Roth never got an out. In fact, it wasn’t until his 13th pitch that he even threw a strike. That is, he walked the bases loaded on 12 pitches, something of a pitching accomplishment all of its own. A Boog Powell sacrifice fly brought in the tying run and Roth was pulled from the game. A Nick Franklin single brought the go-ahead run in and a J.P. Arencibia single brought in two more.

The last time the Bulls won four games in a row was back in June, from the 7th to the 12th, but only two of those wins were at home. We have to go back to the end of May for four home wins. And lots of folks are showing up for the games as well.

A feature of the Bulls’ recent success has been plate discipline. They’ve drawn 21 walks over the last four games. Before we get too excited about that, however, we have to also note that they have struck out 35 times over the same four games (the Bulls lead the IL with 1,071 Ks on the season).

This win over Columbus is a modest help to Gwinnett in the wild card race. The Braves are still 2½ back, but aren’t out of it.

More Fun at the DBAP

Season: 61-66; Home Stand: 2-0
Games Left in Season: 17; Home Games: 12
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The hitters just kept hitting.

Everyone, except Hak-Ju Lee, got a hit. Mikie Mahtook had what may have been his best night of the year with a double and three singles. After twice getting cheated of a home run, once at the DBAP and once in Indianapolis, J.P. Arencibia got his 21st of the year over the Monster. Arencibia is the leading home run hitter in the International League. Taylor Motter got a double, his 36th, and he leads the International League in doubles.

Bradin Hagens, who had accumulated five losses and a no-decision since the All-Star break, was the beneficiary, although he did just fine on his own. He gave up just 1 run in his five innings. Robert Zarate had a much, much better inning than the awful oddity he had in Louisville the night before last (1 hit, 2 walks, 2 hit batsmen, 3 earned runs, 3 Ks). A clean three up, three down.

New guy Parker Markel arrived from Montgomery and pitched a clean 9th. It was the AAA debut of the 24-year old. He has 53 relief innings in 42 games with the Biscuits and a 3.23 ERA.

Outside the game —

• Markel was the only transaction reported yesterday. But with former Bull Jake McGee going on the DL for the Rays, we’d have to guess that there will be some more shuffling soon. One source is reporting that it’s Enny Romero.
• We’ve mentioned Matt Buschmann a lot the last couple of years. Local baseball writer Adam Sobsey did a fine background piece on him in a recent Grantland issue. Buschmann was recently seen at the DBAP coaching first base for the Louisville Bats and then, after a trade, on the mound for the Norfolk Tides. 
• A complete game, 1-hit shutout is a big, big deal. Congrats to former Bull Chris Archer. Stories here and here.

Leaving Indianapolis

Durham Bulls @ Indianapolis Indians, 16 August 2015

Bulls 1; Indians 4

Season: 58-65; Trip: 1-4

Wrap, Box, Indianapolis Star

Scott Diamond was back in a starting role (after following rehabbing Tampa Bay Ray Drew Smyly for a couple of games). He did just fine, although he did get charged with an unearned run. Dylan Floro and Robert Zarate (back from the DL), however, did not. Floro might be getting the hang of this reliever gig, though. He took the loss, but was better than his last two times out. Was Zarate ready? Does not look like it. He’s given up 4 runs in his two innings since his return.

J.P. Arencibia was at catcher last night, the 8th time this season. 

Outside the game —

• Joey Butler is back after an extended stay with the Rays. He was in 74 games with the Rays and just 24, so far, with the Bulls. Plus, although I’m sure it makes sense to somebody, I’m not sure why he’s back. At a guess some sort of matchup/platoon thing. 
• The N&O’s Monday minor league feature today has a nice article on the bull, as in “Hit Bull, Win Steak”.
• Interesting take on this year's season over at Triangle Cards podcast. Worth a listen.

Charts

Pitching and Hitting over the last 20 games. Pitching chart is cumulative ERA; the hitting chart is OPS on a game-by-game basis.

The Bulls were 7-13 over the 20 games. The relief crew was showing some improvement for a few games, but are now drifting back upwards. The hitters are roughly .100 below the International League average OPS.

Bats Away

Gotta admit he (she) is kind cute

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Matt Andriese looked really, really good

Season: 56-59; Home Stand: 4-6;
Games Remaining: 27; Home Games Remaining: 15
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

From the way it started, we have to say that this home stand could have been among the worst in Bulls history. Instead, it ended on an up note when the Bulls won three of the last four. Plus we got to see the talent of young Blake Snell as he threw a no-hitter through his five innings. He was followed by a very decent 1-hit, two innings outing by Everett Teaford, his best outing since being moved to the bullpen. C.J. Riefenhauser K’d the side (with a walk thrown in there). And Jim Miller “closed”.

The other game story was Mikie Mahtook, Taylor Motter and Joey Rickard. As mentioned the other day, Mahtook is simply looking more comfortable since his last return from the Rays. Maybe it was just a change of scenery. He was 2 for 4 with 5 RBI yesterday. Taylor Motter had what seems to be routine for him: an RBI double, and two walks. New guy Joey Rickard kept up his bid to stick in AAA with a triple and a single and 3 RBI.

The 9-run differential matches the one from Friday and gives us hope that the Bulls will wrap up the season with at least a few respectable, fun-to-watch games.

Outside the game—

• J.P. Arencibia is hanging out with the Rays, but has not gone on their roster. Rays catcher, former Bull Curt Casali was injured and the Rays wanted some insurance with the team. Mayo Acosta has been put on the active roster.
• Somehow I wasn’t paying attention to this: Robert Zarate, the mystery pitcher who came up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs in mid-June and who has been doing a terrific job, is on the disabled list. If anyone knows why, please jump in. I’ve been distracted recently.
• Desmond Jennings is not going to Norfolk for tonight’s game, but there’s been no official announcement of his status. 
• First base coach for the Louisville Bats last night? Former Bull Matt Buschmann. Oddly enough, he is featured on the Bulls home page today wearing his Bulls hat. 

Maile Makes Good

Season: 48-43; At Home: 22-21; This Home Stand: 2-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Home plate umpire Brian De Brauwere had his hands full last night. He was on the crew (at first base) back on May 1st when the Bulls played the PawSox up in Pawtucket. Veteran catcher for the PawSox, Humberto Quintero, chunked a full-strength throw into Bulls catcher Luke Maile’s gut and later in the game spiked Hak-Ju Lee. We summarized the aftermath at the end of a post back on May 3.

De Brauwere's first big challenge came in the 2nd inning. Cory Brown was attempting to score from second base and to everyone (except the one guy who mattered) it sure seemed like Brown made it past the tag. So we’d have to say he (De Brauwere) missed his first chance.

Corey Brown slides under Humberto Quinetero's tag
Photo by Sue Roth

If Quintero got a gift then, the Bulls Maile in the 5th did not. Again, folks in the stands figured that Boog Powell in left field made a perfect throw home to catch the runner. De Brauwere did not agree.

Maile tags Jamile Weeks
Photo by Sue Roth

However, as they say in some circles, payback …

Even after wearing out the grass between home and the pitcher's mound — Quintero must have gone out the mound 15 or 20 times last night trying to sort out the PawSox pitching crew; he was the main reason the game went on for 3½ hours — in the 8th the Bulls managed to load the bases. Luke Maile hit a very pretty double that cleared the bases putting three runs across and putting the Bulls ahead 8-7.

Even more fun in addition to Maile's 3 RBI ensued. Boog Powell singled and Maile moved to third base. Ryan Brett and Mikie Mahtook struck out and J.P. Arencibia came to bat. Boog Powell attempted a steal of second base. On the throw, Luke Maile headed for home. So we were seeing double steal in action. Powell beat the throw to second and the second baseman threw home. Quintero blocked the plate without the ball as he waited for the throw (remember he’s an old-school guy). Catcher’s interference was called and the run scored. Luke Maile, the young catcher Quintero had essentially slugged in the gut back in May had three RBI plus had stolen home for a fourth run (in the books it will go down as an error on the catcher)! So, in the eyes of WDBB, umpire Brian De Brauwere had redeemed himself.

It got better when he threw PawSox manager Kevin Boles out of the game a few minutes later. Boles was last seen flipping a bird at the ump. Here’s hoping he gets whacked with a serious fine for that bit of childishness.

Lots of other thrills in last night’s game as the Bulls seem refreshed from their break. Richie Shaffer showed a ton of plate discipline as he drew three walks and got a RBI on a bloop single. Corey Brown got two doubles. The team batted around twice and came from behind twice, something not typical in this year’s Bulls.

Roberto Zarate actually looked very good for 4⅔ innings, but that previously mentioned call at home and then an uncharacteristic error by Corey Brown messed things up for him. Similarly, C.J. Riefenhauser got some solid defense from catcher Luke Maile and almost got out of a bad start to the 8th. But then a 3-run homer had him with at least a blown save. He ended up, however, with the oddity of a blown save stat and a win stat.

Best of all from the pitching side is that, at least for this game, the Kirby Yates of 2014 came out of the bullpen and struck out the side. That is a very, very good sign for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Scanning down the Pawtucket roster we see our old friend Ronald Belisario looking very odd in his brand new PawSox hat. Expect we’ll see him the next day or so.
• Last night the paid attendance 10, 370 and it looked like almost all of them actually came to the game. Good vibe, even if some of them were members of the Red Sox Nation.

Bounce Back?

Season: 45-41; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Charlotte Observer

Incredible as it may sound, there were no roster moves yesterday.

New guy Robert Zarate had his third start and went 5+ innings, 102 pitches, for a no-decision. But what the Bulls needed was lots of innings with a low score and that's what they got. C.J. Riefenhauser put in his second appearance in two days and got the win. Jhan Mariñez, surely sharing with Jim Miller the honor of being the strong guy in this year’s bullpen, went for a 2-inning save.

Mariñez is having a terrific year and is one of the shining lights among those who are not on the St. Petersburg carousel (he isn't on the 40-man … yet). His numbers are superb, 4-1, FIP-2.89, ERA-2.09, WHIP-0.98, in 24 appearances. His only blemishes are two blown saves. At 26 he’s still young and someone who seems very dependable. Given the turmoil that Rays have gone through, it sure is nice to have someone to depend on.

Boog Powell is doing his job as leadoff man. His On Base Percentage of .405 leads the team (although he only has 38 plate appearances under his belt). He got on base by essentially out-running and out-dodging Charlotte’s first baseman last night, then came home on Corey Brown’s home run.

Is Nick Franklin coming into his own? It’s only 17 games so far, but his numbers are fine, .288/.339/.500. His triple last night in the 2nd led to the first Bulls run of the game and his single in the 6th brought in the tying run.

After Tuesday’s disaster, this was a fine, fine performance by all.

Outside the game —

• Interesting summary of the recent home stand of the Montgomery Biscuits. Seems that managers are not happy with each other.

Split in Ohio

Season: 41-36; Trip: 1-2
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2, Columbus Dispatch

The way the first game went, it looked as if the Bulls were back on track with exceptional starting pitching from new guy Robert Zarate and timely hitting from Ryan Brett and Corey Brown. Included in the good news was their first shutout since June 7 (OK, a 7 inning game, but it still looked good). J.P. Arencibia had his game as a catcher in the game as well (no wild pitches, no passed balls, no steals, pretty good).

The Bulls and the Clippers both went to their bullpens for the second game, and that looked OK until Ernesto Frieri could not hold on to the tie game in the 7th.

Richie Shaffer played first base in both games. A rusty Alexi Casilla struck out three times in the second game. New guy Boog Powell got two singles and two walks in the first game, plus a triple in the second game.

The Bulls will play a two-game set against the Clippers in August at the DBAP. Let’s hope they get a grip on themselves before then. This 1- 6 stretch has been tough.

Outside the game—

• Norfolk now leads the IL South Division.
• Matt Andriese is reportedly heading back to the Bulls.
• Scott Diamond has been assigned to the Montgomery Biscuits, but I’m suspicious about that. Smells like a paper transaction to me. He hasn’t been below AAA since 2010. I’m guessing he had an opt out, is looking for another job, or is about to be released. Decent numbers for a 2015 Bulls starter. In fact, he is essentially the best of the surviving three (Floro and Teaford being the other two).
• Bulls are off to Toledo to see if they have any better luck in that part of Ohio.

Continuing my interest in the Game Score stat, here’s the last 15 games. It shows the pretty dismal performance of the starting pitchers over the last several games. Starting pitching isn’t everything, of course, but it does make a difference.

click on chart for larger image

Mystery Pitchers; Bad Luck Ending

Season: 39-31; Home Stand: 0-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Starting pitcher last night was Robert Zarate. He did 4 innings. He was followed by Bradin Hagens for 3 innings. Who? Followed by whom?

Welcome to the 2015 Durham Bulls! Even with the diligent efforts of the front office, even with a program, it’s hard to keep track of the players on this year’s team. For that matter, even if you wear your radio at the park, sometimes they don’t know much about the players. So you just have to kind of figure it out on your own.

Zarate showed up a few days ago and pitched in relief in a couple of road games. Not much history available. Stats. But he looked pretty darned good last night. He only let one run in on his 61 pitches, several of which were in the high 90’s. I think he’s going to be fun to watch. He left with the game tied at 1-1.

Bradin Hagens just came up from Montgomery, where he was doing OK. Stats. He also did just fine. When he left the game was 2-2.

So it looks like the Rays have not done the Bulls too much harm in this round of moves.

Can’t say as much about this umpiring crew. So far they’ve called 10 Bulls games this year and they are not the best of the bunch. But it was a hot night and maybe, just maybe, the home plate ump could justify what was a bit of exuberant bat-tossing by both teams that led to two ejections. On the other hand, they really did miss the call on Cory Brown at second base and that really did make a difference.

Meanwhile, a bit of tactical trivia that also made a difference. Bulls managers have historically been very reluctant to call for intentional bases on balls. So far in 2015 manager Jared Sandberg has only asked for 6 in four games. The Bulls lost every one of those games.

Take last night. Top of the 10th. Game tied. Runner on second base. No outs. Jhan Marinez K’d a batter. Got a ground out (runner went  to 3B). Then told to intentionally walk Columbus’ Jesus Aguilar, who had 2 hits and 2 K’s on the night. Next batter hit a home run and Clippers were ahead 5-2.

The Bulls could not catch up. However, Third Baseman J.P. Arencibia hit his 11th home run and the Bulls did get within reach. Note: Vince Belnome started at 3B, but got thrown out of the game for throwing his bat after a called third strike in the 5th.

Outside the game —

• Former Bull, and Tampa Bay ace, Matt Moore is scheduled to start this afternoon. High hopes that he does well down in the bay area. Here too. Possibly the best pitcher we’ve had the opportunity to see here.

In the Wings —

• Over with the Montgomery Biscuits, Leonardo Reginatto started at 3B, then shifted over to pitch in the 15th(!) inning. He gave up a home run in a 1-0 loss. Juniel Querecuto was 0 for 5 at shortstop. Bryce Stowell pitched the 13th and 14th innings. Box. 

Standings

With the loss, the Charlotte Knights moved ahead of the Bulls in the International League South Division. This is a very competitive bunch of teams this year.

Good Pitching & Hitting, Umpire Thins Out Opposition

Season: 39-27; Trip: 4-1
Wrap, Box

With last night’s win the Durham Bulls went 12 games above .500, the best so far this year. Mid-season is only 6 games away (AAA only plays 144 games) and we have to say that the team’s record is terrific.

One reason is that they are getting good pitching from odd places. Last night reliever Jordan Norberto got his second start in a row and lasted even longer than last time. He essentially set the stage for Jim Miller, who got a win even though his stint was not impressive. Then the new guys, Robert Zarate and Kyle Winkler, pitched one inning each of shut out ball and semi-new guy Preston Guilmet (he seems to spend a lot of time on the Rays-Bulls shuttle) got his second save.

Another reason is youngster Richie Shaffer is just pounding the ball. I saw his shot last night and he just crushed a ball in that oddly shaped stadium. At the DBAP it might have gone over the Bull.

Maybe, just maybe, Alan Dykstra is coming out of his season-long slump. He was 3 for 4 last night and made his way above the Mendoza Line to .210. And there’s Cory Brown, who was named the International League Hitter of the Week yesterday. He had a very timely triple in the 6th that won the game for the Bulls.

For oddity, how about this? The home plate umpire threw out three Indians last night, all for grousing about balls and strikes. First it was hitting coach Butch Wynegar in the 3rd. Then in the 9th it was catcher Tony Sanchez, followed by manager Dean Treanor. The Bulls have seen a lot of this particular umpiring crew, 16 games this season. Last night it was a four-man version. It strikes me as particularly stupid for a catcher to argue balls and strikes on the first game of a three-game series.

Rostering —

• Two Bulls pitchers had Jun 15th opt-out clauses in their contracts: Matt Buschmann and Ronald Belisario. Just what circumstances were involved in the clauses aren’t clear (typically assignment to the 25-man active squad). Nevertheless, according to Broadcaster Patrick Kinas, both have exercised their options. That means the Rays have 48 hours to do some kind of deal or both players are gone. No matter what happens, it would seem that neither player will be back in a Bulls uniform. Also according to Kinas, both players were still with the team last night as they wait for decisions down in St. Petersburg.
• Too bad for the Bulls. Buschmann was the front end and Belisario was the back end of quite a few Bulls wins this year. Belisario is probably the best closer in the International League and Buschmann, while he’s never made it to the major leagues, is certainly an above average pitcher.  
• Meanwhile, catcher Bobby Wilson, the Rays backup catcher all this year, has accepted an assignment to the Bulls and should show up in a couple of days. That could add a lot of experience and depth to the team. Stats.
• And then there’s Grady Sizemore, who was signed yesterday by the Rays. He’ll probably show up with the Bulls after spending some time with the Stone Crabs. Not sure about that one. Stats.
• Additional commentary here and here,