Gosh, when we were thinking John Thomson might replace Greg Maddux, we didn’t think he’d be Maddux circa 1993. But there he was, going eight innings on 94 pitches, 65 strikes, allowing one run on seven hits, striking out seven and walking none. Where was this a week ago when the bullpen needed the rest? Chris Reitsma finished the game allowing one hit but no runs, and the Braves had probably their best-played game of the year.
Offensively, the cobbled-together lineup managed nine hits, seven of them singles, and four walks. But they bunched the damage into the third inning, getting five runs out of it and cruising from there. You aren’t normally going to get six runs that way, but I’ll take it. Wise had two hits and scored twice, Giles a hit and two walks, and even Jesse Garcia had two hits. The bench never came into play, which is good because it consisted of Eddie Perez and Julio Franco. Mike Hessman, as expected, was optioned to Richmond.
Ramirez and Leiter go tomorrow; winner escapes the series with second place and a better than .500 record, though right now the Marlins look like they’re never going to lose.
how about some props for Wise?
Wise actually hit another ball past Piazza at 1st that they called an error, and he reached second on it. That would have put him a homer short of the cycle.
Yeah, good show. Actually the first game I wasn’t able to see any portion of, and I was pleasantly surprised on getting home and seeing highlights.
So Wise, DeRosa and Garcia actually all had good nights at the plate. This is a good thing. IT’s also nice to see the sun come out for the first time this week in New York. If we can get the rubber game of this series, we’ll be in decent shape considering what things looked like earlier in the week. (except for having to play the defending champs this weekend).
Did anyone watch Thomson? Did he look as good as his numbers suggest? I’m excited if the second half of the rotation keeps up the good form. One would have to hope Ortiz and Hampton will eventually come around to their expected levels.
Thomson looked great. His off-speed stuff had several guys looking ridiculous on strikeouts. As is his M.O., his control was good, which caused him to get good calls.