Originally Posted by
dlunc3
Looking at the win/loss record and a quick glance at the ERA, it is easy to say pineda is better right now... but if you dig into it more, Oswalt has not been as bad as people think. His record is skewed bc of the lack of run support in games he has pitched. Before last game, he had only given up more then two runs twice all season in 11 games (if it werent for two botched double play balls by Utley and Valdez, it would have only been once). And last game, he gave up 3 runs in the first, but then locked it down and did not give up another the rest of the game to secure the win. He also has a better ERA on the road this season then at home (2.90). I do not have an exact stat for this comment, but watching this team last year and this yr, it has become evident that each of the fab four starting pitchers have a tendency to ride out each others momentum. They dont like to be shown up by each other, and so after one puts out a strong outing, the others usually follow. Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels have both pitched gems this week, and I would not be suprised to see Oswalt follow in their footsteps. On the other end of things, Pineda has been a stud this year in his rookie season. Other then getting roughed up in his last start by detroit, he has been pretty great this year. One stat that sticks out to me though is his stat vs lefties. He has given up 5 more hits, 10 less strike outs and .40 worse batting average in 5 less at bats vs lefties and has not seen a lefty loaded offense like Philly is going to throw at him tonight. I think this will be the difference. I see a pretty low scoring game, but do think that the lefty loaded offense for Philly will be something that Pineda has not dealt with yet this year. I think this, along with Phillys momentum and a strong performance from Oswalt will produce a phills win. It is not often you get this kind of value on philly. I am definately a phillie fan dont get me wrong, but I rarely bet them bc the value is not usually there. But tonight, it is a different story.... Oswalt's w/l record (not performance), has this line backwards... 4-2 phills Win