Former teammates battle in Texas
Former teammates battle in Texas when the Red Sox visit the Rangers
Once part of the same Atlanta Braves pitching staff and rotation, John Smoltz and Kevin Millwood are set to go head-to-head o Monday when Texas hosts Boston.
The 16th week of the 2009 MLB season opens with some key series and intriguing pitching matchups. But no series may be bigger than the Red Sox traveling to the Lone Star State to take on the Rangers, and no battle of starting pitchers is more interesting than John Smoltz going for Boston against Texas' Kevin Millwood.
Smoltz and Millwood were teammates in Atlanta from 1997-2002. During the first four years sharing the Braves locker room. the two righthanders were part of the rotation, but the final two seasons found their relationship on the mound as a starter-closer combination as Smoltz moved to the Atlanta pen.
Over the course of the 2001-02 seasons, Smoltz saved 20 starts that Millwood made. In fact, of Smoltz' NL-record 55 saves in 2002, tied the next season by LA's Eric Gagne, 16 of them came at the end of Millwood starting assignments. For trivia freaks out there, three Smoltz' saves that year were in games Millwood started against the Rangers and Red Sox, the teams they play for now.
On Monday night when the two meet at the Ballpark That Dubya Built in Arlington by-gawd Texas, the bullpens will come into play for each pitcher. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
For Smoltz (1-3, 5.40), this is just his fifth start and first since the break. Coming back from surgery and with just the third organization and second major league team in his 21 seasons. What makes it sort of interesting is here's a guy with 470 starts and over 240 relief appearances and he remains something of a mystery to the hitters he will face in tonight's game.
Only two hitters in the Texas lineup have seen Smoltz before, Omar Vizquel (4-for-20) and Marlon Byrd (2-9), with the only hits they have off Smoltz going for singles.
Like Smoltz, Millwood (10-9, 3.46) will also be making his first start since the All-Star break though it is his 20th outing in what has so been a fine season. Rangers field boss Ron Washington opted to give his 34-year old pitcher some extra rest after Millwood piled up 130 innings in the first half of the season.
This will be his second start of '09 against Boston, the other coming at Fenway on June 5 when Millwood worked seven innings and allowed just one unearned run in a 5-1 Rangers victory. Texas was 0-2 in Millwood's starts vs. the Sox in 2008 with righthander allowing eight earned in 12 innings of work.
Where the bullpens come in tonight figure to be sooner for Boston than for Texas. Millwood is almost getting through the seventh on average this season, and should be plenty rested for this one. Smoltz has the same amount of rest, but you it would be a huge surprise to see him go longer than six and he probably won't even get six full. That could be an advantage for the Red Sox.
Boston comes in on a two-game skid, and clinging to a 1-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. The Sox bullpen has been solid all season, and it was a lack of offense in Toronto this past weekend that contributed most to the 1-2 record out of the gate to star the season's second half.
Meanwhile Texas comes in having snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday with a 12-innin, 5-3 win over the Twins. Their bullpen has also been solid over the season, and they've fashioned a 29-19 record at home. However, Boston is a team the Rangers have struggled against over time, winning just three of the last 14 meetings overall, and one of the last six here in Arlington.
Speaking of Texas, it's still hot as hell down here, probably looking at around 90ºF, maybe a tad higher, for a first pitch temp. If it's much lower, it will be due to the cloud cover that has a 40% chance of producing thunderstorms.
Both offenses are a bit slow, an edge to the Sox for their bullpen, a huge edge to the Rangers with Millwood over Smoltz. Do you bet on a t-storm delay, giving the Red Sox bullpen the ball to bring a win home? At this point in time, it's difficult to bet on Smoltz as the favorite. Boston may be the better team, and with what he's accomplished over his career Smoltz does deserve some respect. Still, all I can go with in this one is the Under 10.
Once part of the same Atlanta Braves pitching staff and rotation, John Smoltz and Kevin Millwood are set to go head-to-head o Monday when Texas hosts Boston.
The 16th week of the 2009 MLB season opens with some key series and intriguing pitching matchups. But no series may be bigger than the Red Sox traveling to the Lone Star State to take on the Rangers, and no battle of starting pitchers is more interesting than John Smoltz going for Boston against Texas' Kevin Millwood.
Smoltz and Millwood were teammates in Atlanta from 1997-2002. During the first four years sharing the Braves locker room. the two righthanders were part of the rotation, but the final two seasons found their relationship on the mound as a starter-closer combination as Smoltz moved to the Atlanta pen.
Over the course of the 2001-02 seasons, Smoltz saved 20 starts that Millwood made. In fact, of Smoltz' NL-record 55 saves in 2002, tied the next season by LA's Eric Gagne, 16 of them came at the end of Millwood starting assignments. For trivia freaks out there, three Smoltz' saves that year were in games Millwood started against the Rangers and Red Sox, the teams they play for now.
On Monday night when the two meet at the Ballpark That Dubya Built in Arlington by-gawd Texas, the bullpens will come into play for each pitcher. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
For Smoltz (1-3, 5.40), this is just his fifth start and first since the break. Coming back from surgery and with just the third organization and second major league team in his 21 seasons. What makes it sort of interesting is here's a guy with 470 starts and over 240 relief appearances and he remains something of a mystery to the hitters he will face in tonight's game.
Only two hitters in the Texas lineup have seen Smoltz before, Omar Vizquel (4-for-20) and Marlon Byrd (2-9), with the only hits they have off Smoltz going for singles.
Like Smoltz, Millwood (10-9, 3.46) will also be making his first start since the All-Star break though it is his 20th outing in what has so been a fine season. Rangers field boss Ron Washington opted to give his 34-year old pitcher some extra rest after Millwood piled up 130 innings in the first half of the season.
This will be his second start of '09 against Boston, the other coming at Fenway on June 5 when Millwood worked seven innings and allowed just one unearned run in a 5-1 Rangers victory. Texas was 0-2 in Millwood's starts vs. the Sox in 2008 with righthander allowing eight earned in 12 innings of work.
Where the bullpens come in tonight figure to be sooner for Boston than for Texas. Millwood is almost getting through the seventh on average this season, and should be plenty rested for this one. Smoltz has the same amount of rest, but you it would be a huge surprise to see him go longer than six and he probably won't even get six full. That could be an advantage for the Red Sox.
Boston comes in on a two-game skid, and clinging to a 1-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. The Sox bullpen has been solid all season, and it was a lack of offense in Toronto this past weekend that contributed most to the 1-2 record out of the gate to star the season's second half.
Meanwhile Texas comes in having snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday with a 12-innin, 5-3 win over the Twins. Their bullpen has also been solid over the season, and they've fashioned a 29-19 record at home. However, Boston is a team the Rangers have struggled against over time, winning just three of the last 14 meetings overall, and one of the last six here in Arlington.
Speaking of Texas, it's still hot as hell down here, probably looking at around 90ºF, maybe a tad higher, for a first pitch temp. If it's much lower, it will be due to the cloud cover that has a 40% chance of producing thunderstorms.
Both offenses are a bit slow, an edge to the Sox for their bullpen, a huge edge to the Rangers with Millwood over Smoltz. Do you bet on a t-storm delay, giving the Red Sox bullpen the ball to bring a win home? At this point in time, it's difficult to bet on Smoltz as the favorite. Boston may be the better team, and with what he's accomplished over his career Smoltz does deserve some respect. Still, all I can go with in this one is the Under 10.
