Frayed Knot

Everyone pitched well ... except for Helsley and that was the difference. FO, BB, RBI 2B, RBI 2B, GO, PO But on the other side: Six hits, five of them singles (one of those IF). The HR was, of course, solo. And they only had two ABs w/RiSP: 1 GiDP, one Sac Fly

I think Helsley brought that theme music with him from StL. Y'know, the old Hels(ley) Bells connection. Meanwhile: Game on the line = nothing out of the infield from all four batters

Anytime you want to retire a batter, Helsley, we'd really 'preciate it.

Phils down 3-2 w/2 outs top 9 in D of C Trea Turner up w/runner on 3rd ... NATS WIN, NATS WIN!!!

=Centerfield post_id=201267 time=1755212830 user_id=65] Isn't it always the 4th inning?

=MFS62 post_id=201270 time=1755215400 user_id=60] 46 Pitches through 3 innings for Senga.

There should be a game where you guess the starter meltdown inning. There's been one almost every game over the last two weeks or more. Last night Peterson faced one over the minimum thru 2. Then had a bit of trouble in the 3rd but it was really just two seeing eye hits (one in the IF) and a walk pitching carefully to Ozuna w/two on before getting the much weaker hitting Albies to ground out. So 0 runs, 3 singles, 1 walk thru 3 innings on 13, 14, and 24 pitches. Not great, but hardly terrible. He then faced seven batters in the 4th retiring One of them: BB, 1B, K, BB, BB/Run, 3-RBI-2B, BB ... and he was gone. That his immediate replacement was just as bad only added to it. All of which leaves Paul Blackburn's 5 IP/1 H/1 BB/3-K performance as the pitching hi-light of the night.

Most teams when they get a 6-run lead you assume they're going to win. For us you just hope they'll last until the 9th. For the Mets you just hope they'll just last until the next inning.

Even our hits w/runners in scoring position don't score runners in scoring position. It was a worthwhile send but it didn't work.

I can't believe we're losing this ****in' game!!!

It's just ridiculous, this pitching staff just can't get past the 4th inning intact.

6-0 to start the 4th inning ... 9-6 to [CROSSOUT]end[/CROSSOUT] no, it's not even over yet.

NYM ERA in the 4th inning since the AS Break = 7.94

Another short outing from a starter despite being handed a six run lead. G!D! this is frustrating!!

3 + 3 = Winning!!

I'm starting to get 'Too Many People' messages on the site ... which would be one thing if it meant I was getting the Paul McCartney song but, alas, it's just a blank page.

Soto hits a HR ... with men on base!!!!!

Mets & Yanx with concurrent home series going on, but the Mets started their rain delayed game prior to the Yanx so I'm calling that a win for our side.

Oooooh, bad call of McN's strike three call!!! Meanwhile, Carrasco is proving Chad to be prescient so far ... five batters, one (questionable) out, and 29 pitches (13 strikes).

Two reasons: 1) there's never enough pitching to go around 2) See reason #1 8:45 is the current first pitch estimate

[YOUTUBE]bDRbF80NKDU[/YOUTUBE]

RMPL

You folks do realize that this discussion is coming a decade-plus into the era where 'Openers' / 'Bulk Starters' have been used and that pct of starter Wins has continued to go down all along, right? The only thing being proposed here is the slight adjustment that openers should go two to three innings instead of just one to two and selling that on the assumption that results are going to be suddenly different. But a longer stint for the opener -- a guy who is, essentially by definition, a lesser pitcher than the eventual starter -- is also a longer time for him to give up more runs and handing the starter not a lead but a deficit. And if it's the day for your Ace when the opener gets bombed are we going to still hand him the ball down multiple runs (potentially wasting his turn) or sit him down until the net game thereby both upsetting his regimen and reducing the the number of games he'll get into that season? This isn't a 'traditionalist'* vs modern argument. If openers were the key to both wins for 'starters' and for team wins then all teams would use them and the ones who have been using them all along would be using them for longer stretches. And, again, this whole (already too long) thread was proposed on the concept of finding out a way to get traditional starters (who would no longer be starting) more 'W's - as if that is, by itself, a goal worth pursuing. * I HATE that term!

Bucket was both right and wrong, but either way he wins the contest. It was indeed on the Tuesday night game vs Atlanta but he incorrectly labeled that day as the 13th rather than the 12th.

Brewers win their twelfth straight out-scoring after the Pirates 26 - 5 in the first two games of their series.