Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.Looking Forward ...
So what exactly will Mike Scioscia do if the Angels take a lead into the ninth inning Monday afternoon? Brian Fuentes became the latest closer to blow a save this postseason when he surrendered a home run to Alex Rodriguez in the 11th inning of Game 2.
The guess here is that Scioscia will handle Fuentes much the way he handled him down the stretch and the way Charlie Manuel has handled Brad Lidge -- he'll let the situation dictate his decisions. Scioscia has used Fuentes (a left-hander) and top setup man Kevin Jepsen (a right-hander) depending on the opposing hitters, so it'd be no surprise if he continues to do so now, just don't think of it as a slap in the face or a lack of confidence in Fuentes.
Don't expect anyone in Anaheim to be feeling safe and secure if the situation arises.
Said Torii Hunter of when he saw the 0-2 fastball call to A-Rod in the 11th: "I thought 'Oh no' and wanted to call time."
| In Their Own Words |
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| "Eight [runs] wasn't enough, but 11 was I guess." -- Jayson Werth on the decision to let Cliff Lee hit for himself in the eighth and then pull him in the ninth after Philly tacked on three more runs. |
| By the Numbers |
Strikeouts by Lee in his Game 3 win, a total which tied him with Curt Schilling and Steve Carlton for the Phillies' postseason record. Not bad company. -- Ed Price |
| More From FanHouse |
| Price: Howard Carrying Phils |
We've got plenty on Cliff Lee's dominant Game 3 showing here. With three starts in the books this postseason, his run is beginning to compare favorably to Cole Hamels' last year.
Hamels went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched last October.
Lee is now 2-0 with a miniscule 0.74 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.
Wow.
Hamels' brilliant 2008 postseason ended with a World Series championship and an MVP award. Lee and the rest of his teammates still have some work to do for 2009 to end that way, but the left-hander has been a marvel.
Scout's Eye View ...
When someone says a pitcher mixes his pitches well, it is typically used in a complimentary fashion. Well, saying that Cliff Lee mixes his pitches well doesn't even do his "pitchability" -- a term scouts use to describe a pitcher's feel for pitching -- even close to enough justice. Lee threw 114 pitches on Sunday night and very few of them were predictable. He threw 62 fastballs, 23 changeups, 19 sliders, and 10 curveballs, and he did so with pinpoint command.
Look around among the elite pitchers in baseball and you'll find that very few, if any of them, can bring such a diverse mix of pitches that they can command the way Lee does. Just how unpredictable was he? In the eighth inning, still sitting at 90-92 mph with his fastball, Lee did not throw the same pitch twice in a row to any of the three hitters he faced. Of the 11 pitches he threw that inning, four were fastballs, three were changeups, two were sliders, and two were curveballs. Don't fret, Dodger fans. There was little that Los Angeles could have done against a man with such a feel for four different pitches on this night.
Monday's Tale of the Tape ...
Yankees (Andy Pettitte) at Angels (Jered Weaver), 4:13 PM ET: Current Angels hitters have a collective .307 average against Pettitte, but only a .391 slugging percentage, suggesting it might be difficult for Los Angeles to deliver a knockout blow. If Vladimir Guerrero can't get going against Pettitte, he probably won't at all this October. Guerrero is hitting .391 off the left-hander in his career. Weaver was torched in two starts against the Yankees this year, allowing 12 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings. The Angels will be hoping that his strong home splits -- he was a almost two full runs better in Anaheim this year -- and his good history against New York (current Yankees are hitting .215 career against him) counteract that.Dodgers (Randy Wolf) at Phillies (Joe Blanton), 8:07 PM ET: Wolf wasn't what anyone would call crisp in his Game 1 start in the Division Series, unfortunately his numbers against the Dodgers don't offer much optimism that his second career playoff start will go much better. Current Phillies are hitting only .255 against him, but he's allowed seven homers in 98 at-bats against this group, a ratio in line with Albert Pujols'. Pedro Feliz has three of those big flies. Blanton's had relatively good success against these Dodgers, but he should look out for Manny Ramirez, who is 14-for-25 in his career against the right-hander.
