Sabathia coming up big in big moments

ESPN.com

Updated: September 24, 2008

AP Photo/Morry Gash

CC Sabathia pushed the Brewers into a tie for the NL wild card with a win Wednesday.

COMING UP BIG

By Tim Kurkjian, ESPN

CC Sabathia, on three days rest, pitched the Brewers to a win Wednesday night. Pitching through fatigue is what great players are asked to do this time of year. Sabathia agreed to pitch Wednesday against the Pirates, and he may do so again Sunday for the regular-season finale. Plus, on Thursday the Brewers are going to use pitcher Yovani Gallardo, who has been out pretty much all year, and he'll probably go a mere three innings. The Brewers have 45 innings left in the season, and they are literally counting them all to try to figure out how to cover each one. Sabathia pitched seven innings Wednesday, Gallardo likely will go three on Thursday and then they'll figure it out from there. The Brewers are playing every game like it's the game that's going to get them into the playoffs.

The key to the Mets' last week of the regular season is Johan Santana. We saw a great example of him taking care of business Tuesday night. If they had lost with him Tuesday night, I would've bet the Mets would miss the playoffs. However, since they won and Johan Santana will be pitching in the final game, you will definitely see the Mets play in the postseason. This time last year the Mets didn't have anyone close to Santana who could win a big game for sure. Plus, we all know the rest of the bullpen could use a lot of help right now.

The Brewers bringing back Gallardo may sound like a panic situation, but this is how the last weekend of the season is. The last weekend of the season essentially is the playoffs, because you do things that you never do during the rest of the regular season, but you have to do these things in order to get into the playoffs.

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Sept. 23 | Sept. 22 | Sept. 21 | Sept. 18 | Sept. 17 | Sept. 16

BIGGEST BREW

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

The last time the Brewers made the postseason, they got in on the strength of a great final-day performance from league MVP Robin Yount. That was 26 years ago. Now, in the final days of the regular season, another Brewers player is establishing himself as the most valuable man in this stretch run -- CC Sabathia.

Pitching on three days' rest, Sabathia struck out 11 and allowed only one run in seven innings as the Brewers beat the Pirates for the 14th straight time at home, moving into a tie with the Mets for the NL wild-card spot.

With four games remaining, Sabathia should get one more shot at being the biggest difference-maker of the season. He could pitch Sunday on three days' rest if the game has any significance for the Brewers.

Tracking CC

• Sabathia is 10-2 with Brewers. Since his first start on July 8, he has twice as many wins as any Brewers pitcher (Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush each have 5).

• In his 10 wins, Sabathia has allowed 11 earned runs in 82 1/3 innings (1.20 ERA)

• Sabathia's ERA with the Brewers is 1.78. Sandy Koufax was the last left-hander to throw at least 120 innings in a season in the NL with an ERA that low (he posted a 1.73 ERA in 1966). The last lefty to throw at least 120 innings with a sub-2.00 NL ERA was John Tudor in 1985 (1.93).

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Touch 'Em AllWho went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on Baseball Tonight and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

Click here to find out who hit the longest home run. For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME HR OPPPITCHER SITUATION
H. Blalock, Tex11OakEvelandBot 4: 1-1, 2 Outs. 2 on.
J. Cust, Oak32TexHarrisonTop 6: 1-0, 1 Outs. None on.
N. Cruz, Tex6OakEvelandBot 6: 0-0, 0 Outs. 1 on.
T. Metcalf, Tex6OakMeyerBot 7: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Denorfia, Oak1TexRupeTop 8: 3-1, 0 Outs. None on.
H. Ramirez, Fla33WasReddingTop 1: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on.
M. DeRosa, ChC21NYMPerezTop 2: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Utley, Phi33AtlReyesBot 3: 0-1, 2 Outs. None on.
R. Howard, Phi47AtlReyesBot 4: 2-0, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Delgado, NYM38ChCZambranoBot 3: 3-2, 2 Outs. Gr. Slam.
L. Berkman, Hou29CinRamirezBot 1: 0-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
C. Jones, Atl22PhiEyreTop 5: 2-1, 2 Outs. 2 on.
S. Rolen, Tor11NYYHughesBot 7: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
K. Griffey Jr., CWS3MinBlackburnTop 4: 2-2, 1 Outs. None on.
M. Hessman, Det4KCWellsBot 7: 1-2, 2 Outs. None on.
J. Willingham, Fla14WasSpeignerTop 8: 1-0, 1 Outs. None on.
B. Abreu, NYY20TorCarlsonTop 10: 1-0, 1 Outs. Gr. Slam.
P. Polanco, Det8KCMahayBot 9: 1-0, 2 Outs. 2 on.
C. Barmes, Col10SFSanchezTop 2: 1-0, 2 Outs. None on.
A. LaRoche, Pit24MilTorresTop 9: 1-1, 1 Outs. None on.
A. Ramirez, ChC27NYMAyalaTop 10: 1-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
N. Garciaparra, LAD8SDEstesBot 4: 2-0, 0 Outs. None on.
G. Atkins, Col21SFCorreiaTop 5: 3-2, 2 Outs. 2 on.
J. Baker, Col12SFCorreiaTop 6: 0-0, 1 Outs. None on.
M. Ramirez, LAD17SDMeredithBot 6: 3-1, 1 Outs. 1 on.
J. Bowker, SF10ColHernandezBot 6: 1-0, 0 Outs. None on.
M. Teixeira, LAA13SeaLoweTop 8: 2-0, 2 Outs. None on.

Comments

You must be signed in to post a comment

Already have an account?

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.

BBTN ON THE AIR: THURSDAY

TIME WHO'S ON?
1 a.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Steve Berthiaume
Analysts: Tim Kurkjian,
Fernando Vina

BBTN MINUTE: SABATHIA EARNING MONEY, RESPECT

WEDNESDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD
• Aside, of course, from CC Sabathia … the Twins' bullpen allowed just one hit over four innings of relief, holding off the White Sox for a 3-2 win that reduced Chicago's lead over Minnesota in the AL Central to a half-game.
BAD
Oliver Perez• Oliver Perez was handed a 5-1 lead against the Cubs. He couldn't make it hold up, giving up six hits, five runs and five walks in 4 1/3 innings of a game the Mets would go on to lose 9-6 (in 10 innings).
UGLY
Brett Myers• The Phillies' Brett Myers followed up a bad start … with another one. Myers, who gave nine hits and 10 runs in four innings in his previous start, was hammered for 10 hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 10-4 loss against the Braves.

FORWARD THINKING: THURSDAY

Pedro Martinez • Cubs at Mets, 7:10 p.m. ET: Rich Harden (10-2, 2.03 ERA) will be getting ready for the postseason, while Pedro Martinez (5-6, 5.50 ERA) will be on the mound trying to help his team get to the postseason. The Mets, locked in a tight, three-way fight with the Phillies and Brewers for two playoff spots, look to Martinez, who has lost his past three starts. He has given up 24 hits and 14 runs in 16 innings. Harden, meanwhile, has not lost since July 21, going 5-0 in eight starts.

Yovani Gallardo • Pirates at Brewers, 8:05 p.m. ET: Yovani Gallardo (0-0, 1.80 ERA), who had knee surgery and has been out since May 1, will make his return as the Brewers continue their pursuit of a postseason spot. Zach Duke (5-14, 4.96 ERA) has had a tough season. That includes a rough start against the Brewers, who have tagged him for 13 hits and 10 runs over 8 1/3 innings in two starts.

Gavin Floyd • White Sox at Twins, 8:05 p.m. ET: The final scheduled regular-season meeting between the White Sox and Twins is critical as they both pursue the final playoff spot in the AL. Gavin Floyd (16-8, 3.84 ERA) has been solid in four starts against the Twins this season, going 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA. Kevin Slowey (12-11, 3.85 ERA) has been the opposite, struggling mightily this year against the White Sox. Slowey is 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA against Chicago.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Thursday's games

STAT OF THE DAY

Inside EdgeAccording to Inside Edge's scouting data, hitters often expand their strike zone when they are batting with two strikes, but some are better than others at making contact when they chase. Here are the hitters who have the lowest percentage of missed swings when chasing a pitch out of the zone with two strikes (minimum 200 pitches out of the zone with two strikes):

vs. two-strike pitches out of the strike zone
Hitter Miss pct.
Alexi Casilla 13.8
Justin Morneau 18.5
Brian Giles 18.6
Jason Kendall 19.8

HUNT FOR OCTOBER

Here's the latest in the playoff races:

NL EAST
TEAM W-L GB POFF
Phillies 89-80 -- 97.8%
Mets 87-71 1.5 54.7%
AL CENTRAL
TEAM W-L GB POFF
White Sox 86-71 -- 49.2%
Twins 86-72 0.5 50.8%
NL WEST
TEAM W-L GB POFF
Dodgers 83-75 -- 99.4%
Diamondbacks 81-81 4.0 0.6%
NL WILD CARD
TEAM W-L GB POFF
Brewers 87-71 -- 47.3%
Mets 87-71 -- 54.7%

For more on the playoff races, see the Hunt for October

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF THURSDAY'S GAMES

Will Harris examines the pitching matchups for the 12 games on Thursday's schedule.

Fantasy Harris also looks at injuries and provides player reports that could help shape your roster for Thursday's games. Daily Notes