Official Game Thread - 4/12 - Bucs @ Phillies

[Doc]

Stott flies out. Two down.

[Doc]

Merrifield flies out. Bednar takes an important step forward. Bucs win 5-2. They need to show they can compete with teams as good as the Phillies. Let’s win at least one more and that’s a good series for us.

[Doc]

Somehow, Davis scored when Hayes struck out. Game Day not very clear. 3-1 Bucs, Reynolds at third, two outs.

Pitch hit catcher Realmuto on the wrist and went to backstop. Hayes was unaware ump had called strike 3 on the pitch. Davis scored on the WP but pitcher retrieved the ball at the backstop and threw to 1B for out on Hayes.

Thanks. I just saw a replay. Why wasn’t our bench, or even Davis, screaming for Hayes to run?

[Wildwoodcoach]

Raise It!!
Falter gives the bucs a strong 5 innings. I would say that based
on his last two starts, the Bucs have already bested the Phillies in
Falter - Castro trade. Last I heard, Castro is still looking for his cell phone
Cutch continues to struggle- I remember when he was here the first time, he had some
poor showings in the month of April. Problem is, he is a lot older now
Davis- 2 hits tonight- hopefully it's a good sign
Connor Joe 2 hits- continues to get the job done
Saved the best for last- BEDNAR- hope this is a good sign
I said coming in that I would be glad with a split in Philly.

[mouse]

Falter has certainly been a different pitcher in the regular season from what he was in spring training. I guess they knew what they were doing by bringing him North.

[bucs607179]

Again, our starters are kicking some butt.

[Bobster]

I looked at Bailey Falter's game logs since 2022 when he became a starting pitcher. He's got interesting stats. As a rookie in 2021 he was used as a reliever (just 1 start) and had an awful 5.61 ERA. But he was a rookie.

He started 16 games in 2022 and had 6 quality starts including a stretch of 5 QSs in 6 games toward the end of the season. His ERA was a much improved 3.86.

In 8 starts last year with the Phillies he was very inconsistent with 4 fairly effective starts and 4 bad ones. He came to the Pirates in August. He had a couple good starts, a couple bad ones, and then got used as a 1-2 inning "opener." His ERA for the season was 5.36.

The stats show an inconsistent guy who has some awful games but is also capable of pitching well over extended stretches. This year he had a bad first game but has pitched well in his 2 subsequent starts. Last night he pitched a solid 5 innings with 4 hits, no walks, 1 run and just 71 pitches. His history has shown he can be effective as a 6-7 inning starter. Shelton arbitrarily pulled him after 5 innings and ended up using 5 relievers for the last 4 innings. That might come back to haunt them if the bullpen gets worn down.

One particular thing I noticed from his game logs is that when he has a bad game, it's apparent early. And when he's effective early in the game, he usually remains effective. I would like to see Shelton give him a longer leash when he's pitching well. Pull him early when he struggles early but let him continue when he's pitching well.