I was thinking after last night's game how it seemed the last three turns through the rotation have been mighty successful, minus one blip on the radar from Homer Bailey. I decided to look at the numbers, which incorporate the last two and a half weeks or so.
Check it out.
Last 3 starts by starting pitcher (dating back through April 25)
(IP-ER-SO-BB-HR-Game Score)
Aaron Harang
6.2-2-9-1-0-60
6.0-3-6-0-1-52
6.0-2-6-1-0-53
Totals: 18.2-7-21-2-1
3.37 ERA / 1.87 FIP
10.4 K/9 / 1.0 BB/9
Bronson Arroyo
7.0-1-2-1-1-64
7.0-4-3-2-1-48
6.2-2-7-3-1-58
Totals: 20.2-7-12-6-3
3.05 ERA / 4.70 FIP
5.2 K/9 / 2.6 BB/9
Johnny Cueto
9.0-0-8-0-0-93
6.0-3-8-2-1-52
5.0-2-3-1-0-51
Totals: 20.0-5-19-3-1
2.25 ERA / 2.30 FIP
8.6 K/9 / 1.4 BB/9
Mike Leake
7.0-3-6-1-1-62
6.0-1-4-1-0-61
7.0-1-5-2-0-66
Totals: 20.0-5-15-4-1
2.25 ERA / 2.85 FIP
6.8 K/9 / 1.8 BB/9
Homer Bailey
4.0-7-3-5-2-22
6.2-2-6-3-1-53
6.0-4-8-1-1-49
Totals: 18.2-13-17-9-4
6.23 ERA / 5.51 FIP
8.2 K/9 / 4.5 BB/9
Starter totals
98.0 IP
37 ER (3.40 ERA)
84 K (7.71 K/9)
24 BB (2.20 BB/9)
3.5 K/BB ratio
10 HRA (0.91 HR/9)
3.45 FIP
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What's great to see is that of these 15 starts, essentially 14 have been of a game score of 50 or higher (there was a 48 and 49 in there, but you get the idea). That's tremendous consistency.
Even more amazing is that the 3.40 ERA is almost exactly aligned with the FIP (3.45) meaning the strikeout, walk and home run ratios are right in line with what you would expect during that period. There's no doubt the team won't sustain this pace, and it's a very small sample, but it's great to see signs of life.
My concern is that the starters need to continue going deep into games to start giving the back end of the bullpen some rest. The good news, though, is that they also have been performing extremely well in this timeframe.
Nick Masset
9.0 IP
3 ER
13 K
3 BB
1 HR
2.66 FIP
Arthur Rhodes
6.3 IP
0 ER
6 K
2 BB
0 HR
2.20 FIP
Francisco Cordero
9.2 IP
3 ER
5 K
5 BB
1 HR
4.96 FIP
Anyhow, pretty good news. If they could keep these three fresh, and the starters continue pitching well, the Reds might continue to win games.
I really think these are encouraging signs. The Reds may not have a true ace, but it's good to see they are doing well collectively.