This mural is painted on corrugated siding on an outer wall of the Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. I have never had a Coke at any ballpark, but I dig the sign. Something happened on the way to see the IronPigs last night and I ended up at home, watching both them and the Phillies on TV. That's how I happened to hear these numbers. The IronPigs, with the worst record in the International League, were playing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, now second in their division. The Yankees are not a heavy-hitting team and their pitching ranks 10th in the league. The IronPigs too do not hit that much, but their pitching is 2nd. So why are the Yankees that much better? Their record in one-run games is far superior; they have won the majority of such games, while the 'Pigs have not. Going into last night's game, both teams had 47 errors. The Yankees had given up 13 runs on those errors, while the 'Pigs had give up 39. The difference is staggering. Last night, however, Brian Mazone and two relievers combined on a 2-0 shutout of the S/W-B Yankees. The offense came courtesy of a two-run homer by Andy Tracy.
As for the Phillies game, it just went to show why baseball is the most amazing sport. After the Yankees spanked Roy Halladay on Tuesday, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick held the Bombers to a combined nine hits on Wednesday and Thursday. Kendrick went seven strong; Shane Victorino had a two-run homer to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the fifth. The Yankees eventually scored a run but Kendrick and some great Phillies' defense (is it back?) kept the Yankees off the bases, off the board for the rest of the night. Placido Polanco made a super catch diving over the tarp down the third base line and Jose Contreras made a nifty grab, shades of Cliff Lee, on a ball behind his back. The Phillies beat up the Yankee bullpen in the ninth, tacking on four in the 7-1 win. Go figure.
The number here is this: When Kyle Kendrick pitches six or more innings, he is 23-3 in his career. Pretty amazing stat.
