Gustavo Chacin pitched possibly the finest game of his young career. Corey Koskie returned to the lineup, Shea Hillenbrand homered and drove in four, Russ Adams reached base four times...
I mean, what's not to like?
Updated!! Now it's a Game Report!!
Gustavo Chacin became the third rookie starter in Jays history to win 10 games, matching the totals posted by Jerry Garvin in 1977 and Juan Guzman in 1991. The team record for wins by a rookie pitcher is 14, set by reliever Mark Eichhorn in 1986; Jeff Musselman won 12 games in relief in 1987. Chacin has a chance to pass both of them before this season is over.
Mike Scioscia of the Angels said our Gus reminded him of Fernando Valenzuela - he singled out Chacin's "ability to give his fastball a little more life by riding it up in the zone." Scioscia should know - he spent 10 years behind the plate catching Valenzuela. Shea Hillenbrand was clearly pressing as he headed into the All-Star Break, trying to justify the faith that Named For Hank had so recklessly placed in him. But Hillenbrand came through, and since the break, with that burden lifted from his shoulders, he's hitting like it's April again. He's got a nifty little seven game hit streak active (11-29, .379) and has hit 4 homers in his last 11 games.
Eric Hinske was about as bad in June as a major league hitter can be: .132, .264, .211. Yes, he had more walks (14) than hits (10). With the return of Corey Koskie, Hinske picked the exact right moment to start carrying his weight again - he's hit in eight straight games (10-29, .345), while Aaron Hill picked the wrong moment to go 1-24.
Bartolo Colon is pitching for the Angels tomorrow. Colon is 5-11 and listed at 250 pounds. He trains on beans and beer, I guess. Anyway, here's how the Blue Jays hitters have fared against Bartolo over the years:
HITTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BAVG OBP SLG OPS Koskie 31 13 4 0 1 5 7 7 .419 .538 .645 1.184 Wells 19 6 1 0 1 2 1 0 .316 .350 .526 .876 Hudson 13 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 .385 .385 .385 .769 Hillenbrand 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 .800 .800 1.000 1.800 Hinske 16 4 0 0 1 1 1 3 .250 .294 .438 .732 Johnson 14 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 .286 .333 .286 .619 Zaun 8 3 1 0 1 2 1 2 .375 .444 .875 1.319 Catalanotto 22 3 1 0 0 1 3 3 .136 .240 .182 .422 Rios 6 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 .167 .167 .500 .667 Huckaby 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 Menechino 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 .250 .000 .250 Adams 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 Totals 145 43 8 1 4 15 16 24 .297 .370 .448 .819
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