Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported earlier today that Tony LaRussa has decided to use Chris Carpenter as the Game 2 starter in Philadelphia. Carpenter has pitched 2 games with a total of 15 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies this season. He has allowed just one earned run in those fifteen innings and won both decisions. Carpenter last pitched on Wednesday against the Houston Astros going all nine innings, surrendering just two hits while striking out eleven. Because he pitched on Wednesday, starting him in game two on Sunday means he will be pitching on only three days rest. Carpenter has never pitched on three days rest as a starter, but he looks to be ready to go and give the team everything he has.
Historically, Cardinals pitchers have not faired very well when pitching on three days rest in the postseason. Two examples of that are pitchers Andy Benes and Darryl Kile. Both were known to be horses in the rotation, just like Carpenter. Carpenter has battled arm injuries throughout his career, but has remained healthy the entire 2011 season so far.
If you are asking for my opinion, I don't agree with this decision, primarily because of the reasons I have already listed. In my opinion, using Carpenter in game two could really end up crippling the team if they lose and fall into a 0-2 hole going home to St. Louis. Kyle Lohse has already been named as the starter for game one on Saturday, which left Jaime Garcia, Edwin Jackson, and Carpenter as the options for game two. If I were managing the Cardinals, I would have given the ball to Jaime Garcia for game two because his career numbers against the Phillies are great in a small sample size thus far. He has pitched in six career games, starting four of them, against Philadelphia, going 2-1 while posting an ERA of 1.20 with 21 strikeouts to just 10 walks in 30 innings of work. In 13 innings pitched at Citizens Bank Park, Garcia has allowed just 2 earned runs with 10 strikeouts and six walks. By starting Jaime in game two, Chris Carpenter is then able to pitch on Tuesday at home with an extra day of rest. He would be matched up against Cole Hamels and has already defeated Hamels once this year in Philadelphia.
If the Cardinals happen to lose the first two games of the series, there is nobody that I would rather give the ball to in game three than Chris Carpenter. If Tony uses Carp in game 2, then he could be asking for trouble. Only time will tell how each game goes, and We can all simply hope that the series is as exciting as the final day of the regular season.
No comments:
Post a Comment