Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Maddux will go Friday in Philly

Greg Maddux will make his first appearance for the Dodgers this season when he pitches Friday in Philadelphia. In his last start for the San Diego Padres, he allowed only 1 run in 7 innings against the Phillies. For the year, he's 0-2 against them, but with a 2.70 ERA (nice run support, Padres).

The timing makes sense for a couple of reasons. One, he won't have to be rushed to start against the Rockies either today or tomorrow. Against the Rocks, he's sporting a shaky 5.40 ERA against them this season.

Two, he will avoid pitching in Arizona following the Philly series, where he's been awful this season. Lifetime at Chase Field, he's 1-7 with a 6.01 ERA. Ya, it's a good decision.

I guess I can add a third reason to the list, as having Maddux go Friday will give young Clayton Kershaw an extra day of rest to pitch on Saturday. Bottom line, it makes sense all around.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, sophisticated reasons that encoureged me to think about it as well. I think you are right, it´s likily and strategically right, but I´d love to see Kershaw.

mattmaison said...

Bring us home a win Greg!

Unknown said...

I think any rest Kershaw can get is a plus considering how young he is. The Hamels-Kershaw matchup on Saturday will be fun to watch.