I've got to say that I was very impressed with the job the whole team did last night with two strikes in the count. The rallies in the fifth and seventh could have easily been cut short by unwarranted hacks at the plate, but by holding back we were able to extend the lead. This was my favorite game of the season so far.
| Aspect | Score | Notes |
| Table Setters |  |
Finley and Carroll got on base four out of ten times, but Jamey once again gets thrown out on a steal attempt. |
| Heart of the Lineup |  |
In eighteen plate appearances, they came up with eight hits, three walks, six runs, two RBI. This is how it's supposed to work. |
| Bottom of the Order |  |
Torry and Tulo make a pretty good combo down here, driving in four last night. Even though they left more runners on, the two for seven with zero K's and a walk let's me know that we're headed in the right direction. |
| Situational Hitting/Bench |  |
Our bench depth came up with a solid performance last night even if our pinch hitters did not. I have a confession to make that I'm still in favor of keeping Finley, but not Mabry. |
| Starting Pitching | |
Solid outing by Rodrigo, but being pulled after four drags the score down. We're getting hit with this at an awkward place in the season, let's hope Taylor Buchholz proves ready to step in. |
| Middle Relief |  |
Coming in on short notice to get us from the fourth inning to the seventh, Buchholz did the job admirably. I haven't mentioned how awesome Jeremy Affeldt has been this season for us for fear of jinxing it, but he's number three behind Rami and Manny on my reliever love list. Hawkins is more highly regarded now that he's out of the line of fire as well. |
| Late Relief | |
Corpas needed some work, and got through a quick inning with just a single allowed. |
| Coaching/Management | |
Perhaps a little overly agressive on the basepaths, but it seemed to work out tonight. |
| Luck |  |
Losing your starter early due to injury usually drags this down, getting out of it relatively unscathed should probably push it back up though. |
| Defense | |
Nothing spectacular was needed, but there weren't any mental lapses. |