It had been expected for months, and now it's official:
The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg this afternoon with the first pick in the MLB draft. It completes Strasburg's remarkable rise — from undrafted three years ago out of West Hills High to an exclusive group of 45 players selected No. 1 overall.
More local flavor came to the draft a few minutes later when the Cincinnati Reds chose Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake (Fallbrook High) with the eighth overall pick. Not a bad week in the making for Leake (16-1, 1.23 ERA), who leads the nation in victories and ERA is expected to be on the mound when the Sun Devils open the College World Series on Sunday against North Carolina.
Here is the list of San Diego-area players selected in the first round of the draft through the years:
LOCAL FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS
High school and college players from San Diego County selected in thefirst round of the major league first-year player draft since it began in 1965:
2009 ... Stephen Strasburg, SDSU/West Hills, RHP, Nationals, 1st overall
2009 ... Mike Leake, Arizona State/Fallbrook, RHP, Reds, 8th
2008 … Brian Matusz, USD, LHP, Orioles, 4th
2008 … Allan Dykstra, Wake Forest/Rancho Bernardo, 1B, Padres, 23rd
2004 … Matt Bush, Mission Bay, SS/RHP, Padres, 1st
2003 … Carlos Quentin, OF, Stanford/USDHS, D-Backs, 29th
2002 … Cole Hamels, Rancho Bernardo, LHP, Phillies, 17th
2002 … Royce Ring, SDSU/Monte Vista, RHP, White Sox, 18th
2001 … Mark Prior, USC/USDHS, RHP, Cubs, 2nd
2000 … Adrian Gonzalez, Eastlake, 1B, Marlins, 1st
2000 … Adam Johnson, CS Fullerton/Torrey Pines, RHP, Twins, 2nd
2000 … Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo, RHP, Tigers, 8th
2000 … Shaun Boyd, Vista, 2B/OF, Cardinals, 13th
2000 … Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo, C, Rangers, 25th
1999 … Eric Munson, USC/Mt. Carmel, C, Tigers, 3rd
1999 … Barry Zito, USC/USDHS, LHP, A's, 9th
1999 … David Walling, Arkansas/El Capitan, RHP, Yankees, 27th
1997 … Troy Glaus, UCLA/Carlsbad, 3B, Angels, 3rd
1996 … Travis Lee,* San Diego State, 1B, Twins, 2nd
1996 … Eric Chavez, Mt. Carmel, 3B, A's, 10th
1995 … Jaime Jones, Rancho Bernardo, OF, Marlins, 6th
1995 … Mark Redman, Oklahoma/Escondido, LHP, Twins, 13th
1995 … Ryan Jaroncyk, Orange Glen, SS, Mets, 18th
1995 … Chad Hutchinson, Torrey Pines, RHP, Braves, 26th
1992 … Benji Grigsby, San Diego State, RHP, A's, 20th
1991 … Benji Gil, Castle Park, SS, Rangers, 19th
1990 … Tony Clark, Christian, 1B, Tigers, 2nd
1990 … Eric Christopherson, San Diego State, C, Giants, 19th
1990 … Lance Dickson, Grossmont, LHP, Cubs, 23rd
1985 … Chris Gwynn, San Diego State, OF, Dodgers, 10th
1983 … Eddie Williams, Hoover, 3B, Mets, 4th
1982 … Steve Swain, Grossmont, OF, Astros, 15th
1982 … Sam Horn, Morse, 1B, Red Sox, 16th
1981 … Bobby Meacham, San Diego State, SS, Cardinals, 8th
1981 … Kevin Burrell, Poway, C, Red Sox, 25th
1980 … Garry Harris, Hoover, SS, Blue Jays, 2nd
1980 … Cecil Espy, Point Loma, OF, White Sox, 8th
1980 … Billy Beane, Mt. Carmel, OF, Mets, 23rd
1979 … Bob Geren, Clairemont, C, Padres, 24th
1975 … Bruce Robinson, Stanford/La Jolla, C, A's, 21st
1970 … Steve Dunning, Stanford/USDHS, RHP, Indians, 2nd
1970 … John D'Acquisto, St. Augustine, RHP, Giants, 17th
1967 … Brian Bickerton, Santana, LHP, A's, 7th
1965 … Mike Adamson,# Point Loma, RHP, Phillies, 18th
*Declared a draft free agent and signed with Arizona
#Drafted by Baltimore in first round of June secondary phase in 1967
Showing posts with label Strasburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strasburg. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Q&A with Stephen Strasburg
San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg took a week to relax and recharge in between the end of SDSU's season and Tuesday's MLB Draft.
I caught up with Strasburg for a few minutes on Friday shortly after he came off the golf course at Mission Trails, where he carded a 76 (two birdies on the front and three more on the back), for a Q&A session that ran today right here in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
I caught up with Strasburg for a few minutes on Friday shortly after he came off the golf course at Mission Trails, where he carded a 76 (two birdies on the front and three more on the back), for a Q&A session that ran today right here in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Virginia hands Strasburg his first loss of the season
RECAP
IRVINE — The Virginia Cavaliers did something to San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg today that no one else could do this season.
They beat him.
No. 7-ranked Virginia scored two early runs off Strasburg on the way to a 5-1 victory over the Aztecs in the opening game of the NCAA Regional hosted by UC Irvine.
Strasburg (13-1), his fastball sitting at 97 mph much of the game, struck out 15 and did not walk a batter over seven innings. But he needed two innings to get dialed in. The Aztecs trailed 2-0 by that point and couldn’t muster the offense against Virginia starter Robert Morey (3-0) to make a game of it.
The Aztecs (40-22) meet the loser of tonight’s UC Irvine-Fresno State game on Saturday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game).
With one out in the first inning, Virginia’s Phil Gosselin swung at the first pitch he saw from Strasburg and launched it over the left-field wall and against the Anteater Ballpark scoreboard.
The Cavaliers (44-12-1) added another run in the second inning when Steven Proscia scored with two outs on an infield single to second base. Proscia led off the inning with a single and had moved to third base on two wild pitches by Strasburg.
SDSU made it 2-1 in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chris Wilson, but the Cavaliers expanded the lead to 5-1 with three runs (two on a homer by Steven Proscia) in the bottom of the eighth.
It was the first loss for Strasburg since a 1-0 defeat to Utah in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.
PREGAME
NCAA TOURNAMENT — IRVINE REGIONAL
SAN DIEGO STATE (40-21) VS. VIRGINIA (43-12-1)
IRVINE — The 2009 NCAA Tournament gets underway here under a canopy of clouds with temperatures in the mid-60s. UC Irvine has fewer than 1,000 fixed seats, so bleachers were brought in to accommodate the larger crowd. The gathering is dominated with red and black, with perhaps two-thirds of the crowd here in support of the Aztecs. That's no surprise. SDSU fans had about a 90-mile drive while their Virginia counterparts had a 2,550-mile flight. Cavaliers fans — perhaps 50 strong — are adjacent to the team's dugout along the third-base line.
SDSU coach Tony Gwynn announced this morning that ace Stephen Strasburg (13-0, 1.24 ERA) would indeed start against Virginia, which is countering with Robert Morey (2-0. 3.25 ERA).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — The Aztecs get runners to second and third with two outs, but Virginia starter Robert Morey strikes out Cory Vaughn swinging on a 2-2 pitch to get out of it. SDSU's Stephen Strasburg strides to the mound in the bottom of the inning and starts with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Jarett Parker. Phil Gosselin jolts the crowd a moment later, however, when he launches the first pitch from Strasburg over the left-field wall and off the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. It's shocking in a "Hey, you're not supposed to be able to do that off him" kind of way. But it is the fourth HR allowed by Strasburg this season. Virginia's Danny Hultzen and Dan Grovatt follow the homer with singles, but Strasburg gets a strikeout of John Hicks and a fly ball from Tyler Cannon to end the inning. Strasburg tops out at 97 mph in the first inning.
2ND INNING — Morey allows a two-out walk to East Gust, but nothing comes off it. Strasburg makes his own trouble in the bottom of the inning when he throws two wild pitches after Steen Proscia singled to lead off the inning. Strasburg followed with two strikeouts, but Proscia scored to make it 2-0 when Parker beat out a single to second base that Mitch Blackburn took too much time on. That would have ended the inning. It continues and is prolonged further when Strasburg fails to field Gosselin's infield tapper for an error that puts runners at first and third. Strasburg finally strikes out Hultzen to end the inning. He is already at 50 pitches after just two innings.
3RD INNING — Pat Colwell gets things started with a single up the middle, but Morey keeps him there by retiring the next three hitters. The Aztecs have gone down meekly to this point, giving the crowd virtually nothing to get excited about. Strasburg's slow start also has prevented a buzz from building. In the bottom of the third, Strasburg looks more impressive with two strikeouts among three straight hitters retired.
Many in the crowd — including the press box — who haven't seen much of Strasburg this season wonder if he's had a game where he hasn't been dominate from the first pitch. He has. He allowed a leadoff home run at TCU and allowed two runs in the first inning at Utah in a pair of Mountain West Conference games. On both occasions, the opponents were getting on his fastball early. So Strasburg went to the offspeed stuff — much of it thrown in the dirt — and started mowing them down. He allowed just one run over the next seven innings in the game against TCU and pitched six shutout innings against Utah after the two-run first. We'll see if that pattern continues here. The key is whether the Aztecs offense can muster anything. Strasburg's last loss was 1-0 to Utah in the 2008 MWC Tournament.
4TH INNING — Back-to-back singles by Chris Wilson and Gust put runners at the corners with two outs, but Morey gets Ryan O'Sullivan on a tapper back to the mound to end the threat.
5TH INNING — Torres coaxes a one-out walk from Morey, but nothing comes of it. Strasburg gets two strikeouts wrapped around a single to give him 10 strikeouts for the game.
6TH INNING — Morey pitches in and out of trouble. He allows a double to Mitch Blackburn and hits Easton Gust in the foot, but it's all wrapped arund three strikeouts. Strasburg allows an infield single to Proscia with two outs, but gets Franco Valdes swinging to end the inning.
7TH INNING — Virginia coach Brian O'Connor goes to the bullpen and brings in Tyler Wilson to replace Morey and its more of the same for the Aztecs. Wilson retires the side in order, two of the hitters on strikeouts. That's 11 strikeouts for SDSU, including four by freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith. Strasburg's pitch counts move past 120 in the inning, but he doesn't appear any worse for the wear. He strikes out the side, giving him 15 for the game.
8TH INNING — The Aztecs finally get something going when Wilson issues a one-out walk to Vaughn and Blackburn follows with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Wilson hits a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Vaughn and make it 2-1. Blackburn moves to third on the play, but the Aztecs can't get him home. Virginia goes to the bullpen again and brings in Matt Packer, who gets out Gust.
Andrew Leary runs in from the SDSU bullpen, meaning Strasburg's day is done.
STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 B, 1 SO. His ERA rises to 1.32 while running his season strikeout total to 195 (with 19 BB) in 109 innings.
Leary wraps a couple of fly outs around a single, but then he gives up a two-run homer to left field to Proscia that makes it 4-1. Virginia adds another run after Chase Thomas replaces Leary, making it 5-1 on a single by Parker.
9TH INNING — Virginia closer Kevin Arico came on, struck out O'Sullivan, retired Pat Colwell on a soft liner to second base and got Torres on a grounder to second to end the game.
IRVINE — The Virginia Cavaliers did something to San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg today that no one else could do this season.
They beat him.
No. 7-ranked Virginia scored two early runs off Strasburg on the way to a 5-1 victory over the Aztecs in the opening game of the NCAA Regional hosted by UC Irvine.
Strasburg (13-1), his fastball sitting at 97 mph much of the game, struck out 15 and did not walk a batter over seven innings. But he needed two innings to get dialed in. The Aztecs trailed 2-0 by that point and couldn’t muster the offense against Virginia starter Robert Morey (3-0) to make a game of it.
The Aztecs (40-22) meet the loser of tonight’s UC Irvine-Fresno State game on Saturday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game).
With one out in the first inning, Virginia’s Phil Gosselin swung at the first pitch he saw from Strasburg and launched it over the left-field wall and against the Anteater Ballpark scoreboard.
The Cavaliers (44-12-1) added another run in the second inning when Steven Proscia scored with two outs on an infield single to second base. Proscia led off the inning with a single and had moved to third base on two wild pitches by Strasburg.
SDSU made it 2-1 in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chris Wilson, but the Cavaliers expanded the lead to 5-1 with three runs (two on a homer by Steven Proscia) in the bottom of the eighth.
It was the first loss for Strasburg since a 1-0 defeat to Utah in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.
PREGAME
NCAA TOURNAMENT — IRVINE REGIONAL
SAN DIEGO STATE (40-21) VS. VIRGINIA (43-12-1)
IRVINE — The 2009 NCAA Tournament gets underway here under a canopy of clouds with temperatures in the mid-60s. UC Irvine has fewer than 1,000 fixed seats, so bleachers were brought in to accommodate the larger crowd. The gathering is dominated with red and black, with perhaps two-thirds of the crowd here in support of the Aztecs. That's no surprise. SDSU fans had about a 90-mile drive while their Virginia counterparts had a 2,550-mile flight. Cavaliers fans — perhaps 50 strong — are adjacent to the team's dugout along the third-base line.SDSU coach Tony Gwynn announced this morning that ace Stephen Strasburg (13-0, 1.24 ERA) would indeed start against Virginia, which is countering with Robert Morey (2-0. 3.25 ERA).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — The Aztecs get runners to second and third with two outs, but Virginia starter Robert Morey strikes out Cory Vaughn swinging on a 2-2 pitch to get out of it. SDSU's Stephen Strasburg strides to the mound in the bottom of the inning and starts with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Jarett Parker. Phil Gosselin jolts the crowd a moment later, however, when he launches the first pitch from Strasburg over the left-field wall and off the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. It's shocking in a "Hey, you're not supposed to be able to do that off him" kind of way. But it is the fourth HR allowed by Strasburg this season. Virginia's Danny Hultzen and Dan Grovatt follow the homer with singles, but Strasburg gets a strikeout of John Hicks and a fly ball from Tyler Cannon to end the inning. Strasburg tops out at 97 mph in the first inning.
2ND INNING — Morey allows a two-out walk to East Gust, but nothing comes off it. Strasburg makes his own trouble in the bottom of the inning when he throws two wild pitches after Steen Proscia singled to lead off the inning. Strasburg followed with two strikeouts, but Proscia scored to make it 2-0 when Parker beat out a single to second base that Mitch Blackburn took too much time on. That would have ended the inning. It continues and is prolonged further when Strasburg fails to field Gosselin's infield tapper for an error that puts runners at first and third. Strasburg finally strikes out Hultzen to end the inning. He is already at 50 pitches after just two innings.
3RD INNING — Pat Colwell gets things started with a single up the middle, but Morey keeps him there by retiring the next three hitters. The Aztecs have gone down meekly to this point, giving the crowd virtually nothing to get excited about. Strasburg's slow start also has prevented a buzz from building. In the bottom of the third, Strasburg looks more impressive with two strikeouts among three straight hitters retired.
Many in the crowd — including the press box — who haven't seen much of Strasburg this season wonder if he's had a game where he hasn't been dominate from the first pitch. He has. He allowed a leadoff home run at TCU and allowed two runs in the first inning at Utah in a pair of Mountain West Conference games. On both occasions, the opponents were getting on his fastball early. So Strasburg went to the offspeed stuff — much of it thrown in the dirt — and started mowing them down. He allowed just one run over the next seven innings in the game against TCU and pitched six shutout innings against Utah after the two-run first. We'll see if that pattern continues here. The key is whether the Aztecs offense can muster anything. Strasburg's last loss was 1-0 to Utah in the 2008 MWC Tournament.
4TH INNING — Back-to-back singles by Chris Wilson and Gust put runners at the corners with two outs, but Morey gets Ryan O'Sullivan on a tapper back to the mound to end the threat.
5TH INNING — Torres coaxes a one-out walk from Morey, but nothing comes of it. Strasburg gets two strikeouts wrapped around a single to give him 10 strikeouts for the game.
6TH INNING — Morey pitches in and out of trouble. He allows a double to Mitch Blackburn and hits Easton Gust in the foot, but it's all wrapped arund three strikeouts. Strasburg allows an infield single to Proscia with two outs, but gets Franco Valdes swinging to end the inning.
7TH INNING — Virginia coach Brian O'Connor goes to the bullpen and brings in Tyler Wilson to replace Morey and its more of the same for the Aztecs. Wilson retires the side in order, two of the hitters on strikeouts. That's 11 strikeouts for SDSU, including four by freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith. Strasburg's pitch counts move past 120 in the inning, but he doesn't appear any worse for the wear. He strikes out the side, giving him 15 for the game.
8TH INNING — The Aztecs finally get something going when Wilson issues a one-out walk to Vaughn and Blackburn follows with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Wilson hits a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Vaughn and make it 2-1. Blackburn moves to third on the play, but the Aztecs can't get him home. Virginia goes to the bullpen again and brings in Matt Packer, who gets out Gust.
Andrew Leary runs in from the SDSU bullpen, meaning Strasburg's day is done.
STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 B, 1 SO. His ERA rises to 1.32 while running his season strikeout total to 195 (with 19 BB) in 109 innings.
Leary wraps a couple of fly outs around a single, but then he gives up a two-run homer to left field to Proscia that makes it 4-1. Virginia adds another run after Chase Thomas replaces Leary, making it 5-1 on a single by Parker.
9TH INNING — Virginia closer Kevin Arico came on, struck out O'Sullivan, retired Pat Colwell on a soft liner to second base and got Torres on a grounder to second to end the game.
Strasburg gets the ball today against Virginia
IRVINE — San Diego State's pitcher for today's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia has been shrouded in secrecy all week. In fact, SDSU coach Tony Gwynn was still mulling his decision during yesterday afternoon's practice day at UC Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.
"You will find out in time," said Gwynn. "I had to make the exact same decision last week (in the Mountain West Conference Tournament) and nobody cared. When I am ready to make that decision I will let you know."
That moment finally arrived this morning when the Aztecs announced that ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound against the Cavaliers. First pitch is at 4 p.m. (San Diego time). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The UC Irvine-Fresno State game follows at 8 p.m.
Strasburg (13-0) leads the nation in strikeouts (180) and ERA (1.24). He has walked only 19 batters in 102 innings. He was named first-team All-American and national Player of the Year yesterday by Collegiate Baseball. SDSU closer Addison Reed also was a first-team selection by the newspaper.
There had been discussion all week whether to start Strasburg or junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2), who started two games over four days in the MWC Tournament.
I spoke with Lavigne on Wednesday before the team boarded a bus for Irvine and he said he was still recovering from the experience. It made me wonder if Lavigne's readiness is what was holding up the decision. If Lavigne could potentially start two games again this weekend, then it made sense to start him today and have the opportunity to bring him back for a possible "if necessary" game on Monday. Strasburg hasn't shown the same recuperative powers and wouldn't have been a candidate to make two starts. Also, in the discussion, of course, was how the pitchers match up against the teams in the four-team regional.
I wouldn't have argued with Lavigne making the start, but I'm glad to see Strasburg get the ball. SDSU has waited 18 years for this opportunity and it's good to go with your best in the opener. Besides, while UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in the nation and Fresno State is the defending national champion, Virginia appears to have the best offensive club (batting .333 as a team while averaging 8.32 runs per game) in the bracket. This will be Strasburg's biggest challenge.
College baseball fans around the country will get to see what San Diegans have been witness to throughout the season. Greatness. Strasburg will get prime time exposure on the East Coast, whetting the appetites of Washington Nationals fans who can't wait to see that No. 1 pick used on June 9 for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior right-hander.
By the way, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said the Cavaliers will start sophomore right-hander Robert Morey ()2-0, 3.25 ERA, 70 SO in 52.2 IP). Morey appeared in 15 games this season, but made only six starts. Opponents have batted .207 against him.
Here is Tournament Central for the Irvine Regional.
"You will find out in time," said Gwynn. "I had to make the exact same decision last week (in the Mountain West Conference Tournament) and nobody cared. When I am ready to make that decision I will let you know."
That moment finally arrived this morning when the Aztecs announced that ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound against the Cavaliers. First pitch is at 4 p.m. (San Diego time). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The UC Irvine-Fresno State game follows at 8 p.m.
Strasburg (13-0) leads the nation in strikeouts (180) and ERA (1.24). He has walked only 19 batters in 102 innings. He was named first-team All-American and national Player of the Year yesterday by Collegiate Baseball. SDSU closer Addison Reed also was a first-team selection by the newspaper.
There had been discussion all week whether to start Strasburg or junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2), who started two games over four days in the MWC Tournament.
I spoke with Lavigne on Wednesday before the team boarded a bus for Irvine and he said he was still recovering from the experience. It made me wonder if Lavigne's readiness is what was holding up the decision. If Lavigne could potentially start two games again this weekend, then it made sense to start him today and have the opportunity to bring him back for a possible "if necessary" game on Monday. Strasburg hasn't shown the same recuperative powers and wouldn't have been a candidate to make two starts. Also, in the discussion, of course, was how the pitchers match up against the teams in the four-team regional.
I wouldn't have argued with Lavigne making the start, but I'm glad to see Strasburg get the ball. SDSU has waited 18 years for this opportunity and it's good to go with your best in the opener. Besides, while UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in the nation and Fresno State is the defending national champion, Virginia appears to have the best offensive club (batting .333 as a team while averaging 8.32 runs per game) in the bracket. This will be Strasburg's biggest challenge.
College baseball fans around the country will get to see what San Diegans have been witness to throughout the season. Greatness. Strasburg will get prime time exposure on the East Coast, whetting the appetites of Washington Nationals fans who can't wait to see that No. 1 pick used on June 9 for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior right-hander.
By the way, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said the Cavaliers will start sophomore right-hander Robert Morey ()2-0, 3.25 ERA, 70 SO in 52.2 IP). Morey appeared in 15 games this season, but made only six starts. Opponents have batted .207 against him.
Here is Tournament Central for the Irvine Regional.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
SDSU's pitching dilemma: Strasburg or Lavigne?
San Diego State is taking its sweet time naming a starting pitcher for Friday's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia.
No. 1 starter Stephen Strasburg (13-0) or No. 2 starter Tyler Lavigne (7-2)?
Inquiring minds are eager for an answer.
If it seems like starting Strasburg is a no-brainer, consider that Lavigne was able to pitch — and pitch
well — on just two days' rest in last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Strasburg has not shown the same recuperative powers. So going with Lavigne against the Cavaliers and saving Strasburg for Saturday's game may give SDSU its best chance of success.
This isn't exactly what the programmers at ESPN had in mind when they selected the Irvine Regional as one of the two — among 16 four-team regionals — to televise this weekend on ESPNU. Or didn't you notice that the SDSU-Virginia game is scheduled for 4 p.m., which, if my math is correct, corresponds to 7 p.m. on the East Coast.
Prime time.
That isn't SDSU coach Tony Gwynn's concern.
"We're doing what's best for San Diego State," said Gwynn. "We're going up there to win. We're not going up there just to make an appearance for the first time in 18 years. We're going up there to try to win and whatever situation puts San Diego State in the best position to win, that's what we're going to do. And honestly we haven't decided yet. You try to get your scouting reports, you try to look at rosters, you try to look at matchups, look at what kind of success they've had, who they've played; all those things go into it.
"Obviously Stephen (Strasburg) is our horse, but I think we can win with Tyler Lavigne. We'll see. My mind isn't made up on it. (Pitching coach) Rusty Filter came to my office this morning and we talked about it for about 20 minutes. I know Stephen wants the ball, but Tyler Lavigne wants the ball, too. It's about trying to set it up so it puts us in the best position to win."
Strasburg said it doesn't matter to him if he pitches Friday or Saturday.
"No, no preference," he said. "We're going to have to win at least two games. Whichever game I'm pitching, I'm going to give it everything I have. I'm confident with the other pitchers that we have and the hitters that we have that if we play our best baseball we should be able to get the job done."
Strasburg said the Aztecs' mindset will be one of the keys to advancing.
"Obviously we have to play our best baseball," said Strasburg. "We've played 61 games so far this year and I think we still have yet to play our best game. We need to go out there and play loose and really learn from what happened at the conference tournament championship. I thought at some point as a team we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That's what we're going to go do this weekend."
No. 1 starter Stephen Strasburg (13-0) or No. 2 starter Tyler Lavigne (7-2)?Inquiring minds are eager for an answer.
If it seems like starting Strasburg is a no-brainer, consider that Lavigne was able to pitch — and pitch
well — on just two days' rest in last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Strasburg has not shown the same recuperative powers. So going with Lavigne against the Cavaliers and saving Strasburg for Saturday's game may give SDSU its best chance of success.This isn't exactly what the programmers at ESPN had in mind when they selected the Irvine Regional as one of the two — among 16 four-team regionals — to televise this weekend on ESPNU. Or didn't you notice that the SDSU-Virginia game is scheduled for 4 p.m., which, if my math is correct, corresponds to 7 p.m. on the East Coast.
Prime time.
That isn't SDSU coach Tony Gwynn's concern.
"We're doing what's best for San Diego State," said Gwynn. "We're going up there to win. We're not going up there just to make an appearance for the first time in 18 years. We're going up there to try to win and whatever situation puts San Diego State in the best position to win, that's what we're going to do. And honestly we haven't decided yet. You try to get your scouting reports, you try to look at rosters, you try to look at matchups, look at what kind of success they've had, who they've played; all those things go into it.
"Obviously Stephen (Strasburg) is our horse, but I think we can win with Tyler Lavigne. We'll see. My mind isn't made up on it. (Pitching coach) Rusty Filter came to my office this morning and we talked about it for about 20 minutes. I know Stephen wants the ball, but Tyler Lavigne wants the ball, too. It's about trying to set it up so it puts us in the best position to win."
Strasburg said it doesn't matter to him if he pitches Friday or Saturday.
"No, no preference," he said. "We're going to have to win at least two games. Whichever game I'm pitching, I'm going to give it everything I have. I'm confident with the other pitchers that we have and the hitters that we have that if we play our best baseball we should be able to get the job done."
Strasburg said the Aztecs' mindset will be one of the keys to advancing.
"Obviously we have to play our best baseball," said Strasburg. "We've played 61 games so far this year and I think we still have yet to play our best game. We need to go out there and play loose and really learn from what happened at the conference tournament championship. I thought at some point as a team we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That's what we're going to go do this weekend."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
MWC Tournament: SDSU edges New Mexico 2-1
RECAP
San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Aztecs to a 2-1 win over New Mexico this afternoon in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
Amid the celebration of the Aztecs (39-19) advancing to Thursday's winner bracket semifinals, however, was what internet broadcasters Chris Ello and Craig Elsten speculated was an oblique muscle injury that forced Strasburg from the game. Strasburg grabbed his left side after walking New Mexico's Adam Courcha on four pitches (Strasburg's only walk) and throwing another ball when Daniel Gonzalez came to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning. Strasburg was relieved moments later by SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter and replaced by closer Addison Reed.
After the game, Filter said it was only a cramp in Strasburg's lower back and that he was fine after getting some fluids for hydration.
"He just cramped up in his back," Filter told Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. "He was coming out in one more batter anyway. He threw one more pitch, and enough was enough. He’s fine — he’ll be ready to go. He’s back at the hotel bouncing around like college kids do."
Strasburg was reportedly at 90 pitches when he departed. The bright side of coming out early and not being injured is that Strasburg potentially could be available for an inning or two of relief if the Aztecs were to need him on Friday or Saturday.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
On Thursday night, SDSU plays No. 6 seed Utah, which upset top-seeded TCU tonight by a 9-7 score, with the winner there advancing to the tournament finals. The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
Strasburg (13-0) allowed three hits over 7 2/3 innings before leaving. Strasburg struck out a season-low six batters and walked one. He lowered his ERA to 1.24 and raised his season strikeout total to 180 with 19 walks in 102 innings pitched.
SDSU scored the game's first run on a two-out double by Mitch Blackburn in the sixth inning. The Aztecs made it 2-0 in the ninth when Easton Gust came home from third base on a wild pitch.
The insurance run made all the difference in the bottom of the ninth when New Mexico rallied for a run off Reed with two outs. Reed hit a batter to load the bases before left fielder Josh Chasse caught a fly ball in foul territory to end the game.
Reed set an SDSU single-season record with his 18th save (in 18 opportunities).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — New Mexico senior left-hander John Hesketh gets off to a strong start, retiring Pat Colwell and Brandon Decker on grounders to second base before striking out Brandon Meredith swinging. San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg opens the bottom of the inning by getting MWC Player of the Year Mike Brownstein looking at strike three. Max Willett follows with an infield single to second base, but Strasburg gets Ryan Honeycutt on a popup back to the mound. The inning ends when SDSU catcher Erik Castro cuts down Willett trying to steal second base.
2ND INNING — Three up and three down again for the Aztecs, whose only ball out of the infield is Cory Vaughn's fly out to left field. Strasburg also retires the Lobos in order, although all three hitters avoid striking out.
3RD INNING — Chris Wilson pops up to second, Easton Gust grounds out to first and Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out looking as Hesketh makes it one time through the SDSU lineup without allowing a baserunner. Strasburg also faces the minimum the first time through the New Mexico batting order, getting Justin Howard swinging, Adam Courcha looking and Daniel Gonzalez on a fly ball down the right-field line.
4TH INNING — Colwell gets the inning started with a single and the Aztecs load the bases with two outs, but Hesketh gets Mitch Blackburn on a ball hit back to the mound to end the threat. Strasburg continues to mow, getting a pair of grounders and a fly ball to right field to retire the side in order again.
5TH INNING — O'Sullivan gets a two-out single off Hesketh, but the Aztecs can't move him along. Rafael Neda singles to right to open the bottom of the inning off Strasburg and the Lobos bunt him over to second base. But Strasburg gets a groundout and a flyout and returns to the dugout.
6TH INNING — This game is shaping just like last month's Strasburg-Hesketh encounter, a 1-0 SDSU victory in which Strasburg went the distance and struck out 14. Who blinks first this time? New Mexico. Meredith coaxes a one-out walk and then Castro singles to right-center to put runners at the corners. Vaughn pops up to second for the second out, but Blackburn doubles down the left-field line to score Meredith and give the Aztecs a 1-0. Strasburg has a run to work with now and he strikes out both Corcha and Gonzalez looking before Brownstein lines out to O'Sullivan at shortstop.
7TH INNING — Hesketh exits after allowing a leadoff single to Gust and a sacrifice bunt by O'Sullivan. Reliever Will Kerr gets out of the inning after Colwell walks when pinch hitter Jomel Torres hits into a doubleplay. Strasburg allows a one-out single to Honeycutt, but New Mexico can't make anything of it.
8TH INNING — New Mexico will need two more relievers to get through the inning. They do so without allowing a run, stranding runners at second and third when Wilson strikes out to end the inning. Strasburg gets a fly out and a strikeout before walking Courcha. The All-American has allowed but three hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings, and that's going to be enough on this day. It appears Strasburg has some sort of injury. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Elsten suggests that it may be a strained oblique muscle. SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter comes to the mound and calls for closer Addison Reed. Gonzalez fouls off four straight pitches before striking out to end the inning.
9TH INNING — With the Aztecs looking for insurance, Gust opens the inning with a single to right-center. O'Sullivan strikes out swinging before Colwell single to right to put runners at the corners. Colwell steals second to put two runners in scoring position, but then Josh Chasse looks at strike three for the second out. Opportunity appears on the verge of being lost when New Mexico reliever Cole White helps the SDSU cause with a wild pitch that allows Gust to score and make it 2-0.
The Aztecs are three outs away from advancing to a winner's bracket game against the winner of tonight's TCU/Utah game. Reed is 17-for-17 in saves this season, which leads the nation. He goes after the top of the Lobos lineup. Brownstein steps in and is quickly in an 0-2 hole. He works the count to 3-2 before grounding to shortstop O'Sullivan, who backhands a ball in the hole and throws out Brownstein on a ball first baseman Meredith digs out of the dirt. Reed strikes out Willett on a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Pinch hitter Cameron Smith comes to the plate as the Lobos' last chance. Reed starts Smith with a ball, then gets two straight strikes. New Mexico is down to its last strike. But Smith watches two balls load the count before singling to center field on a ball that takes a bad hop over the glove of second baseman Blackburn. Neda follows with another single and just like that the Lobos have the tying runs aboard. . Filter visits Reed at the mound. The sophomore right-hander is perfect in save situations this season, but it hasn't always been clean. Reed again gets ahead in the count 1-2 on New Mexico's Kevin Atkinson and the Lobos are again down to their final strike. But Atkinson singles to make it 2-1. Brian Cavazos-Galvez is now the batter for New Mexico. Reed gets him 0-2, then wastes a pitch for a ball. Then Reed hits Cavazos-Galvez with an inside pitch and the bases are loaded. Howard steps up with a chance to win the game with a single. With a 1-1 count, Howard sends a foul fly to left field, Chasse drifts over and gloves it for the final out. It is Reed's school-record 18th save and it couldn't have come in a more pressure-packed situation.
PREGAME
San Diego State sends ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 1.34 ERA, 174 SO, 18 BB in 94.1 IP) to the mound this afternoon on the second day of the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Strasburg faces No. 2 seed New Mexico, a team he beat last month in Albuquerque with a six-hit shutout. He struck out 14 in the 1-0 win. New Mexico is expeted to counter today with senior left-hander John Hesketh (6-3, 3.61 ERA), who was the hard-luck loser against Strasburg last month.
The winner of today's game plays tonight's TCU/Utah winner on Thursday. The winner of that game advances to the tournament finals.
There should be a good subplot to this SDSU-New Mexico game because Strasburg puncutuated last month's victory over New Mexico with a demonstrative fist pump that didn't sit too well with the Lobos and coach Ray Birmingham. They had only themselves to blame, especially the had coach. Birmingham made some comments about Strasburg during game week — and before — and the pitcher responded with one of his most dominating — and emotional — wins of the season.
Here's part of what Birmingham said: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”
SDSU's Daily Aztec had a good story on the comments and commotion.
I believe Birmingham is a good coach — he took over last season at New Mexico following a stellar junior college coaching career and led the Lobos to one of their best seasons — but he tends to spike himself by putting his foot in his mouth. He's got some good ol' boy in him, so maybe Birmingham's comments came across better spoken than in print. The comments didn't seem to bring forth what he meant by the time they got back to Strasburg. In good ol' boy terms, "Why poke a stick at a rabid dog?"
We'll see today if both sides have put it all behind them or if some bad blood bubbles up in today's game.
SDSU moved up to #41 in RPI after yesterday's 12-1 win over UNLV, so the Aztecs are pretty well positioned for an at-large berth to the NCAA Regionals should they miss out on the automatic berth being award to the MWC Tournament champion.
San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Aztecs to a 2-1 win over New Mexico this afternoon in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
Amid the celebration of the Aztecs (39-19) advancing to Thursday's winner bracket semifinals, however, was what internet broadcasters Chris Ello and Craig Elsten speculated was an oblique muscle injury that forced Strasburg from the game. Strasburg grabbed his left side after walking New Mexico's Adam Courcha on four pitches (Strasburg's only walk) and throwing another ball when Daniel Gonzalez came to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning. Strasburg was relieved moments later by SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter and replaced by closer Addison Reed.
After the game, Filter said it was only a cramp in Strasburg's lower back and that he was fine after getting some fluids for hydration.
"He just cramped up in his back," Filter told Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. "He was coming out in one more batter anyway. He threw one more pitch, and enough was enough. He’s fine — he’ll be ready to go. He’s back at the hotel bouncing around like college kids do."
Strasburg was reportedly at 90 pitches when he departed. The bright side of coming out early and not being injured is that Strasburg potentially could be available for an inning or two of relief if the Aztecs were to need him on Friday or Saturday.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
On Thursday night, SDSU plays No. 6 seed Utah, which upset top-seeded TCU tonight by a 9-7 score, with the winner there advancing to the tournament finals. The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
Strasburg (13-0) allowed three hits over 7 2/3 innings before leaving. Strasburg struck out a season-low six batters and walked one. He lowered his ERA to 1.24 and raised his season strikeout total to 180 with 19 walks in 102 innings pitched.
SDSU scored the game's first run on a two-out double by Mitch Blackburn in the sixth inning. The Aztecs made it 2-0 in the ninth when Easton Gust came home from third base on a wild pitch.
The insurance run made all the difference in the bottom of the ninth when New Mexico rallied for a run off Reed with two outs. Reed hit a batter to load the bases before left fielder Josh Chasse caught a fly ball in foul territory to end the game.
Reed set an SDSU single-season record with his 18th save (in 18 opportunities).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — New Mexico senior left-hander John Hesketh gets off to a strong start, retiring Pat Colwell and Brandon Decker on grounders to second base before striking out Brandon Meredith swinging. San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg opens the bottom of the inning by getting MWC Player of the Year Mike Brownstein looking at strike three. Max Willett follows with an infield single to second base, but Strasburg gets Ryan Honeycutt on a popup back to the mound. The inning ends when SDSU catcher Erik Castro cuts down Willett trying to steal second base.
2ND INNING — Three up and three down again for the Aztecs, whose only ball out of the infield is Cory Vaughn's fly out to left field. Strasburg also retires the Lobos in order, although all three hitters avoid striking out.
3RD INNING — Chris Wilson pops up to second, Easton Gust grounds out to first and Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out looking as Hesketh makes it one time through the SDSU lineup without allowing a baserunner. Strasburg also faces the minimum the first time through the New Mexico batting order, getting Justin Howard swinging, Adam Courcha looking and Daniel Gonzalez on a fly ball down the right-field line.
4TH INNING — Colwell gets the inning started with a single and the Aztecs load the bases with two outs, but Hesketh gets Mitch Blackburn on a ball hit back to the mound to end the threat. Strasburg continues to mow, getting a pair of grounders and a fly ball to right field to retire the side in order again.
5TH INNING — O'Sullivan gets a two-out single off Hesketh, but the Aztecs can't move him along. Rafael Neda singles to right to open the bottom of the inning off Strasburg and the Lobos bunt him over to second base. But Strasburg gets a groundout and a flyout and returns to the dugout.
6TH INNING — This game is shaping just like last month's Strasburg-Hesketh encounter, a 1-0 SDSU victory in which Strasburg went the distance and struck out 14. Who blinks first this time? New Mexico. Meredith coaxes a one-out walk and then Castro singles to right-center to put runners at the corners. Vaughn pops up to second for the second out, but Blackburn doubles down the left-field line to score Meredith and give the Aztecs a 1-0. Strasburg has a run to work with now and he strikes out both Corcha and Gonzalez looking before Brownstein lines out to O'Sullivan at shortstop.
7TH INNING — Hesketh exits after allowing a leadoff single to Gust and a sacrifice bunt by O'Sullivan. Reliever Will Kerr gets out of the inning after Colwell walks when pinch hitter Jomel Torres hits into a doubleplay. Strasburg allows a one-out single to Honeycutt, but New Mexico can't make anything of it.
8TH INNING — New Mexico will need two more relievers to get through the inning. They do so without allowing a run, stranding runners at second and third when Wilson strikes out to end the inning. Strasburg gets a fly out and a strikeout before walking Courcha. The All-American has allowed but three hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings, and that's going to be enough on this day. It appears Strasburg has some sort of injury. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Elsten suggests that it may be a strained oblique muscle. SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter comes to the mound and calls for closer Addison Reed. Gonzalez fouls off four straight pitches before striking out to end the inning.
9TH INNING — With the Aztecs looking for insurance, Gust opens the inning with a single to right-center. O'Sullivan strikes out swinging before Colwell single to right to put runners at the corners. Colwell steals second to put two runners in scoring position, but then Josh Chasse looks at strike three for the second out. Opportunity appears on the verge of being lost when New Mexico reliever Cole White helps the SDSU cause with a wild pitch that allows Gust to score and make it 2-0.
The Aztecs are three outs away from advancing to a winner's bracket game against the winner of tonight's TCU/Utah game. Reed is 17-for-17 in saves this season, which leads the nation. He goes after the top of the Lobos lineup. Brownstein steps in and is quickly in an 0-2 hole. He works the count to 3-2 before grounding to shortstop O'Sullivan, who backhands a ball in the hole and throws out Brownstein on a ball first baseman Meredith digs out of the dirt. Reed strikes out Willett on a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Pinch hitter Cameron Smith comes to the plate as the Lobos' last chance. Reed starts Smith with a ball, then gets two straight strikes. New Mexico is down to its last strike. But Smith watches two balls load the count before singling to center field on a ball that takes a bad hop over the glove of second baseman Blackburn. Neda follows with another single and just like that the Lobos have the tying runs aboard. . Filter visits Reed at the mound. The sophomore right-hander is perfect in save situations this season, but it hasn't always been clean. Reed again gets ahead in the count 1-2 on New Mexico's Kevin Atkinson and the Lobos are again down to their final strike. But Atkinson singles to make it 2-1. Brian Cavazos-Galvez is now the batter for New Mexico. Reed gets him 0-2, then wastes a pitch for a ball. Then Reed hits Cavazos-Galvez with an inside pitch and the bases are loaded. Howard steps up with a chance to win the game with a single. With a 1-1 count, Howard sends a foul fly to left field, Chasse drifts over and gloves it for the final out. It is Reed's school-record 18th save and it couldn't have come in a more pressure-packed situation.
PREGAME
San Diego State sends ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 1.34 ERA, 174 SO, 18 BB in 94.1 IP) to the mound this afternoon on the second day of the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Strasburg faces No. 2 seed New Mexico, a team he beat last month in Albuquerque with a six-hit shutout. He struck out 14 in the 1-0 win. New Mexico is expeted to counter today with senior left-hander John Hesketh (6-3, 3.61 ERA), who was the hard-luck loser against Strasburg last month.
The winner of today's game plays tonight's TCU/Utah winner on Thursday. The winner of that game advances to the tournament finals.
There should be a good subplot to this SDSU-New Mexico game because Strasburg puncutuated last month's victory over New Mexico with a demonstrative fist pump that didn't sit too well with the Lobos and coach Ray Birmingham. They had only themselves to blame, especially the had coach. Birmingham made some comments about Strasburg during game week — and before — and the pitcher responded with one of his most dominating — and emotional — wins of the season.
Here's part of what Birmingham said: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”
SDSU's Daily Aztec had a good story on the comments and commotion.
I believe Birmingham is a good coach — he took over last season at New Mexico following a stellar junior college coaching career and led the Lobos to one of their best seasons — but he tends to spike himself by putting his foot in his mouth. He's got some good ol' boy in him, so maybe Birmingham's comments came across better spoken than in print. The comments didn't seem to bring forth what he meant by the time they got back to Strasburg. In good ol' boy terms, "Why poke a stick at a rabid dog?"
We'll see today if both sides have put it all behind them or if some bad blood bubbles up in today's game.
SDSU moved up to #41 in RPI after yesterday's 12-1 win over UNLV, so the Aztecs are pretty well positioned for an at-large berth to the NCAA Regionals should they miss out on the automatic berth being award to the MWC Tournament champion.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Strasburg improves to 12-0 as SDSU routs Utah
RECAP
Utah stunned Stephen Strasburg with two runs in the first inning — with a walk, a triple and an infield single — but it was all Aztecs thereafter as San Diego State scored 11 unanswered runs for an 11-2 Mountain West Conference victory over the Utes in a game played before 1,685 at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Utah.
Strasburg (12-0) remains unbeaten, allowing six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over seven innings. Strasburg's ERA rises a tad to 1.34. He increases his national lead in strikeouts to 174, against 18 walks, in 94.1 innings pitched. Strasburg's fastball touched 98 mph, but he got most of his strikeouts tonight with his slider, much as he did in last year's 23-strikeout game against the Utes. Strasburg wasn't nearly as dominating as he has been this season, but he got better as the game went on and was tough when he had to be. In the fourth inning, he strands a runner at third base with no outs. In the sixth, he strands runners at second and third with no outs. In the seventh, he strikes out the side.
Strasburg is now one win away from equaling the SDSU record of 13 wins set by Bill Blount in 1983. Strasburg will have an opportunity to match the record in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU.
Catcher Erik Castro's two-run homer in the fifth inning gave the Aztecs a 4-2 lead and they never looked back on the way to their sixth straight win. SDSU (36-18, 14-8 MWC) drew even with BYU for second place in the conference. The Aztecs must win their next two games against the Utes to assure a second-place finish. Lose one of the games and BYU will finish percentage points ahead of the Aztecs for second. New Mexico also could pass SDSU in the standings. The top two teams in the MWC receive first-round byes in the tournament. The tournament champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
SDSU set a record for season wins (36) during the Tony Gwynn era and the victory moved Gwynn over .500 in his career (209-208) for the first time since the 2005 season. The Aztecs' victory total is just four shy of national leaders LSU and Coastal Carolina.
The Aztecs are trying to position themselves for an at-large berth should they miss out on the automatic. They came into the series with an RPI of 38. Anything below 45 usually means a team can breathe easy. Sweeping Utah would get SDSU to 38 wins, but it also will cost them in RPI since the Utes are so low (128). If SDSU can get to 40 wins during the MWC Tournament, they should be fine. Reaching the tournament finals would be even better.
SDSU is aiming for its first postseason appearance since 1991. SDSU's 2000 team won the MWC Tournament, but it was the first year of the conference, no automatic berth was available and the Aztecs were left out.
Bids to host an NCAA regional or super regional are due tomorrow. SDSU officials have said they will bid, although it is a longshot for the Aztecs to host. It appears the West Coast will get three bids and they are expected to be awarded to No. 1-ranked UC Irvine, No. 3-ranked Arizona State and No. 5-ranked Cal State Fullerton.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — SDSU loaded the bases with one out, but the Aztecs weren't able to make anything of the opportunity when Cory Vaughn hit into an inning-ending double play. Strasburg, who is walking fewer than two batters a game this season, walks the first batter he faces — Utah leadoff hitter Corey Shimada. Shimada is bunted to second before teammate Nick Kuroczko triples to make it 1-0. C.J. Cron then follows with an infield single to second base and it's 2-0 Utes. It is the first runs scored in 17 innings against Strasburg, who had pitched 21 straight innings on the road without allowing a run. It is the first time the Aztecs have trailed with Strasburg on the mound in 64 innings. Strasburg finally gets out of the inning with a groundout and his first strikeout of the game.
2ND INNING — SDSU's Mitch Blackburn leads off the inning with a single off Utah starter Brian Budrow. Blackburn is caught stealing, however. Then Easton Gust strikes out and Brandon Decker flies out. So much for that. Let's see what Strasburg has as he returns to the mound. The 6-foot-5 right-hander seems more himself, wrapping strikeouts of Cooper Blanc and Michael Beltran around Green's groundout to third base.
3RD INNING — Ryan O'Sullivan opens the inning by looking at strike three from Budrow, who then walks Pat Colwell. The walk quickly comes back to bite him when Jomel Torres doubles to right-center and Colwell comes around to score and make it 2-1. Torres moves to third base on a wild pitch, but Brandon Meredith strikes out and so does Erik Castro and that's it for the Aztecs. Strasburg, whose velocity has topped out at 98 mph to this point, allows a one-out single to Tyler Yagi but gets a double play to get out of the inning.
4TH INNING — The Aztecs get Budrow on the ropes again, putting Vaughn and Blackburn at second and third on a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt by Gust. Decker grounds out to second base to score Vaughn and make it 2-2 before Budrow can get out of the inning. Strasburg walks the tightrope in the bottom of the inning, allowing a leadoff double to Cron, who moves to third on a wild pitch. Strasburg rises to the challenge as he has all season, however, striking out Devin Walker and Austin Jones before Blanc flies out to right to strand Cron at third.
5TH INNING — Colwell singles to center to put the leadoff hitter on for SDSU for the fourth time in five innings. The Aztecs are on the verge of squandering another opportunity when Castro hits a two-out pitch to left-center for his 10th homer of the season. It's the third straight game in which Castro has homered and ties him with Vaughn for the team lead in homers. More importantly, it gives SDSU a 4-2 lead. Strasburg retires the side in order for just the second time in five innings.
6TH INNING — SDSU goes down in order on three straight infield grounders. Strasburg gets Yagi looking at a slider for the first out of the inning. It is Strasburg's seventh strikeout, all of them coming on sliders according to SDSU play-by-play man Chris Ello. The slider is what Strasburg used effectively against the Utes in last year's 23-strikeout game. Trouble lurks again when Kuroczko singles to center and Cron singles to left (his third hit in the game off Strasburg). Both runners move up on a wild pitch, but Strasburg bows his neck again by retiring Walker on a fly to left and Jones on a fly to center to end the inning.
7TH INNING — O'Sullivan leads off with a walk, bringing Utah coach Bill Kinneberg out to the mound to ask Budrow for the ball. Greg Krause takes over for the Utes. Krause doesn't exactly strike fear in a hitter since they're batting .309 off him. Colwell flies out to right field before Torres singles to right to put runners at the corners. The Aztecs make it 5-2 when Meredith's groundout to shortstop scores O'Sullivan. Torres moves to second on the play, which leaves first base open. The bag is quickly filled when Castro is intentionally walked. Castro homered in his last at-bat, but the Utes would rather face Vaughn? He has more power than anyone on the club, although he's gone eight games since his last homer. Krause keeps Vaughn in the yard, but the sophomore hits a hanging curveball for an RBI single to right. The hit ends an 0-for-7 stretch with runners in scoring position and gives the Aztecs a 6-2 lead.
Strasburg comes out in the bottom of the inning better than ever. It must have been the rousing version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." He strikes out Blanc and Green looking, then gets Beltran swinging to strike out the side for the first time. That's 10 strikeouts now, the 12th time in 13 games that Strasburg has reached double digits in Ks.
8TH INNING — Tyler Anderson replaces Krause on the mound for the Utes and, boy, does he get into trouble. Gust hits a leadoff single and Decker reaches on an error while trying to bunt Gust over. O'Sullivan then advances the runners with a bunt, so Utah intentionally walks Colwell to set up the double play. The Aztecs refuse to cooperate, singles by Torres, Meredith and Castro producing three runs and a 9-2 lead. Reliever Robert Chimpky comes in for Andersen. SDSU adds two more runs before the inning ends to make it 11-2.
The big inning makes it pointless to bring back Strasburg for another inning, especially since he's expected to throw a day early (Wednesday) in next week's MWC Tournament. Kegan Sharp comes on for Strasburg, whose line is 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO. Strasburg is in line to improve to 12-0. His ERA rises slightly to 1.34. He now has 174 strikeouts on the season with 18 walks in 94.1 IP. Sharp looks sharp in the inning, retiring the Utes in order on a strikeout and two infield grounders.
9TH INNING — The Aztecs go quickly, perhaps eager to get this over with secure in victory with a nine-run lead. Sharp finishes off the Utes, getting Blanc swinging at strike three to end the game.
PREGAME
San Diego State opens a three-game series at Utah on Thursday evening needing a three-game sweep to assure the Aztecs of second place in the Mountain West Conference. The top two teams in the regular season receive a first-round bye, saving valuable pitching in the double-elimination tournament being hosted next week by TCU. The tournament winner receives the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
SDSU sends all-Everything right-hander Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 1.28 ERA, 164 SO, 17 BB in 87.1 IP) to the mound against the Utes. Strasburg is coming off last week's no-hitter against Air Force. He struck out 23 batters in a regular-season game last season against Utah. The Utes would probably like to focus more on their 1-0 win over Strasburg and the Aztecs in the MWC Tournament. Utah sends Brian Budrow (4-4, 5.45 ERA) to the mound.
SDSU (35-18, 13-8) enters the series in third place in the MWC, trailing TCU 12-5 (which has three games remaining) and BYU 14-8 (which has completed conference play). The conference standings will be determined by winning percentage because several teams have had games cancelled because of weather. Utah (20-26, 7-14) is in sixth place in the conference.
The game — and series — is being played in Ogden, Utah, at Lindquist Field, home of the Class A Ogden Raptors (Dodgers affiliate). Utah shares it's field in Salt Lake City with the Triple A Salt Lake City Bees (Angels affiliate) and both teams were scheduled to be at home this weekend, so the Utes moved over to Ogden for the series.
Utah stunned Stephen Strasburg with two runs in the first inning — with a walk, a triple and an infield single — but it was all Aztecs thereafter as San Diego State scored 11 unanswered runs for an 11-2 Mountain West Conference victory over the Utes in a game played before 1,685 at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Utah.
Strasburg (12-0) remains unbeaten, allowing six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over seven innings. Strasburg's ERA rises a tad to 1.34. He increases his national lead in strikeouts to 174, against 18 walks, in 94.1 innings pitched. Strasburg's fastball touched 98 mph, but he got most of his strikeouts tonight with his slider, much as he did in last year's 23-strikeout game against the Utes. Strasburg wasn't nearly as dominating as he has been this season, but he got better as the game went on and was tough when he had to be. In the fourth inning, he strands a runner at third base with no outs. In the sixth, he strands runners at second and third with no outs. In the seventh, he strikes out the side.
Strasburg is now one win away from equaling the SDSU record of 13 wins set by Bill Blount in 1983. Strasburg will have an opportunity to match the record in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU.
Catcher Erik Castro's two-run homer in the fifth inning gave the Aztecs a 4-2 lead and they never looked back on the way to their sixth straight win. SDSU (36-18, 14-8 MWC) drew even with BYU for second place in the conference. The Aztecs must win their next two games against the Utes to assure a second-place finish. Lose one of the games and BYU will finish percentage points ahead of the Aztecs for second. New Mexico also could pass SDSU in the standings. The top two teams in the MWC receive first-round byes in the tournament. The tournament champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
SDSU set a record for season wins (36) during the Tony Gwynn era and the victory moved Gwynn over .500 in his career (209-208) for the first time since the 2005 season. The Aztecs' victory total is just four shy of national leaders LSU and Coastal Carolina.
The Aztecs are trying to position themselves for an at-large berth should they miss out on the automatic. They came into the series with an RPI of 38. Anything below 45 usually means a team can breathe easy. Sweeping Utah would get SDSU to 38 wins, but it also will cost them in RPI since the Utes are so low (128). If SDSU can get to 40 wins during the MWC Tournament, they should be fine. Reaching the tournament finals would be even better.
SDSU is aiming for its first postseason appearance since 1991. SDSU's 2000 team won the MWC Tournament, but it was the first year of the conference, no automatic berth was available and the Aztecs were left out.
Bids to host an NCAA regional or super regional are due tomorrow. SDSU officials have said they will bid, although it is a longshot for the Aztecs to host. It appears the West Coast will get three bids and they are expected to be awarded to No. 1-ranked UC Irvine, No. 3-ranked Arizona State and No. 5-ranked Cal State Fullerton.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — SDSU loaded the bases with one out, but the Aztecs weren't able to make anything of the opportunity when Cory Vaughn hit into an inning-ending double play. Strasburg, who is walking fewer than two batters a game this season, walks the first batter he faces — Utah leadoff hitter Corey Shimada. Shimada is bunted to second before teammate Nick Kuroczko triples to make it 1-0. C.J. Cron then follows with an infield single to second base and it's 2-0 Utes. It is the first runs scored in 17 innings against Strasburg, who had pitched 21 straight innings on the road without allowing a run. It is the first time the Aztecs have trailed with Strasburg on the mound in 64 innings. Strasburg finally gets out of the inning with a groundout and his first strikeout of the game.
2ND INNING — SDSU's Mitch Blackburn leads off the inning with a single off Utah starter Brian Budrow. Blackburn is caught stealing, however. Then Easton Gust strikes out and Brandon Decker flies out. So much for that. Let's see what Strasburg has as he returns to the mound. The 6-foot-5 right-hander seems more himself, wrapping strikeouts of Cooper Blanc and Michael Beltran around Green's groundout to third base.
3RD INNING — Ryan O'Sullivan opens the inning by looking at strike three from Budrow, who then walks Pat Colwell. The walk quickly comes back to bite him when Jomel Torres doubles to right-center and Colwell comes around to score and make it 2-1. Torres moves to third base on a wild pitch, but Brandon Meredith strikes out and so does Erik Castro and that's it for the Aztecs. Strasburg, whose velocity has topped out at 98 mph to this point, allows a one-out single to Tyler Yagi but gets a double play to get out of the inning.
4TH INNING — The Aztecs get Budrow on the ropes again, putting Vaughn and Blackburn at second and third on a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt by Gust. Decker grounds out to second base to score Vaughn and make it 2-2 before Budrow can get out of the inning. Strasburg walks the tightrope in the bottom of the inning, allowing a leadoff double to Cron, who moves to third on a wild pitch. Strasburg rises to the challenge as he has all season, however, striking out Devin Walker and Austin Jones before Blanc flies out to right to strand Cron at third.
5TH INNING — Colwell singles to center to put the leadoff hitter on for SDSU for the fourth time in five innings. The Aztecs are on the verge of squandering another opportunity when Castro hits a two-out pitch to left-center for his 10th homer of the season. It's the third straight game in which Castro has homered and ties him with Vaughn for the team lead in homers. More importantly, it gives SDSU a 4-2 lead. Strasburg retires the side in order for just the second time in five innings.
6TH INNING — SDSU goes down in order on three straight infield grounders. Strasburg gets Yagi looking at a slider for the first out of the inning. It is Strasburg's seventh strikeout, all of them coming on sliders according to SDSU play-by-play man Chris Ello. The slider is what Strasburg used effectively against the Utes in last year's 23-strikeout game. Trouble lurks again when Kuroczko singles to center and Cron singles to left (his third hit in the game off Strasburg). Both runners move up on a wild pitch, but Strasburg bows his neck again by retiring Walker on a fly to left and Jones on a fly to center to end the inning.
7TH INNING — O'Sullivan leads off with a walk, bringing Utah coach Bill Kinneberg out to the mound to ask Budrow for the ball. Greg Krause takes over for the Utes. Krause doesn't exactly strike fear in a hitter since they're batting .309 off him. Colwell flies out to right field before Torres singles to right to put runners at the corners. The Aztecs make it 5-2 when Meredith's groundout to shortstop scores O'Sullivan. Torres moves to second on the play, which leaves first base open. The bag is quickly filled when Castro is intentionally walked. Castro homered in his last at-bat, but the Utes would rather face Vaughn? He has more power than anyone on the club, although he's gone eight games since his last homer. Krause keeps Vaughn in the yard, but the sophomore hits a hanging curveball for an RBI single to right. The hit ends an 0-for-7 stretch with runners in scoring position and gives the Aztecs a 6-2 lead.
Strasburg comes out in the bottom of the inning better than ever. It must have been the rousing version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." He strikes out Blanc and Green looking, then gets Beltran swinging to strike out the side for the first time. That's 10 strikeouts now, the 12th time in 13 games that Strasburg has reached double digits in Ks.
8TH INNING — Tyler Anderson replaces Krause on the mound for the Utes and, boy, does he get into trouble. Gust hits a leadoff single and Decker reaches on an error while trying to bunt Gust over. O'Sullivan then advances the runners with a bunt, so Utah intentionally walks Colwell to set up the double play. The Aztecs refuse to cooperate, singles by Torres, Meredith and Castro producing three runs and a 9-2 lead. Reliever Robert Chimpky comes in for Andersen. SDSU adds two more runs before the inning ends to make it 11-2.
The big inning makes it pointless to bring back Strasburg for another inning, especially since he's expected to throw a day early (Wednesday) in next week's MWC Tournament. Kegan Sharp comes on for Strasburg, whose line is 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO. Strasburg is in line to improve to 12-0. His ERA rises slightly to 1.34. He now has 174 strikeouts on the season with 18 walks in 94.1 IP. Sharp looks sharp in the inning, retiring the Utes in order on a strikeout and two infield grounders.
9TH INNING — The Aztecs go quickly, perhaps eager to get this over with secure in victory with a nine-run lead. Sharp finishes off the Utes, getting Blanc swinging at strike three to end the game.
PREGAME
San Diego State opens a three-game series at Utah on Thursday evening needing a three-game sweep to assure the Aztecs of second place in the Mountain West Conference. The top two teams in the regular season receive a first-round bye, saving valuable pitching in the double-elimination tournament being hosted next week by TCU. The tournament winner receives the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
SDSU sends all-Everything right-hander Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 1.28 ERA, 164 SO, 17 BB in 87.1 IP) to the mound against the Utes. Strasburg is coming off last week's no-hitter against Air Force. He struck out 23 batters in a regular-season game last season against Utah. The Utes would probably like to focus more on their 1-0 win over Strasburg and the Aztecs in the MWC Tournament. Utah sends Brian Budrow (4-4, 5.45 ERA) to the mound.
SDSU (35-18, 13-8) enters the series in third place in the MWC, trailing TCU 12-5 (which has three games remaining) and BYU 14-8 (which has completed conference play). The conference standings will be determined by winning percentage because several teams have had games cancelled because of weather. Utah (20-26, 7-14) is in sixth place in the conference.
The game — and series — is being played in Ogden, Utah, at Lindquist Field, home of the Class A Ogden Raptors (Dodgers affiliate). Utah shares it's field in Salt Lake City with the Triple A Salt Lake City Bees (Angels affiliate) and both teams were scheduled to be at home this weekend, so the Utes moved over to Ogden for the series.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Strasburg no-hits Air Force before record crowd
When I heard on Monday that tonight's San Diego State-Air Force game was already a sellout, I joked with SDSU coach Tony Gwynn that they would really know college baseball had made it in this town when scalpers were hanging out in front of the ticket windows before the game.I guess it wasn't a joke after all.
On Wednesday, an ad turned up on Craigslist for four tickets to the game priced at $40 apiece (face value is $7). And it didn't even guarantee the buyer a seat. The tickets were for standing room only.
Outrageous?
I don't know if the seller ever found a buyer, but it turns out that the tickets would have been worth every penny.
That's how electric it was tonight as SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg pitched the seventh no-hitter in school history — and first in 20 years — in a 5-0 win over Air Force before 3,337, the largest crowd in Tony Gwynn Stadium history.
Strasburg struck out 17 in the game, including seven of the first nine hitters, and allowed just two baserunners in the game — on leadoff walks in the fourth and sixth innings. One of the runners was erased attempting to steal, meaning Strasburg pitched to just one batter over the minimum. In his final home start of the season, Strasburg finished off the Falcons by striking out the side in the ninth inning.
“I was giving it everything I had left," said Strasburg, whose fastball touched 101 mph in the third inning and consistently hit 99 mph during the game. "I think in that last inning my stuff was the best it was the whole game.
Strasburg tossed a one-hitter in his 23-strikeout game last year against Utah and also had a one-hitter last year against TCU, but this was the first no-hitter of his career. Tossing a no-hitter is "hard," said Strasburg, "especially at the college level because you’ve got aluminum bats and a guy could hit a 15 hopper over a guy's head for a single."
Strasburg improved to 11-0 on the season, lowered his ERA to 1.24 and increased his strikeout total to 164 in 87.1 innings with just 17 walks.
“We’ve been seeing the same thing all year," said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. "Tonight wasn’t much different, except that they didn’t get a hit.
"It’s fitting he throws a no-hitter in his last start at home."
There was really no close play that jeopardized the no-hitter. The deepest drive was the one left fielder Brandon Decker caught in the fourth inning at the warning track. In the eighth, Jon McMahon hit a chopper up the middle but shortstop Ryan O’Sullivan ranged behind second base and turned it into an out.
“Everytime Strasburg goes on the mound it’s something special,” said O’Sullivan. “As the game went on, you’re like, ‘Wow, he has a chance to do this.’ In the eighth and ninth, he had that look in his eye like, ‘I’m going to do this.’ “
In the ninth, Strasburg struck out Blair Roberts and Tytus Moss swinging to bring Nathan Carter to the plate and the crowd to its feet. Strasburg started Carter with a strike. Then a ball. Then strike two. Then Carter looked at a slider for strike three.
That set off a celebration.
SDSU catcher Erik Castro threw off his mask with his left hand and inexplicably tossed the ball away with his right (didn't he realize the College Baseball Hall of Fame was going to want the ball to put alongside the one it has from Strasburg's 23-strikeout game?), ran to the mound and picked up the pitcher.
“We didn’t really meet too great," said Castro. "He crushed my nose."
They were quickly joined by first baseman Brandon Meredith and the other infielders, then engulfed by Aztecs teammates from the dugout before the outfielders arrived to join in the group hug/dogpile/celebration.
“It was pretty intense," said Strasburg. "It got to where Brandon Meredith took the fall. I didn’t want to step on him. I was kind of holding him there and bracing for the guys jumping on my back. It’s a great experience. I’ve never really been in a dogpile like that in my life."
SDSU NO-HITTERS
Stephen Strasburg — SDSU 5, Air Force 0 (May 8, 2009)
Jim Gibbs/Kevin Nielsen —SDSU 14, Air Force 0 (April 23, 1989)
Mike Erb —SDSU 7, Utah 1 (April 22, 1986)
Matt Giampaoli — SDSU 7, UC San Diego 0 (March 22, 1982)
Ron Dargo — SDSU 5, BYU 0 (March 28, 1966)
Bill Lefler — SDSU 6, BYU 0 (March 28, 1964)
Richard “Dixie” Walker —SDSU 18, Whittier 0 (March 6, 1954)
PREGAME
The opener of San Diego State's three-game Mountain West Conference series has been a sellout — including standing room only seats — since Monday and Aztecs officials expect the crowd to exceed the record 3,072 who showed up two weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
And it isn't because Air Force is in town.
It's the final regular season home game for SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who comes into the game with a 10-0 record, 1.38 ERA, 147 strikeouts and 15 walks in 78.1 innings this season. The Falcons will send right-hander Casey Allen (1-2, 7.22 ERA) to the mound for his eighth start of the season.
SDSU (31-17, 10-8 MWC) can still finish in second place in conference if it sweeps Air Force (14-31, 3-12) this weekend and and follows that up next week with a sweep at Utah. The top two finishers in the regular season receive first-round byes in the MWC Tournament that is to be hosted by TCU.
SDSU right fielder Cory Vaughn comes into the series leading the Aztecs with 10 home runs and 44 RBI and batting .337. Teammates Erik Castro (.378, 7 HR, 39 RBI) and Brandon Meredith (.305, 5 HR, 37 RBI) aren't far behind.
This must be a big game. The SDSU band is here and cheerleaders are dancing on the Aztecs' dugout. I've been coming to baseball games here since 1981 and never seen either group in attendance before.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg goes right to work, getting leadoff hitter Nathan Carter looking at strike three. Addison Gentry manages a groundout to second base before Matt Alexander also looks at strike three on a good offspeed pitch that ends the inning. Strasburg touches 100 mph with one pitch and hits 99 mph consistently, according to the radar gun SDSU has on him behind the plate. The Aztecs go out in order against Air Force starter Casey Allen in the bottom of the inning.
2ND INNING — Air Force's Ben Ausbun, Jon McMahon and Jack Lupo all get their cuts in against Strasburg, and all three go down swinging. The Aztecs don't all stike out, but they don't do anything against Allen either.
3RD INNING — K.J. Randhawa and Blaire Roberts both strike out swinging before Tytus Moss grounds out to second base. It is six straight strikeouts (seven overall) for Strasburg before Moss makes contact. Shadows from the covering over the west-side standings start creeping toward the mound, making pitches go from sun to shade to sun to shade. As if Strasburg needs any help in an inning when one pitch is clocked at 101 mph. Allen may not be as dominating as his SDSU counterpart, but the results are just as good before he hits Ryan O'Sullivan with a two-out pitch to give the game its first baserunner. O'Sullivan is erased a moment later when Allen picks him off first base.
4TH INNING — Strasburg allows his first baserunner when leadoff hitter Carter works the count to 3-1 and then takes a low fastball for ball 4. No worries. Gentry hit a fly ball to left field for the first out, Alexander strikes out swinging and then Carter is caught stealing — when he overslides second base. In the bottom of the inning, In the bottom of the inning, Meredith finally gets the game's first hit with a two-out single to left field off Allen. But Castro strikes out to end the inning.
5TH INNING — Ausbun opens the inning with a strikeout, then McMahon hits a fly ball to center field for the second out. Lupo then thinks, 'What the heck' and tries to drop a bunt down the first-base line. Meredith picks it up and waits for Lupo to run down the line and tag himself out. Jomel Torres hits a two-out double to right field and Easton Gust follows with an RBI single to left field to give Strasburg a run to work with.
6TH INNING — Strasburg issues another leadoff walk, losing Randhawa on a 3-1 pitch when he's low with a fastball. Roberts tries to bunt his teammate into scoring position, but misses on the first two pitches — both strikes — then pulls his bat back on a slider that catches the outside corner for strike three. Moss steps to the plate and strikes out on three pitches, making Gentry the sole survivor in the lineup. Gentry's groundout and flyout make him the only player who hasn't struck out against Strasburg, although his third at-bat looms in the seventh inning. Randhawa steals second base standing up, but Strasburg pays him no mind and strikes out Carter to end the inning. That's 12 strikeouts for the game, which ties Air Force's season high (against The Citadel) for the season.
In the bottom of the inning, Pat Colwell leads off with a walk, moves to second on an error, goes to third on a flyout and comes home on Castro's slow infield grounder that is thrown offtarget to second for another error. Mitch Blackburn singles home another run two batters later to make it 3-0.
NOTABLE: The PA announcer informs everyone that 3,337 have jammed into Tony Gwynn Stadium. It's the largest crowd ever, surpassing the 3,158 who showed up in 1998 when the Aztecs played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game.
7TH INNING — Gentry leads off and watches strike three whiz by, meaning everyone in the starting lineup has struck out at least once. By the way, Strasburg took a perfect game into the seventh inning last year at home against TCU. That was broken up with a leadoff double in the seventh. Strasburg finished with a one-hitter that night. It was one of two one-hitters and a two-hitter he threw last season. Strasburg gets through the seventh tonight with the no-hitter intact after getting Alexander on a tapper back to the mound before striking out Ausbun to end the inning. That's 14 strikeouts now for the game.
8TH INNING — McMahon leads off the inning with a soft chopper up the middle that Ryan O'Sullivan ranges behind second base to field and throw to first base for the first out. Lupo makes the second out on a soft liner to first base and then the inning ends when Randhawa grounds out to O'Sullivan at short. The Aztecs add two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-0, but the crowd doesn't notice that as much as they do Strasburg running out to the mound for the start of the ninth. He gets a rousing ovation.
Air Force is hitless as Strasburg takes the mound in the ninth. SDSU has six no-hitters in school history, the last coming 20 years ago on a combined effort by Jim Gibbs and Kevin Nielsen in a 14-0 home win over Air Force. By the way, Air Force was no-hit in the season's second game against Kansas.
9TH INNING — With the crowd oohing and aaaahhing on every pitch, Strasburg goes 2-2 to Roberts, who then fouls off a pitch before swinging and missing at a fastball for the first out. Strasburg then starts Moss with a ball before getting two strikes on him and then another strikeout (Castro throwing to first for the putout). The crowd rises in unison for the final out. Strasburg starts Carter with a strike. Then a ball. Then a strike. Then strike three. Game over. No-hitter. Strasburg is mobbed by his teammates on the mound.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Strasburg's place among college baseball's elite
There was plenty of hype for San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg coming into the season. Amazingly, he has lived up to if not exceeded those expectations.
His name is mentioned in the same breath now with the greatest pitchers in college baseball history. I took a look at Strasburg's place among the best of the best in a story published right here in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
No wonder crowds come out in record numbers every time he pitches now. A record 3,072 were in attendance two weeks ago when Strasburg beat TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg makes his final regular season home start Friday against Air Force in a game that was declared a sellout on Monday.
I joked after Monday's press conference that you will know Strasburg's really made if there are scalpers out front of Tony Gwynn Stadium before the game.
It's no joke anymore.
Wednesday, someone had an ad on Craigslist offering four tickets to the game for $40 apiece (face value $7). And they didn't even include a seat — they were for standing room only.
Crazy.
His name is mentioned in the same breath now with the greatest pitchers in college baseball history. I took a look at Strasburg's place among the best of the best in a story published right here in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
No wonder crowds come out in record numbers every time he pitches now. A record 3,072 were in attendance two weeks ago when Strasburg beat TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg makes his final regular season home start Friday against Air Force in a game that was declared a sellout on Monday.
I joked after Monday's press conference that you will know Strasburg's really made if there are scalpers out front of Tony Gwynn Stadium before the game.
It's no joke anymore.
Wednesday, someone had an ad on Craigslist offering four tickets to the game for $40 apiece (face value $7). And they didn't even include a seat — they were for standing room only.
Crazy.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Strasburg 10-0 after beating Santa Clara
RECAP
San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg continued a season for the ages tonight, notching his 10th victory in the Aztecs' 5-0 victory at Santa Clara.
Strasburg (10-0) became the 14th pitcher in SDSU history to reach double-digit victories and the first since the 1990 season. He pitched eight strong innings, allowing three hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. He threw 105 pitches, according to SDSU play-by-play man Craig Elsten. Strasburg, who lowered his ERA to 1.38, now has 147 strikeouts with 15 walks over 78.1 innings pitched this season.
By the way, the crowd of 1,496 that came out for the game was a record at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium.
SDSU second baseman Mitch Blackburn led the Aztecs with two RBI. Teammate Erik Castro had three of the team's 12 hits, raising his season average to .389.
SDSU (29-17) and Santa Clara (15-26) continue the four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader and conclude it with a single game on Sunday.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — A two-out single by Brandon Meredith and a walk to Erik Castro put runners at first and second, but Santa Clara starter Nate Garcia gets out of it by getting Cory Vaughn on a fly out. Strasburg gets started quickly, striking out Matt Long and Kevin Madden swinging. He then hits Jon Karcich with a pitch before retiring Geoff Klein on a fly to left to end the inning.
2ND INNING — The Aztecs again get runners to first and second, this time with one out, but Garcia escapes again by getting Ryan O'Sullivan on a fly out and Pat Colwell with a strikeout. Strasburg gets Brady Fuerst swining to open the inning and closes it by getting Long swinging. In between he issues two walks — what would be his only walks of the game — but the Broncos can't do anything with this brief bit of wildness.
3RD INNING — A Brandon Decker walk, Meredith single and Castro walk load the bases with no outs. Garcia won't escape unscatched this time as singles by Blackburn and Jomel Torres produce a 2-0 lead. Madden opens the bottom of the inning with a single against Strasburg, who erases him a moment later with a grounder that SDSU's defense turns into a double play. The inning ends a batter later with Klein looking at strike three.
4TH INNING — Garcia gets the Aztecs in order and Strasburg does likewise to the Broncos, getting Andrew Biancardi with a swinging strikeout.
5TH INNING — RBIs by Vaughn, Blackburn and East Gust provide a three-run inning and a 5-0 lead that seems all but insurmountable with you-know-who on the mound. Strasburg underscores the point in the bottom of the inning by striking out the side.
6TH INNING — Garcia doesn't allow a run, but the damage has been done. Madden reaches on an error to open the inning for Santa Clara but Strasburg pays him no mind, getting the Broncos with a flyout, a strikeout and a popout. Klein is the strikeout victim, Strasburg's 10th of the game. It is his 10th double-digit strikeout performance in 11 starts this season.
7TH INNING — Both sides go down in order — Strasburg ending the inning with a strikeout of Kyle Van Dusen.
8TH INNING — Santa Clara reliever Cory Hall takes over for Garcia and quickly retires the Aztecs. Strasburg opens his final inning with a strikeout of Juan Parra and faces the minimum for the sixth time in eight innings.
STRASBURG'S LINE: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 SO
9TH INNING — Castro gets his third hit of the game, but never gets past first base. Andrew Leary relieves Strasburg and closes out the Broncos. Leary sandwiches two strikeouts around a single by Klein, then gets Biancardi on a grounder to third base to end the game.
PREGAME
San Diego State gets the week off from Mountain West Conference play, but the Aztecs face an important weekend nonetheless with a four-game series at Santa Clara.
SDSU (28-17) has 11 games remaining in the regular season and needs to secure as many victories as possible down the stretch to position the Aztecs for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament should the team fail to win the MWC Tournament and the automatic postseason berth that comes with it.
Santa Clara (15-25) has struggled this season, so the Aztecs can ill-afford to give any ground against the Broncos. SDSU needs three wins this weekend. AT LEAST THREE WINS. SDSU comes into the weekend with an RPI of 27. But that's going to take a hit with Santa Clara (186), Air Force (268) and Utah (131) to close out the regular season. The Aztecs can't control how much their RPI slips, other than to win and let everything else take care of itself.
SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (9-0, 1.54 ERA) takes the mound tonight looking for his 10th straight victory. Strasburg has 135 strikeouts on the season with just 13 walks over 70.1 innings.
Santa Clara dealt Strasburg one of his three losses last season, although shoddy defense behind the right-hander was mainly responsible for the Aztecs' 10-6 loss. Strasburg struck out nine and walked one over 5.1 innings against the Broncos. He allowed seven hits and seven runs, although only two of the runs were earned. It was only his third career start. Strasburg has improved some since then.
San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg continued a season for the ages tonight, notching his 10th victory in the Aztecs' 5-0 victory at Santa Clara.
Strasburg (10-0) became the 14th pitcher in SDSU history to reach double-digit victories and the first since the 1990 season. He pitched eight strong innings, allowing three hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. He threw 105 pitches, according to SDSU play-by-play man Craig Elsten. Strasburg, who lowered his ERA to 1.38, now has 147 strikeouts with 15 walks over 78.1 innings pitched this season.
By the way, the crowd of 1,496 that came out for the game was a record at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium.
SDSU second baseman Mitch Blackburn led the Aztecs with two RBI. Teammate Erik Castro had three of the team's 12 hits, raising his season average to .389.
SDSU (29-17) and Santa Clara (15-26) continue the four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader and conclude it with a single game on Sunday.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — A two-out single by Brandon Meredith and a walk to Erik Castro put runners at first and second, but Santa Clara starter Nate Garcia gets out of it by getting Cory Vaughn on a fly out. Strasburg gets started quickly, striking out Matt Long and Kevin Madden swinging. He then hits Jon Karcich with a pitch before retiring Geoff Klein on a fly to left to end the inning.
2ND INNING — The Aztecs again get runners to first and second, this time with one out, but Garcia escapes again by getting Ryan O'Sullivan on a fly out and Pat Colwell with a strikeout. Strasburg gets Brady Fuerst swining to open the inning and closes it by getting Long swinging. In between he issues two walks — what would be his only walks of the game — but the Broncos can't do anything with this brief bit of wildness.
3RD INNING — A Brandon Decker walk, Meredith single and Castro walk load the bases with no outs. Garcia won't escape unscatched this time as singles by Blackburn and Jomel Torres produce a 2-0 lead. Madden opens the bottom of the inning with a single against Strasburg, who erases him a moment later with a grounder that SDSU's defense turns into a double play. The inning ends a batter later with Klein looking at strike three.
4TH INNING — Garcia gets the Aztecs in order and Strasburg does likewise to the Broncos, getting Andrew Biancardi with a swinging strikeout.
5TH INNING — RBIs by Vaughn, Blackburn and East Gust provide a three-run inning and a 5-0 lead that seems all but insurmountable with you-know-who on the mound. Strasburg underscores the point in the bottom of the inning by striking out the side.
6TH INNING — Garcia doesn't allow a run, but the damage has been done. Madden reaches on an error to open the inning for Santa Clara but Strasburg pays him no mind, getting the Broncos with a flyout, a strikeout and a popout. Klein is the strikeout victim, Strasburg's 10th of the game. It is his 10th double-digit strikeout performance in 11 starts this season.
7TH INNING — Both sides go down in order — Strasburg ending the inning with a strikeout of Kyle Van Dusen.
8TH INNING — Santa Clara reliever Cory Hall takes over for Garcia and quickly retires the Aztecs. Strasburg opens his final inning with a strikeout of Juan Parra and faces the minimum for the sixth time in eight innings.
STRASBURG'S LINE: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 SO
9TH INNING — Castro gets his third hit of the game, but never gets past first base. Andrew Leary relieves Strasburg and closes out the Broncos. Leary sandwiches two strikeouts around a single by Klein, then gets Biancardi on a grounder to third base to end the game.
PREGAME
San Diego State gets the week off from Mountain West Conference play, but the Aztecs face an important weekend nonetheless with a four-game series at Santa Clara.
SDSU (28-17) has 11 games remaining in the regular season and needs to secure as many victories as possible down the stretch to position the Aztecs for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament should the team fail to win the MWC Tournament and the automatic postseason berth that comes with it.
Santa Clara (15-25) has struggled this season, so the Aztecs can ill-afford to give any ground against the Broncos. SDSU needs three wins this weekend. AT LEAST THREE WINS. SDSU comes into the weekend with an RPI of 27. But that's going to take a hit with Santa Clara (186), Air Force (268) and Utah (131) to close out the regular season. The Aztecs can't control how much their RPI slips, other than to win and let everything else take care of itself.
SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (9-0, 1.54 ERA) takes the mound tonight looking for his 10th straight victory. Strasburg has 135 strikeouts on the season with just 13 walks over 70.1 innings.
Santa Clara dealt Strasburg one of his three losses last season, although shoddy defense behind the right-hander was mainly responsible for the Aztecs' 10-6 loss. Strasburg struck out nine and walked one over 5.1 innings against the Broncos. He allowed seven hits and seven runs, although only two of the runs were earned. It was only his third career start. Strasburg has improved some since then.
Friday, April 24, 2009
SDSU beats TCU 4-3
RECAP
Stephen Strasburg (9-0) remains unbeaten in SDSU's 4-3 Mountain West Conference win over TCU before 3,072 at Tony Gwynn Stadium, the largest crowd ever to see a college baseball game at the school.
Strasburg struck out 14 and set SDSU single-season and career strikeout records, but also was touched for a three-run homer by the Horned Frogs' Bryan Holaday in the seventh inning that made it 4-3. Strasburg threw 121 pitches over seven innings, allowing four hits with one walk. He now has 135 strikeouts and 13 walks in 70.1 innings pitched this season.
SDSU closer Addison Reed got the game's final four outs, finishing off No. 16-ranked TCU (25-12, 6-4 MWC) for his national-leading 14th save.
SDSU's Brandon Decker led the offense with three hits and three RBI for the No. 19 Aztecs (28-15, 10-6 MWC).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg comes out firing — striking out Corey Steglich, Taylor Featherston and Matt Carpenter to open the game. That still wasn't enough to get out of the inning, however. Carpenter reached base when the ball bounced high and rolled up the screen behind the plate. Strasburg got Chris Ellington to fly to left field to end the inning. A radar gun in the second row behind the plate gets two pitches at 100 mph in the first inning. He will be consistently 98-99 mph over the next several innings.
SDSU put two runners on with two outs, but Hoelscher got out of it when Cory Vaughn's sharp grounder was gloved by Featherston and turned into a force play at second base. SDSU leadoff hitter Pat Colwell lines a ball off the pitcher to open the bottom of the inning, but Hoelscher takes a few warmup pitches and seems no worse for it.
2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order — getting Matt Curry on strikes. That strikeout is the 305th of Strasburg's career, breaking the SDSU record held by former teammate Bruce Billings.
Hoelscher can't find the strike zone when he returns to the mound, walking Mitch Blackburn (who moves to third on a wild pickoff throw) and Jomel Torres. Easton Gust then parachutes a single into short right-center to bring home Blackburn and make it 1-0. Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out, but then Coldwell walks to load the bases. Brandon Decker's single up the middle plates two, making it 3-0. It should be plenty of support for Strasburg, who hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his previous nine starts this season.
3RD INNING — Three up, three down, with a strikeout of Aaron Schultz mixed in between a couple of line outs.
The Aztecs get a couple of runners aboard, but don't make anything of it.
4TH INNING — Strasburg gets Featherston on strikes again, then gets Carpenter on a soft grounder to second. He took a perfect game into the seventh here against TCU last season. Any chance for perfection was eliminated when Carpenter reached on the first-inning strikeout/wild pitch. A no-hitter was still a possibility tonight before Chris Ellington chopped a one-out single between third and short. Shortstop O'Sullivan gloved the ball deep in the hole but his throw wasn't in time to prevent Ellington from being awarded a single. The inning ended with the next batter, Matt Vern, who became Strasburg's seventh strikeout victim.
Cory Vaughn chases strike three as the Aztecs strand two runners for the fourth straight innings.
5TH INNING — Curry strikes out before Bryan Holaday works a 1-2 count into TCU's first walk of the game. Strasburg then strikes out Jason Coats looking and Schultz swinging for his 10th strikeout of the game. It is the ninth time in 10 games that Strasburg has reached double-digit strikes (he had but six against UC Davis).
6TH INNING — Sterlich fouls off several two-strike pitches before fouling out to Meredith at first. Strasburg then strikes outs Featherston and Carpenter to end the inning. That gives him 12 strikeouts for the game and 133 for the season, tying his single-season record.
Decker singles in another run to make it 4-0. It seems like a huge advantage, but the Aztecs would need every bit of it soon enough.
7TH INNING — Ellington and Vern surprise Strasburg with a pair of singles, but the real shocker comes one out later when Holaday gets ahold of a 3-1 pitch and launches it over the left field wall for a three-run homer to make it 4-3. Strasburg is clearly perturbed with himself as Horned Frogs players circle the bases. He gets a new ball from plate umpire Bill Van Raaphorst, refocuses and then strikes out Coats swinging and Schultz looking to end the inning. The strikeout of Coats breaks his single-season strikeout record, not that it meant much to Strasburg at that point.
SDSU goes down in order in the seventh.
Strasburg is done for the game, with Andrew Leary coming on in relief in the eighth inning.
STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO
8TH INNING — Leary finds himself in a predicament when TCU puts runners at second and third with one out. But he strikes out Ellington for the second out, then issues an intentional walk to load the bases and hands the ball to closer Addison Reed, who returns the situation to Defcon 1 by striking out pinch hitter Jimmie Pharr to end the inning.
9TH INNING — Reed gets Holaday on a tapper to the mound, then strikes out Coats and Schultz to end the game.
PREGAME
The Stephen Strasburg phenomenon should reach new heights tonight with a record crowd expected at Tony Gwynn Stadium for the junior right-hander's Mountain West Conference start against TCU.
No. 19-ranked SDSU (27-15, MWC 9-6) is in fourth place in conference, just behind New Mexico (11-5) and BYU (10-6). TCU (6-3) is in the mix, although the Horned Frogs have played far fewer games because of a bye and having last weekend's series at Air Force snowed out.
No. 16-ranked TCU is scheduled to send sophomore Sean Hoelscher (2-1, 7.00 ERA) to the mound.
Strasburg (8-0, 1.28 ERA, 121 SO, 12 BB in 3.1 IP) makes his 10th start of the season. He is coming off a 1-0 complete-game victory at New Mexico last week that people were still talking about this week. I saw good story in SDSU's Daily Aztecs the other day that included some choice comments from New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham, who said, in part: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”
All Strasburg did was strike out 14 batters — including the last two of the game with a runner at third base.
After the game, Birmingham was complaining about Strasburg pumping his fist when the game ended.
It's called emotion, Coach.
Strasburg has a chance to reach a couple of SDSU milestones tonight against TCU. He needs just four strikeouts to pass former teammate Bruce Billings (304) for most career strikeouts. Strasburg needs 13Ks to break the single-season record of 133 he set last season.
Strasburg had 14 strikeouts in an 11-5 win at TCU four weeks ago.
The largest crowd ever to see a college game is expected tonight to see what Strasburg has in store.
On Thursday, San Diego State sold out of tickets for regular seating. The school's supply of standing room only and picnic area seats was exhausted today.
Here are the top 10 crowds at Tony Gwynn Stadium:
3,158 — New York Yankees 12, SDSU 3 (March 30, 1998, exhibition)
2,857 — Texas 9, SDSU 3 (Feb. 4, 2005)
2,353 — Texas 13, SDSU 5 (Feb. 5, 2005)
2,102 — SDSU 4, UNLV 3 (March 13, 2009)
2,032 — BYU 4, SDSU 2 (March 20, 2009)
1,788 — Utah 2, SDSU 1 (Apr. 27, 2002)
1,549 — SDSU 6, Utah 5 (Apr. 28, 2002)
1,509 — USD 8, SDSU 4 (Apr. 15, 2003)
1,507 — SDSU 5, UC Riverside 4 (Feb. 5, 2002)
1,491 — SDSU 7, Fresno State 4 (May 15, 1997)
1,446 — SDSU 5, New Mexico 3 (May 3, 1997)
Stephen Strasburg (9-0) remains unbeaten in SDSU's 4-3 Mountain West Conference win over TCU before 3,072 at Tony Gwynn Stadium, the largest crowd ever to see a college baseball game at the school.
Strasburg struck out 14 and set SDSU single-season and career strikeout records, but also was touched for a three-run homer by the Horned Frogs' Bryan Holaday in the seventh inning that made it 4-3. Strasburg threw 121 pitches over seven innings, allowing four hits with one walk. He now has 135 strikeouts and 13 walks in 70.1 innings pitched this season.
SDSU closer Addison Reed got the game's final four outs, finishing off No. 16-ranked TCU (25-12, 6-4 MWC) for his national-leading 14th save.
SDSU's Brandon Decker led the offense with three hits and three RBI for the No. 19 Aztecs (28-15, 10-6 MWC).
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg comes out firing — striking out Corey Steglich, Taylor Featherston and Matt Carpenter to open the game. That still wasn't enough to get out of the inning, however. Carpenter reached base when the ball bounced high and rolled up the screen behind the plate. Strasburg got Chris Ellington to fly to left field to end the inning. A radar gun in the second row behind the plate gets two pitches at 100 mph in the first inning. He will be consistently 98-99 mph over the next several innings.
SDSU put two runners on with two outs, but Hoelscher got out of it when Cory Vaughn's sharp grounder was gloved by Featherston and turned into a force play at second base. SDSU leadoff hitter Pat Colwell lines a ball off the pitcher to open the bottom of the inning, but Hoelscher takes a few warmup pitches and seems no worse for it.
2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order — getting Matt Curry on strikes. That strikeout is the 305th of Strasburg's career, breaking the SDSU record held by former teammate Bruce Billings.
Hoelscher can't find the strike zone when he returns to the mound, walking Mitch Blackburn (who moves to third on a wild pickoff throw) and Jomel Torres. Easton Gust then parachutes a single into short right-center to bring home Blackburn and make it 1-0. Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out, but then Coldwell walks to load the bases. Brandon Decker's single up the middle plates two, making it 3-0. It should be plenty of support for Strasburg, who hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his previous nine starts this season.
3RD INNING — Three up, three down, with a strikeout of Aaron Schultz mixed in between a couple of line outs.
The Aztecs get a couple of runners aboard, but don't make anything of it.
4TH INNING — Strasburg gets Featherston on strikes again, then gets Carpenter on a soft grounder to second. He took a perfect game into the seventh here against TCU last season. Any chance for perfection was eliminated when Carpenter reached on the first-inning strikeout/wild pitch. A no-hitter was still a possibility tonight before Chris Ellington chopped a one-out single between third and short. Shortstop O'Sullivan gloved the ball deep in the hole but his throw wasn't in time to prevent Ellington from being awarded a single. The inning ended with the next batter, Matt Vern, who became Strasburg's seventh strikeout victim.
Cory Vaughn chases strike three as the Aztecs strand two runners for the fourth straight innings.
5TH INNING — Curry strikes out before Bryan Holaday works a 1-2 count into TCU's first walk of the game. Strasburg then strikes out Jason Coats looking and Schultz swinging for his 10th strikeout of the game. It is the ninth time in 10 games that Strasburg has reached double-digit strikes (he had but six against UC Davis).
6TH INNING — Sterlich fouls off several two-strike pitches before fouling out to Meredith at first. Strasburg then strikes outs Featherston and Carpenter to end the inning. That gives him 12 strikeouts for the game and 133 for the season, tying his single-season record.
Decker singles in another run to make it 4-0. It seems like a huge advantage, but the Aztecs would need every bit of it soon enough.
7TH INNING — Ellington and Vern surprise Strasburg with a pair of singles, but the real shocker comes one out later when Holaday gets ahold of a 3-1 pitch and launches it over the left field wall for a three-run homer to make it 4-3. Strasburg is clearly perturbed with himself as Horned Frogs players circle the bases. He gets a new ball from plate umpire Bill Van Raaphorst, refocuses and then strikes out Coats swinging and Schultz looking to end the inning. The strikeout of Coats breaks his single-season strikeout record, not that it meant much to Strasburg at that point.
SDSU goes down in order in the seventh.
Strasburg is done for the game, with Andrew Leary coming on in relief in the eighth inning.
STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO
8TH INNING — Leary finds himself in a predicament when TCU puts runners at second and third with one out. But he strikes out Ellington for the second out, then issues an intentional walk to load the bases and hands the ball to closer Addison Reed, who returns the situation to Defcon 1 by striking out pinch hitter Jimmie Pharr to end the inning.
9TH INNING — Reed gets Holaday on a tapper to the mound, then strikes out Coats and Schultz to end the game.
PREGAME
The Stephen Strasburg phenomenon should reach new heights tonight with a record crowd expected at Tony Gwynn Stadium for the junior right-hander's Mountain West Conference start against TCU.
No. 19-ranked SDSU (27-15, MWC 9-6) is in fourth place in conference, just behind New Mexico (11-5) and BYU (10-6). TCU (6-3) is in the mix, although the Horned Frogs have played far fewer games because of a bye and having last weekend's series at Air Force snowed out.
No. 16-ranked TCU is scheduled to send sophomore Sean Hoelscher (2-1, 7.00 ERA) to the mound.
Strasburg (8-0, 1.28 ERA, 121 SO, 12 BB in 3.1 IP) makes his 10th start of the season. He is coming off a 1-0 complete-game victory at New Mexico last week that people were still talking about this week. I saw good story in SDSU's Daily Aztecs the other day that included some choice comments from New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham, who said, in part: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”
All Strasburg did was strike out 14 batters — including the last two of the game with a runner at third base.
After the game, Birmingham was complaining about Strasburg pumping his fist when the game ended.
It's called emotion, Coach.
Strasburg has a chance to reach a couple of SDSU milestones tonight against TCU. He needs just four strikeouts to pass former teammate Bruce Billings (304) for most career strikeouts. Strasburg needs 13Ks to break the single-season record of 133 he set last season.
Strasburg had 14 strikeouts in an 11-5 win at TCU four weeks ago.
The largest crowd ever to see a college game is expected tonight to see what Strasburg has in store.
On Thursday, San Diego State sold out of tickets for regular seating. The school's supply of standing room only and picnic area seats was exhausted today.
Here are the top 10 crowds at Tony Gwynn Stadium:
3,158 — New York Yankees 12, SDSU 3 (March 30, 1998, exhibition)
2,857 — Texas 9, SDSU 3 (Feb. 4, 2005)
2,353 — Texas 13, SDSU 5 (Feb. 5, 2005)
2,102 — SDSU 4, UNLV 3 (March 13, 2009)
2,032 — BYU 4, SDSU 2 (March 20, 2009)
1,788 — Utah 2, SDSU 1 (Apr. 27, 2002)
1,549 — SDSU 6, Utah 5 (Apr. 28, 2002)
1,509 — USD 8, SDSU 4 (Apr. 15, 2003)
1,507 — SDSU 5, UC Riverside 4 (Feb. 5, 2002)
1,491 — SDSU 7, Fresno State 4 (May 15, 1997)
1,446 — SDSU 5, New Mexico 3 (May 3, 1997)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Strasburg slams door on New Mexico in 1-0 win
RECAP
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (8-0) pitched a six-hit shutout for a 1-0 Mountain West Conference road win over New Mexico. Freshman Brandon Meredith's solo home run in the fourth inning for the Aztecs provides all the offense in the game. Strasburg makes it hold up with his first complete game of the season, striking out 14 while allowing just one walk. It is the first shutout of the season for the Lobos, who were averaging 9.9 runs a game.
The victory gives No. 15-ranked SDSU (26-13, 9-4 MWC) sole possession of first place in the conference over New Mexico (28-11, 8-5).
Things got tense in the late innings. The Aztecs threw out a runner at the plate to end the eighth inning. Strasburg, who threw nearly 130 pitches, stranded a runner at third base in both the fifth and ninth innings. New Mexico moved a runner to third with one out in the ninth, but Strasburg struck out the next two hitters to end the game.
Strasburg now leads the nation with 121 strikeouts and strikeouts/nine innings with 17.19 (the national record is 16.8 by Houston's Ryan Wagner). He is also among the nation's leaders in victories (8) and ERA (1.28). He moved into second place on SDSU's career strikeouts list with 301 (Bruce Billings is the leader with 304) and is approaching the single-season strikeout record he set last season with 133.
Something else to ponder: Strasburg has four more regular-season starts plus one start in the MWC Tournament and remains on pace to become the 16th pitcher in NCAA history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season. He would accomplish the feat in 14 appearances. No one else on the list did it in fewer than 19 appearances.
Strasburg's next start is Friday, April 24, vs. TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
PREGAME
No. 15-ranked San Diego State travels to New Mexico for a first-place showdown with the Lobos, who sit atop the Mountain West Conference with the Aztecs. Both teams are 8-4 in the MWC coming into the three-game series in Albuquerque.
SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg (7-0, 1.49 ERA, 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP) makes his ninth start of the season. New Mexico was the only MWC to avoid Strasburg last season. He missed his start against the Lobos with a cold that became a severe inner ear infection. It preceded his breakout game the following week when he struck out 23 batters against Utah.
Still weary from last week's roadtrip to Las Vegas (and wearing a barrel after dropping $31 in video poker), the blog will follow the game from our home offices in Santaluz (four miles north of the Ted Williams Parkway as the crow flies). Our vast network of information sources will be monitored for developments as they develop.
The teams take the field on a cold, misty evening with the temperature in the 40s.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — New Mexico strting pitcher John Hesketh retires the Aztecs in order to start the game. Strasburg takes the mound and immediately strikes out leadoff hitter Mike Brownstein looking, then gets Max Willett swinging (catcher Erik Castro throws down to first to get the putout) and Ryan Honeycutt on a fly to left.
One thing I've noticed in recent weeks is that Strasburg has gotten several strikeouts on wild pitches, including one last week at UNLV in which Ryan Thornton reached first base when the ball got past Castro. With teams trying to jump on Strasburg's fastball early the past couple of outings, he has switched to offspeed pitches and his curveball has made a few batters look silly. So much so that he's gotten strikeouts on balls bouncing in the dirt in front of the plate.
2ND INNING — The Aztecs get Cory Vaughn and Castro to second and third with one out, but can't get them home when Easton Gust grounds out Mitch Blackburn flies out. New Mexico's Rafael Neda singles off Strasburg to open the bottom of the inning. The Lobos have something going one out later when an error by Gust gives them runners at first and second. SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan helps Strasburg get out of it, catching a popup before turning a ground ball into the third out of the inning.
3RD INNING — SDSU goes down in order again. Meanwhile, Strasburg allows the leadoff hitter to reach base again, this time with a walk to Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is sacrificed to second base before Willett strikes out. Honeycutt singles to put corners at the corners, but Neda strikes out (with Castro throwing down to first base for the putout).
4TH INNING — Brandon Meredith's leadoff homer to left field finally gives Strasburg a run to work with. It is the third homer of the season for the freshman from Montgomery High, who came into the game batting .289. Hesketh strands two runners later in the inning to prevent further damage. Strasburg strikes out Dane Hamilton to open the bottom of the inning before Brian Cavazos-Galvez singles to center. But Castro erases Cavazos-Galvez quicker than you can say his name on a steal attempt and Strasburg gets Justin Howard on a gronder to short to end the inning.
5TH INNING — SDSU is retired in order for the third time in five innings. Hesketh is pithing a heckuva game. He just picked the wrong day to do it. Perhaps a glimpse of hope for New Mexico when Adam Courcha leads off with a triple. Not to worry. Courcha is left standing around when Strasburg gets a grounder to third base for one and retires the next two batters on strikeouts. Willett ends the innings with is third strikeout of the game.
6TH INNING — Meredith and Castro open the inning with a walk and single, respectively, but are stranded when Hesketh sets down the next three hitters in order. Strasburg must have his curveball working again. Honeycutt strikes out leading off and for the third time Castro has to throw down to Meredith at first base for the putout. Neda then grounds out to second base before Hamilton strikes out looking. Strasburg has nine strikeouts and will return to the mound looking for his eighth double-digit strikeout game in nine starts.
7TH INNING — Pat Colwell's two-out double puts a runner in scoring position, but Brandon Decker follows with a flyout and the threat ends. Strasburg comes out with his strongest inning of the game — striking out Cavazos-Galvez, Howard and Courcha all swinging. That's 12 strikeouts for the game, 119 strikeouts for the season and 299 strikeouts career for Strasburg, who ties Mike Erb (1985-87) for second place on SDSU's all-time strikeout list.
Strasburg opened the season listed No. 15 on the school's career strikeout list. Former teammate Bruce Billings (2004-07) is the only one ahead of Strsburg now at 304. Enjoy it for another week, Bruce. Or another two innings? Craig Elsten on the Aztecs' internet broadcast has Strasburg at 96 pitches through seven innings.
Strasburg set SDSU's single-season strikeout record last season with 133. He is positioned to break that with next week's home start against TCU. Strasburg struck out 14 against the Horned Frogs at TCU three weeks ago.
8TH INNING — New Mexico employs a different method of retiring the Aztecs in order for the fourth time, using three different relievers to get the three outs. In the bottom of the inning, Gonzalez leads off with a single to right and nearly gets picked off after rounding hard when Vaughn throws behind him at first. Brownstein sacrifices Gonzalez to second to put the tying run 180 feet away. But pinch hitter Kevin Atkinson's grounder to third freezes the runner as the Aztecs get the second out. Honeycutt strokes a 2-2 pitch to left field for a single. On the internet broadcast, Craig Elsten says Decker fields the ball before Gonzalez rounds third. But Gonzalez is waved to the plate, anyway. Decker's throw is so fr ahed of Gonzalez that Castro could have enjoyed some peanuts and Cracker Jack before easily making the tag to end the inning.
9TH INNING — The Aztecs don't make anything of a two-out walk, trusting a 1-0 lead to their All-American. Strasburg returns with a complete-game shutout on his mind. Neda leads off with a single to left field before pinch runner Cameron Monger is sacrificed to second. Monger then surprises the Aztecs by stealing third base. SDSU brings the infield in. Strasburg takes care of Cavazos-Galvez himself with a strikeout, his 13th of the game and 300th of his career. Strasburg gets two quick strikes on Howard, then wastes a slider outside for a ball. Strasburg's next pitch is a strike that Howard can't handle and the game is over.
STRSBURG'S LINE — 9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO (121 SO/12 BB in 63.1 IP this season with a 1.28 ERA)
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (8-0) pitched a six-hit shutout for a 1-0 Mountain West Conference road win over New Mexico. Freshman Brandon Meredith's solo home run in the fourth inning for the Aztecs provides all the offense in the game. Strasburg makes it hold up with his first complete game of the season, striking out 14 while allowing just one walk. It is the first shutout of the season for the Lobos, who were averaging 9.9 runs a game.
The victory gives No. 15-ranked SDSU (26-13, 9-4 MWC) sole possession of first place in the conference over New Mexico (28-11, 8-5).
Things got tense in the late innings. The Aztecs threw out a runner at the plate to end the eighth inning. Strasburg, who threw nearly 130 pitches, stranded a runner at third base in both the fifth and ninth innings. New Mexico moved a runner to third with one out in the ninth, but Strasburg struck out the next two hitters to end the game.
Strasburg now leads the nation with 121 strikeouts and strikeouts/nine innings with 17.19 (the national record is 16.8 by Houston's Ryan Wagner). He is also among the nation's leaders in victories (8) and ERA (1.28). He moved into second place on SDSU's career strikeouts list with 301 (Bruce Billings is the leader with 304) and is approaching the single-season strikeout record he set last season with 133.
Something else to ponder: Strasburg has four more regular-season starts plus one start in the MWC Tournament and remains on pace to become the 16th pitcher in NCAA history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season. He would accomplish the feat in 14 appearances. No one else on the list did it in fewer than 19 appearances.
Strasburg's next start is Friday, April 24, vs. TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
PREGAME
No. 15-ranked San Diego State travels to New Mexico for a first-place showdown with the Lobos, who sit atop the Mountain West Conference with the Aztecs. Both teams are 8-4 in the MWC coming into the three-game series in Albuquerque.
SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg (7-0, 1.49 ERA, 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP) makes his ninth start of the season. New Mexico was the only MWC to avoid Strasburg last season. He missed his start against the Lobos with a cold that became a severe inner ear infection. It preceded his breakout game the following week when he struck out 23 batters against Utah.
Still weary from last week's roadtrip to Las Vegas (and wearing a barrel after dropping $31 in video poker), the blog will follow the game from our home offices in Santaluz (four miles north of the Ted Williams Parkway as the crow flies). Our vast network of information sources will be monitored for developments as they develop.
The teams take the field on a cold, misty evening with the temperature in the 40s.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — New Mexico strting pitcher John Hesketh retires the Aztecs in order to start the game. Strasburg takes the mound and immediately strikes out leadoff hitter Mike Brownstein looking, then gets Max Willett swinging (catcher Erik Castro throws down to first to get the putout) and Ryan Honeycutt on a fly to left.
One thing I've noticed in recent weeks is that Strasburg has gotten several strikeouts on wild pitches, including one last week at UNLV in which Ryan Thornton reached first base when the ball got past Castro. With teams trying to jump on Strasburg's fastball early the past couple of outings, he has switched to offspeed pitches and his curveball has made a few batters look silly. So much so that he's gotten strikeouts on balls bouncing in the dirt in front of the plate.
2ND INNING — The Aztecs get Cory Vaughn and Castro to second and third with one out, but can't get them home when Easton Gust grounds out Mitch Blackburn flies out. New Mexico's Rafael Neda singles off Strasburg to open the bottom of the inning. The Lobos have something going one out later when an error by Gust gives them runners at first and second. SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan helps Strasburg get out of it, catching a popup before turning a ground ball into the third out of the inning.
3RD INNING — SDSU goes down in order again. Meanwhile, Strasburg allows the leadoff hitter to reach base again, this time with a walk to Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is sacrificed to second base before Willett strikes out. Honeycutt singles to put corners at the corners, but Neda strikes out (with Castro throwing down to first base for the putout).
4TH INNING — Brandon Meredith's leadoff homer to left field finally gives Strasburg a run to work with. It is the third homer of the season for the freshman from Montgomery High, who came into the game batting .289. Hesketh strands two runners later in the inning to prevent further damage. Strasburg strikes out Dane Hamilton to open the bottom of the inning before Brian Cavazos-Galvez singles to center. But Castro erases Cavazos-Galvez quicker than you can say his name on a steal attempt and Strasburg gets Justin Howard on a gronder to short to end the inning.
5TH INNING — SDSU is retired in order for the third time in five innings. Hesketh is pithing a heckuva game. He just picked the wrong day to do it. Perhaps a glimpse of hope for New Mexico when Adam Courcha leads off with a triple. Not to worry. Courcha is left standing around when Strasburg gets a grounder to third base for one and retires the next two batters on strikeouts. Willett ends the innings with is third strikeout of the game.
6TH INNING — Meredith and Castro open the inning with a walk and single, respectively, but are stranded when Hesketh sets down the next three hitters in order. Strasburg must have his curveball working again. Honeycutt strikes out leading off and for the third time Castro has to throw down to Meredith at first base for the putout. Neda then grounds out to second base before Hamilton strikes out looking. Strasburg has nine strikeouts and will return to the mound looking for his eighth double-digit strikeout game in nine starts.
7TH INNING — Pat Colwell's two-out double puts a runner in scoring position, but Brandon Decker follows with a flyout and the threat ends. Strasburg comes out with his strongest inning of the game — striking out Cavazos-Galvez, Howard and Courcha all swinging. That's 12 strikeouts for the game, 119 strikeouts for the season and 299 strikeouts career for Strasburg, who ties Mike Erb (1985-87) for second place on SDSU's all-time strikeout list.
Strasburg opened the season listed No. 15 on the school's career strikeout list. Former teammate Bruce Billings (2004-07) is the only one ahead of Strsburg now at 304. Enjoy it for another week, Bruce. Or another two innings? Craig Elsten on the Aztecs' internet broadcast has Strasburg at 96 pitches through seven innings.
Strasburg set SDSU's single-season strikeout record last season with 133. He is positioned to break that with next week's home start against TCU. Strasburg struck out 14 against the Horned Frogs at TCU three weeks ago.
8TH INNING — New Mexico employs a different method of retiring the Aztecs in order for the fourth time, using three different relievers to get the three outs. In the bottom of the inning, Gonzalez leads off with a single to right and nearly gets picked off after rounding hard when Vaughn throws behind him at first. Brownstein sacrifices Gonzalez to second to put the tying run 180 feet away. But pinch hitter Kevin Atkinson's grounder to third freezes the runner as the Aztecs get the second out. Honeycutt strokes a 2-2 pitch to left field for a single. On the internet broadcast, Craig Elsten says Decker fields the ball before Gonzalez rounds third. But Gonzalez is waved to the plate, anyway. Decker's throw is so fr ahed of Gonzalez that Castro could have enjoyed some peanuts and Cracker Jack before easily making the tag to end the inning.
9TH INNING — The Aztecs don't make anything of a two-out walk, trusting a 1-0 lead to their All-American. Strasburg returns with a complete-game shutout on his mind. Neda leads off with a single to left field before pinch runner Cameron Monger is sacrificed to second. Monger then surprises the Aztecs by stealing third base. SDSU brings the infield in. Strasburg takes care of Cavazos-Galvez himself with a strikeout, his 13th of the game and 300th of his career. Strasburg gets two quick strikes on Howard, then wastes a slider outside for a ball. Strasburg's next pitch is a strike that Howard can't handle and the game is over.
STRSBURG'S LINE — 9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO (121 SO/12 BB in 63.1 IP this season with a 1.28 ERA)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Strasburg, offense lead SDSU past UNLV 15-4
RECAP
LAS VEGAS — San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (7-0) remains unbeaten, striking out 13 in the Aztecs' 15-4 win over UNLV in the opener of a three-game Mountain West Conference series. Strasburg increases his nation-leading strikeout total to 107 in a six-inning effort in which he allowed one earned run.
No. 18-ranked SDSU (24-11, 7-3 MWC) continues its offensive surge, collecting 15 hits against the Rebels (15-17, 4-6). SDSU catcher Erik Castro hit a three-run homer and had a game-high five RBI and teammates Easton Gust and Ryan O'Sullivan each collected three hits for the Aztecs.
PREGAME
LAS VEGAS — I thought they had a flyover for the national anthem, but I've never seen a 747 used for a flyover. No, we're in the flight path of McCarron International Airport. Nonstop landings. And it seems they use Earl E. Wilson Stadium here to line themselves up for landings. Will there be more pitches or planes tonight? It will definitely be close.
Anyway, San Diego State is here for a three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV. The No. 18-ranked Aztecs (23-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the conference with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) has struggled ever since being swept by SDSU four weeks ago in the opening series of conference play.
SDSU's Stephen Strasburg (6-0) makes his eighth start of the season. Strasburg has a 1.49 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings pitched.
The game time temperature is pleasant enough at 62 degrees (it's expected to drop to 54), but a strong southwest wind is blowing from behind the stadium and out to center field.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Brandon Meredith reaches on a two-out error, but Erik Castro strikes out to end any opportunity of mounting a threat.
Strasburg starts UNLV leadoff hitter J.J. Sferra with a strike, but then Sferra parachutes a single into short left field. Teammate Bryan Resnick sacrifices Sferra over to second with a bunt down the first base line. Strasburg then registers his first strikeout of the game, getting Jarred Frierson with a curveball. Strasburg goes 3-2 to Ryan Thornton (seemingly squeezed on ball three by plate umpire Jason Rogers), but gets Thornton looking at strike three on an inside fastball to end the inning.
2ND INNING — SDSU's Josh Chasse doubles just inside the third base bag off UNLV starting pitcher Jeff Urlaub, scoring teammate Mitch Blackburn with the game's first run. Blackburn led off the inning with a walk and moved down to second on an error. Easton Gust's single up the middle and Ryan O'Sullivan's double to right-center score two more runs to make it 3-0. It's a substantial lead, considering Strasburg hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his starts this season.
First-pitch swinging works wonders as UNLV's Rance Roundy singles and teammate Brian Gilbertson follows with a run-scoring double to make it 3-1. Strasburg restores order thereafter, sandwiching an infield out around two strikeouts to retire the side without further damage.
I've seen Strasburg's fastball touch 97 mph on one of the radar guns here, but he's using far more curves and sliders tonight than earlier in the season. Changing his approach is no surprise, really, given that UNLV saw Strasburg just four weeks ago.
3RD INNING — The Aztecs strand runners at first and third.
Strasburg starts bring more heat, making his other pitches even more effective. He strikes out Sferra on a ball in the dirt and gets Resnick looking. It is Strasburg's 100th strikeout of the season. Frierson throws his bat at a ball that he pokes up the middle for a single. Frierson is erased stealing a few moments later on a throw by catcher Erik Castro that arrives a few minutes before the runner.
4TH INNING — One of the things impressive about SDSU's offense this season is that the players have put the pressure on the opposition. It's been the other way around much of the time in recent years. It pays off here as Gust and O'Sullivan reach with singles and Pat Colwell follows with a good bunt down the first-base line. Just put the all in play and make them make a play. Urlaub overthrows first base, Gust scores, O'Sullivan moves to third and then he, too, scores on a sacrifice fly to right field by Meredith. Colwell then steals second and scores on Castro's single to center. It's 6-1 Aztecs and Urlaub's day is done.
Roundy gets a two-strike single off Strasburg with one out. A strikeout and a fly out make it moot.
5TH INNING — The Aztecs put two runs on against reliever Corey Hales, who gives way to Justin Baca, whogives up two RBI singles and a three-run homer to Castro. Castro lifted the ball into the air in right-center and let the jet stream do the rest for his seventh home run of the season.
I'm wondering if Strasburg will be taken out of his rhythm after sitting in the dugout so long at the top if the inning, but he strikes out Anthony Morel looking to open the inning. Chad Claus then bunts down the third-base line for a base hit and Sferra follows with a sharp single. But Resnick strikes out looking and Frierson strikes out swinging and that is that. The Frierson strikeout is Strasburg's 10th of the game, giving him double-digit strikeouts for the seventh time in eight starts.
The PA announcer reminds fans that no flash photography is allowed at UNLV. It seems some of them came to get a look and a photo of Strasburg. A good crowd begins to thin, having gotten a glimpse of the nation's top pitcher and seeing enough to know the Rebels aren't coming back from an 11-1 deficit.
6TH INNING — SDSU scores fur runs on only two hits, helped by passed balls and wild pitches to build a 15-1 lead.
Strasburg walks one but also strikes out the side, giving him 13 strikeouts for the game. He is approaching 100 pitches and likely done for the game.
Strasbug's line — 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO. He now has 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP
7TH INNING — The Aztecs are retired in order — thanks to a double play — then Matt Skipper replaces Strasburg on the mound. The trickle of fans leaving picks up, leaving family and friends in the stands.
8TH INNING — Nothing of note.
9TH INNING — The game is all but decided but UNLV drags it out by getting to Skipper, forcing the Aztecs to go to the bullpen again and bring in Kegan Sharp to get the final out.
LAS VEGAS — San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (7-0) remains unbeaten, striking out 13 in the Aztecs' 15-4 win over UNLV in the opener of a three-game Mountain West Conference series. Strasburg increases his nation-leading strikeout total to 107 in a six-inning effort in which he allowed one earned run.
No. 18-ranked SDSU (24-11, 7-3 MWC) continues its offensive surge, collecting 15 hits against the Rebels (15-17, 4-6). SDSU catcher Erik Castro hit a three-run homer and had a game-high five RBI and teammates Easton Gust and Ryan O'Sullivan each collected three hits for the Aztecs.
PREGAME
LAS VEGAS — I thought they had a flyover for the national anthem, but I've never seen a 747 used for a flyover. No, we're in the flight path of McCarron International Airport. Nonstop landings. And it seems they use Earl E. Wilson Stadium here to line themselves up for landings. Will there be more pitches or planes tonight? It will definitely be close.
Anyway, San Diego State is here for a three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV. The No. 18-ranked Aztecs (23-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the conference with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) has struggled ever since being swept by SDSU four weeks ago in the opening series of conference play.
SDSU's Stephen Strasburg (6-0) makes his eighth start of the season. Strasburg has a 1.49 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings pitched.
The game time temperature is pleasant enough at 62 degrees (it's expected to drop to 54), but a strong southwest wind is blowing from behind the stadium and out to center field.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Brandon Meredith reaches on a two-out error, but Erik Castro strikes out to end any opportunity of mounting a threat.
Strasburg starts UNLV leadoff hitter J.J. Sferra with a strike, but then Sferra parachutes a single into short left field. Teammate Bryan Resnick sacrifices Sferra over to second with a bunt down the first base line. Strasburg then registers his first strikeout of the game, getting Jarred Frierson with a curveball. Strasburg goes 3-2 to Ryan Thornton (seemingly squeezed on ball three by plate umpire Jason Rogers), but gets Thornton looking at strike three on an inside fastball to end the inning.
2ND INNING — SDSU's Josh Chasse doubles just inside the third base bag off UNLV starting pitcher Jeff Urlaub, scoring teammate Mitch Blackburn with the game's first run. Blackburn led off the inning with a walk and moved down to second on an error. Easton Gust's single up the middle and Ryan O'Sullivan's double to right-center score two more runs to make it 3-0. It's a substantial lead, considering Strasburg hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his starts this season.
First-pitch swinging works wonders as UNLV's Rance Roundy singles and teammate Brian Gilbertson follows with a run-scoring double to make it 3-1. Strasburg restores order thereafter, sandwiching an infield out around two strikeouts to retire the side without further damage.
I've seen Strasburg's fastball touch 97 mph on one of the radar guns here, but he's using far more curves and sliders tonight than earlier in the season. Changing his approach is no surprise, really, given that UNLV saw Strasburg just four weeks ago.
3RD INNING — The Aztecs strand runners at first and third.
Strasburg starts bring more heat, making his other pitches even more effective. He strikes out Sferra on a ball in the dirt and gets Resnick looking. It is Strasburg's 100th strikeout of the season. Frierson throws his bat at a ball that he pokes up the middle for a single. Frierson is erased stealing a few moments later on a throw by catcher Erik Castro that arrives a few minutes before the runner.
4TH INNING — One of the things impressive about SDSU's offense this season is that the players have put the pressure on the opposition. It's been the other way around much of the time in recent years. It pays off here as Gust and O'Sullivan reach with singles and Pat Colwell follows with a good bunt down the first-base line. Just put the all in play and make them make a play. Urlaub overthrows first base, Gust scores, O'Sullivan moves to third and then he, too, scores on a sacrifice fly to right field by Meredith. Colwell then steals second and scores on Castro's single to center. It's 6-1 Aztecs and Urlaub's day is done.
Roundy gets a two-strike single off Strasburg with one out. A strikeout and a fly out make it moot.
5TH INNING — The Aztecs put two runs on against reliever Corey Hales, who gives way to Justin Baca, whogives up two RBI singles and a three-run homer to Castro. Castro lifted the ball into the air in right-center and let the jet stream do the rest for his seventh home run of the season.
I'm wondering if Strasburg will be taken out of his rhythm after sitting in the dugout so long at the top if the inning, but he strikes out Anthony Morel looking to open the inning. Chad Claus then bunts down the third-base line for a base hit and Sferra follows with a sharp single. But Resnick strikes out looking and Frierson strikes out swinging and that is that. The Frierson strikeout is Strasburg's 10th of the game, giving him double-digit strikeouts for the seventh time in eight starts.
The PA announcer reminds fans that no flash photography is allowed at UNLV. It seems some of them came to get a look and a photo of Strasburg. A good crowd begins to thin, having gotten a glimpse of the nation's top pitcher and seeing enough to know the Rebels aren't coming back from an 11-1 deficit.
6TH INNING — SDSU scores fur runs on only two hits, helped by passed balls and wild pitches to build a 15-1 lead.
Strasburg walks one but also strikes out the side, giving him 13 strikeouts for the game. He is approaching 100 pitches and likely done for the game.
Strasbug's line — 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO. He now has 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP
7TH INNING — The Aztecs are retired in order — thanks to a double play — then Matt Skipper replaces Strasburg on the mound. The trickle of fans leaving picks up, leaving family and friends in the stands.
8TH INNING — Nothing of note.
9TH INNING — The game is all but decided but UNLV drags it out by getting to Skipper, forcing the Aztecs to go to the bullpen again and bring in Kegan Sharp to get the final out.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Strasburg will pitch Thursday at UNLV
San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg's next start has been moved up a day to Thursday at UNLV.
Strasburg originally was to go Friday against the Rebels and junior left-hander Nate Solow was to throw in Thursday's opener of the three-game series in Las Vegas. But Solow pitched Sunday against UC Davis and is unavailable.
Strasburg (6-0) has a 1.49 ERA and leads the nation with 94 strikeouts (with 10 walks) in 48.1 innings pitched. He struck out 14 against UNLV in a 4-3 Aztecs victory four weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium, starting SDSU on a three-game sweep of the Rebels.
The No. 18-ranked Aztecs play a nonconference game at Long Beach State tonight at 6:30, then hop on a bus tomorrow for UNLV.
SDSU (22-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the MWC standings with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) is in fifth place.
Strasburg originally was to go Friday against the Rebels and junior left-hander Nate Solow was to throw in Thursday's opener of the three-game series in Las Vegas. But Solow pitched Sunday against UC Davis and is unavailable.
Strasburg (6-0) has a 1.49 ERA and leads the nation with 94 strikeouts (with 10 walks) in 48.1 innings pitched. He struck out 14 against UNLV in a 4-3 Aztecs victory four weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium, starting SDSU on a three-game sweep of the Rebels.
The No. 18-ranked Aztecs play a nonconference game at Long Beach State tonight at 6:30, then hop on a bus tomorrow for UNLV.
SDSU (22-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the MWC standings with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) is in fifth place.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Aztecs beat UC Davis 14-0 at Petco Park
RECAP
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg is overshadowed by the Aztecs' offense, which collects 14 runs on 15 hits in a 14-0 victory over UC Davis at the Padres' Petco Park. SDSU catcher Erik Castro leads the Aztecs with two home runs and six RBI. Teammate Ryan O'Sullivan also homers for the Aztecs (20-10).
Strasburg (6-0) fails to register double-digit strikeouts for the first time in seven starts, getting but six Ks against the Aggies, who seem content to shorten their swings and just try to make contact to avoid strikeouts. The junior right-hander allows three hits and walks two over six shutout innings. Strasburg now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings this season.
PREGAME
San Diego State opens a four-game series this weekend with a special venue for today's first game — Petco Park.
SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (5-0) will be on the mound for the No. 21-ranked Aztecs (19-10), who have the week off from Mountain West Conference play. UC Davis sends freshman David Popkins to the mound. It is the first collegiate start for Popkins, who prep about five miles from Petco at St. Augustine High.
Here's a story I did today in the Union-Tribune leading into the game.
Following the game, the Padres play the Angels at 7:05 p.m. in an exhibition game.
Also, the MWC announced its 10th Anniversary baseball team and Strasburg was the only active member of the 13-man squad. SDSU had five players selected — closer Royce Ring, shortstop Taber Lee, third baseman Nick Romero and outfielder Anthny Gwynn.
Padres GM Kevin Towers is sitting in the fourth row on the field level adjacent to scouting director Chief Gayton. They are all but drooling, and it isn't in anicipation of fish tacos being delivered to their seats. They have the nation's No. 1 prospect on their mound — a guy who could probably step in as the Padres' No. 3 starter when the season opens next week — but know they'll likely never have a chance to draft him, even though they possess the third pick.
Before the game, Towers says: What amazes me is this guy added 10 mph (between his freshman and sophomore years). When guys gain 10 mph, they usually lose command, and this guy kept it."
Towers also commented on a cut fastball that approaches 100 mph, saying: "I haven't seen somebody throw that hard with movement on a baseball (the way Strasburg does). This guy sits at 96, 97, 98. Hard to believe he sits at that all the time and has command of the pitch. I can't remember anybody ever doing that."
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg shows an unusual lack of command early on, going 3-2 to two of the first three hitters. Leadoff hitter Daniel Cepin gets an infield single that SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan can't make a play on. Cepin is sacrificed to second, then Strasburg walks Ty Kelly. Tony Bongiovanni is Strasburg's first strikeout victim of the game. He gets out of the inning a batter later when Ryan Scoma hits into a fielder's choice. The scoreboard radar gun doesn't register the first 10 pitches or so, but Strasburg hits 96, 97, 98, 99 on several pithes thereafter. Strasburg needs 22 pitches to get out of the inning.
The Aztecs get going right away, cashing in walks to Pat Colwell and Brandon Meredith. Catcher Erik Castro singled in the first run and Mitch Blackburn brought home the other with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.
2ND INNING — Strasburg has a 1-2-3 inning, but UC Davis puts the ball in play each time.
3RD INNING — Another 1-2-3 inning, and again the Aggies get the bat on the ball each time. One strikeout in three innings is something of a moral victory. UC Davis hitters are taking half swings, just trying to make contact. SDSU does more damage against Popkins, getting making it 4-0 when Brandon Meredith scores on a wild pitch and Cory Vaughn comes home on an infield out.
4TH INNING — UC Davis gets leadoff hitter Ty Kelly on when O'Sullivan juggles a grounder at shortstop. Strasburg strikes out the next two hitters, however. After issuing a walk to Grant Hirneise, followed by a wild pitch, Strasburg strands runners at second and third when he freezes Joseph Medeiros for a called strike three that ends the inning.
SDSU boosts its lead to 9-0 with a five-run fourth inning highlighted by Erik Castro's three-run homer to right field.
5TH INNING — UC Davis left fielder Rikki Foster leads off with a single to left for the team's second hit (and first one to leave the infield). Foster is forced at second a few moments later and Strasburg then gets out of the inning with a double play grounder. He isn't dominating in his customary fashion — racking up the strikeouts — but he is pitching effectively. You just know after the game some reporter will ask him what was wrong. All he's done is allowed two singles through five shutout innings. Strasburg has thrown 74 pitches now.
The story of the game shifts from Strasburg to his catcher, Castro, who homers again, this one a two-run shot off UC Davis reiever Tim Busbin that lands in the beach sand beyond the 400-foot fence in right-center. That gives Castro six RBI for the game.
6TH INNING — Strasburg hits leadoff batter Grant Bauer with a pitch, strikes out Kelly, allows a single to right to Bongliavanni, strikes out Scoma looking and gets out of the inning when Hirneise grounds out to third base. He has thrown about 90 pitches and is probably done for the day with the Aztecs leading 11-0.
STRASBRG's LINE: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO in 93-pitch outing. It is the first time in seven starts this season that Strasburg did not strike out at least 11 hitters. He now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48. 1 IP.
7TH INNING — Reliever John Pecoraro replaces Strasburg and sandwiches two strikeouts between two singles and a walk. Pecoraro gets out of the inning with a routine 9-3-5-4-2 out.
The Aztecs make it 13-0 on Matt Skipper's RBI double and an error by UC Davis first baseman Grant Hirneise on a hard-hit ball by Zach Babitt.
8TH INNING — SDSU's James McLaughlin comes in and retires the Aggies in order.
Ryan O'Sullivan clubs SDSU's third homer of the game, a solo shot to left field off UC Davis' Will Chapman that makes it 14-0. It is O'Sullivan's first career home run.
9TH INNING — George Snyder comes on and retires the Aggies in order to end the game.
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg is overshadowed by the Aztecs' offense, which collects 14 runs on 15 hits in a 14-0 victory over UC Davis at the Padres' Petco Park. SDSU catcher Erik Castro leads the Aztecs with two home runs and six RBI. Teammate Ryan O'Sullivan also homers for the Aztecs (20-10).
Strasburg (6-0) fails to register double-digit strikeouts for the first time in seven starts, getting but six Ks against the Aggies, who seem content to shorten their swings and just try to make contact to avoid strikeouts. The junior right-hander allows three hits and walks two over six shutout innings. Strasburg now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings this season.
PREGAME
San Diego State opens a four-game series this weekend with a special venue for today's first game — Petco Park.
SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (5-0) will be on the mound for the No. 21-ranked Aztecs (19-10), who have the week off from Mountain West Conference play. UC Davis sends freshman David Popkins to the mound. It is the first collegiate start for Popkins, who prep about five miles from Petco at St. Augustine High.
Here's a story I did today in the Union-Tribune leading into the game.
Following the game, the Padres play the Angels at 7:05 p.m. in an exhibition game.
Also, the MWC announced its 10th Anniversary baseball team and Strasburg was the only active member of the 13-man squad. SDSU had five players selected — closer Royce Ring, shortstop Taber Lee, third baseman Nick Romero and outfielder Anthny Gwynn.
Padres GM Kevin Towers is sitting in the fourth row on the field level adjacent to scouting director Chief Gayton. They are all but drooling, and it isn't in anicipation of fish tacos being delivered to their seats. They have the nation's No. 1 prospect on their mound — a guy who could probably step in as the Padres' No. 3 starter when the season opens next week — but know they'll likely never have a chance to draft him, even though they possess the third pick.
Before the game, Towers says: What amazes me is this guy added 10 mph (between his freshman and sophomore years). When guys gain 10 mph, they usually lose command, and this guy kept it."
Towers also commented on a cut fastball that approaches 100 mph, saying: "I haven't seen somebody throw that hard with movement on a baseball (the way Strasburg does). This guy sits at 96, 97, 98. Hard to believe he sits at that all the time and has command of the pitch. I can't remember anybody ever doing that."
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg shows an unusual lack of command early on, going 3-2 to two of the first three hitters. Leadoff hitter Daniel Cepin gets an infield single that SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan can't make a play on. Cepin is sacrificed to second, then Strasburg walks Ty Kelly. Tony Bongiovanni is Strasburg's first strikeout victim of the game. He gets out of the inning a batter later when Ryan Scoma hits into a fielder's choice. The scoreboard radar gun doesn't register the first 10 pitches or so, but Strasburg hits 96, 97, 98, 99 on several pithes thereafter. Strasburg needs 22 pitches to get out of the inning.
The Aztecs get going right away, cashing in walks to Pat Colwell and Brandon Meredith. Catcher Erik Castro singled in the first run and Mitch Blackburn brought home the other with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.
2ND INNING — Strasburg has a 1-2-3 inning, but UC Davis puts the ball in play each time.
3RD INNING — Another 1-2-3 inning, and again the Aggies get the bat on the ball each time. One strikeout in three innings is something of a moral victory. UC Davis hitters are taking half swings, just trying to make contact. SDSU does more damage against Popkins, getting making it 4-0 when Brandon Meredith scores on a wild pitch and Cory Vaughn comes home on an infield out.
4TH INNING — UC Davis gets leadoff hitter Ty Kelly on when O'Sullivan juggles a grounder at shortstop. Strasburg strikes out the next two hitters, however. After issuing a walk to Grant Hirneise, followed by a wild pitch, Strasburg strands runners at second and third when he freezes Joseph Medeiros for a called strike three that ends the inning.
SDSU boosts its lead to 9-0 with a five-run fourth inning highlighted by Erik Castro's three-run homer to right field.
5TH INNING — UC Davis left fielder Rikki Foster leads off with a single to left for the team's second hit (and first one to leave the infield). Foster is forced at second a few moments later and Strasburg then gets out of the inning with a double play grounder. He isn't dominating in his customary fashion — racking up the strikeouts — but he is pitching effectively. You just know after the game some reporter will ask him what was wrong. All he's done is allowed two singles through five shutout innings. Strasburg has thrown 74 pitches now.
The story of the game shifts from Strasburg to his catcher, Castro, who homers again, this one a two-run shot off UC Davis reiever Tim Busbin that lands in the beach sand beyond the 400-foot fence in right-center. That gives Castro six RBI for the game.
6TH INNING — Strasburg hits leadoff batter Grant Bauer with a pitch, strikes out Kelly, allows a single to right to Bongliavanni, strikes out Scoma looking and gets out of the inning when Hirneise grounds out to third base. He has thrown about 90 pitches and is probably done for the day with the Aztecs leading 11-0.
STRASBRG's LINE: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO in 93-pitch outing. It is the first time in seven starts this season that Strasburg did not strike out at least 11 hitters. He now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48. 1 IP.
7TH INNING — Reliever John Pecoraro replaces Strasburg and sandwiches two strikeouts between two singles and a walk. Pecoraro gets out of the inning with a routine 9-3-5-4-2 out.
The Aztecs make it 13-0 on Matt Skipper's RBI double and an error by UC Davis first baseman Grant Hirneise on a hard-hit ball by Zach Babitt.
8TH INNING — SDSU's James McLaughlin comes in and retires the Aggies in order.
Ryan O'Sullivan clubs SDSU's third homer of the game, a solo shot to left field off UC Davis' Will Chapman that makes it 14-0. It is O'Sullivan's first career home run.
9TH INNING — George Snyder comes on and retires the Aggies in order to end the game.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Strasburg, SDSU offense shine in 11-5 win at TCU
RECAP
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg strikes out 14 batters over eight innings — his sixth double-digit strikeout game in six starts — and allows three hits and two runs (both earned) on a windy night in Fort Worth, Texas, with temperatures in the 40s. The Aztecs' offense pounds out 17 hits and the result is an 11-5 Mountain West Conference victory at TCU.
SDSU (17-8, 5-2) and TCU (14-8, 2-2) continue the three-game series with games Saturday and Sunday.
Strasburg (5-0) allows a wind-aided leadoff homer by TCU's Ben Carruthers, then retires 14 batters in a row, 10 of them by strikeout. By the way, Strasburg began the season ranked No. 15 on SDSU's career strikeout list with 180. He has 88 strikeouts for the season )with just 8 walks), giving him 268 career strikeouts. That ranks third in school history, behind only Bruce Billings (304) and Rick Navarro (299).
Strasburg's next scheduled start is Friday, April 3, against UC Davis in a game to be played at Petco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. An exhibition game between the Padres and Angels will follow, in case anyone wants to stick around.
PREGAME
Leadership of the Mountain West Conference is at stake this weekend with San Diego State (16-8, 4-2) visiting No. 16-ranked TCU (14-7, 2-1), which has won the MWC regular season and tournament titles three straight years since moving over from Conference USA. TCU took two of three from the Aztecs last year at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
SDSU sends junior right-hander Stephen Strasurg (4-0) to the mound. Strasburg pitched seven shutout innings last week against BYU, in a game the Cougars came back to win after Strasburg departed. For the season, Strasburg has a 1.57 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 34.1 innings.
Strasburg had one of his best outings of the season last year against TCU, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning at Tony Gwynn Stadium before TCU's Ben Carruthers hit a double for what would be the Horned Frogs' only hit in the game. Strasburg went the distance in a 4-1 win, walking one with 13 strikeouts.
The blog will follow this game from a distance, using our extensive network of information sources to make it seem like we're there.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — The Aztecs stake Strasburg to a 3-0 lead before he ever takes the mound. SDSU catcher Erik Castro's three-run homer off TCU starting Tyler Lockwood provides the runs. Ben Carruthers shocks Strasburg with a leadoff homer for the Horned Frogs. It is only the third collegiate home run allowed by Strasburg and, as noted above, comes from a player who has been somewhat of a thorn in the pitcher's side. Strasburg shrugs off the HR and gets three straight outs, the last two on strikeouts.
2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order, getting TCU's Taylor Featherston and Matt Vern on strikeouts.
3RD INNING — Castro hits a one-out double for SDSU, putting him halfway to the cycle (note: Castro does not have a triple in his collegiate career), but the Aztecs can't get him home. Strasburg picks up where he left off in the second, getting TCU's Jimmie Pharr and Corey Steglich and that pesky Carruthers all on strikeouts. That's seven of the first nine outs recorded on strikeouts.
4TH INNING — Mitch Blackburn's leadoff double is cashed in one-out later on Pat Colwell's sacrifice bunt, giving the Aztecs a 4-1 lead. When Strasburg returns, he gets Matt Carpenter on a tapper back to the mound, then strikes out Chris Ellington and gets Matt Curry on a flyout to end the inning.
5TH INNING — Castro doubles again, giving him three hits in three plate appearances. Cory Vaughn follows with a two-run homer, putting the Aztecs up 6-1. Strasburg strikes out the side again, getting Featherston, Vern and Pharr all swinging. That gives Strasburg 11 strikeouts for the game and a sixth dougle-digit strikeout performance in six starts. At this point, Carpenter and Bryan Holaday are the only two TCU starters who have avoided striking out.
6TH INNING — Brandon Meredith makes it 7-1 when he is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home a run. TCU scraped together a run on a leadoff double by Steglich and a couple of infield outs, but the most notable thing about the inning is it concluded without any strikeouts by the Horned Frogs.
7TH INNING — Brandon Decker drives in teammate Easton Gust on a fielder's choice to make it 8-2. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff walk to Curry didn't amount to anything when an infield out, strikeout and fly out followed.
8TH INNING — Chris Wilson slams a one-out homer. Three more hits and a TCU error — the Horned Frogs' fourth of the game — follow as the Aztecs stretch their lead to 11-2. The only question now is how deep Strasburg goes. BYU rallied for a 4-2 win after he departed last week. Such a rally seems rather unlikely tonight by TCU, but it is college baseball and stranger things have happen. Strasburg runs back out and immediately gets Pharr and Steglich swinging at strike three. Carruthers hits an infield popup to end the inning.
9TH INNING — Castro gets a single for his fourth hit of the game, lacking — you guessed it! — a triple in his bid for the cycle. It is SDSU's 17th and final hit of the game. Chase Thomas replaces Strasburg and allows three runs with two outs before James McLaughlin comes on to get the final out in the Aztecs' 11-5 win.
STRASBURG's LINE — 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO. Strasburg (5-0) now has 88 SO/8 BB in 42.1 IP and a 1.70 ERA.
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg strikes out 14 batters over eight innings — his sixth double-digit strikeout game in six starts — and allows three hits and two runs (both earned) on a windy night in Fort Worth, Texas, with temperatures in the 40s. The Aztecs' offense pounds out 17 hits and the result is an 11-5 Mountain West Conference victory at TCU.
SDSU (17-8, 5-2) and TCU (14-8, 2-2) continue the three-game series with games Saturday and Sunday.
Strasburg (5-0) allows a wind-aided leadoff homer by TCU's Ben Carruthers, then retires 14 batters in a row, 10 of them by strikeout. By the way, Strasburg began the season ranked No. 15 on SDSU's career strikeout list with 180. He has 88 strikeouts for the season )with just 8 walks), giving him 268 career strikeouts. That ranks third in school history, behind only Bruce Billings (304) and Rick Navarro (299).
Strasburg's next scheduled start is Friday, April 3, against UC Davis in a game to be played at Petco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. An exhibition game between the Padres and Angels will follow, in case anyone wants to stick around.
PREGAME
Leadership of the Mountain West Conference is at stake this weekend with San Diego State (16-8, 4-2) visiting No. 16-ranked TCU (14-7, 2-1), which has won the MWC regular season and tournament titles three straight years since moving over from Conference USA. TCU took two of three from the Aztecs last year at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
SDSU sends junior right-hander Stephen Strasurg (4-0) to the mound. Strasburg pitched seven shutout innings last week against BYU, in a game the Cougars came back to win after Strasburg departed. For the season, Strasburg has a 1.57 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 34.1 innings.
Strasburg had one of his best outings of the season last year against TCU, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning at Tony Gwynn Stadium before TCU's Ben Carruthers hit a double for what would be the Horned Frogs' only hit in the game. Strasburg went the distance in a 4-1 win, walking one with 13 strikeouts.
The blog will follow this game from a distance, using our extensive network of information sources to make it seem like we're there.
HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — The Aztecs stake Strasburg to a 3-0 lead before he ever takes the mound. SDSU catcher Erik Castro's three-run homer off TCU starting Tyler Lockwood provides the runs. Ben Carruthers shocks Strasburg with a leadoff homer for the Horned Frogs. It is only the third collegiate home run allowed by Strasburg and, as noted above, comes from a player who has been somewhat of a thorn in the pitcher's side. Strasburg shrugs off the HR and gets three straight outs, the last two on strikeouts.
2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order, getting TCU's Taylor Featherston and Matt Vern on strikeouts.
3RD INNING — Castro hits a one-out double for SDSU, putting him halfway to the cycle (note: Castro does not have a triple in his collegiate career), but the Aztecs can't get him home. Strasburg picks up where he left off in the second, getting TCU's Jimmie Pharr and Corey Steglich and that pesky Carruthers all on strikeouts. That's seven of the first nine outs recorded on strikeouts.
4TH INNING — Mitch Blackburn's leadoff double is cashed in one-out later on Pat Colwell's sacrifice bunt, giving the Aztecs a 4-1 lead. When Strasburg returns, he gets Matt Carpenter on a tapper back to the mound, then strikes out Chris Ellington and gets Matt Curry on a flyout to end the inning.
5TH INNING — Castro doubles again, giving him three hits in three plate appearances. Cory Vaughn follows with a two-run homer, putting the Aztecs up 6-1. Strasburg strikes out the side again, getting Featherston, Vern and Pharr all swinging. That gives Strasburg 11 strikeouts for the game and a sixth dougle-digit strikeout performance in six starts. At this point, Carpenter and Bryan Holaday are the only two TCU starters who have avoided striking out.
6TH INNING — Brandon Meredith makes it 7-1 when he is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home a run. TCU scraped together a run on a leadoff double by Steglich and a couple of infield outs, but the most notable thing about the inning is it concluded without any strikeouts by the Horned Frogs.
7TH INNING — Brandon Decker drives in teammate Easton Gust on a fielder's choice to make it 8-2. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff walk to Curry didn't amount to anything when an infield out, strikeout and fly out followed.
8TH INNING — Chris Wilson slams a one-out homer. Three more hits and a TCU error — the Horned Frogs' fourth of the game — follow as the Aztecs stretch their lead to 11-2. The only question now is how deep Strasburg goes. BYU rallied for a 4-2 win after he departed last week. Such a rally seems rather unlikely tonight by TCU, but it is college baseball and stranger things have happen. Strasburg runs back out and immediately gets Pharr and Steglich swinging at strike three. Carruthers hits an infield popup to end the inning.
9TH INNING — Castro gets a single for his fourth hit of the game, lacking — you guessed it! — a triple in his bid for the cycle. It is SDSU's 17th and final hit of the game. Chase Thomas replaces Strasburg and allows three runs with two outs before James McLaughlin comes on to get the final out in the Aztecs' 11-5 win.
STRASBURG's LINE — 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO. Strasburg (5-0) now has 88 SO/8 BB in 42.1 IP and a 1.70 ERA.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Strasburg under the microscope now
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg has enjoyed a swift rise on the way to becoming the top prospect in the nation.And deservedly so.
From his 23-strike performance last year against Utah, to being the only collegian on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing, to the 102 mph fastball he's been clocked throwing while dominating college hitters this year, Strasburg has done everything he can do to become the first pick in the 2009 draft.
Intense scrutiny and critical examination were bound to come as the June draft approached.
It's now official. It's here.
Last week, it was Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal watching Strasburg pitch against UNLV. On Friday, it was an ESPN film crew and writer looking in on Strasburg against BYU. They were among those following him around the field at Tony Gwynn Stadium during and after SDSU's 4-2 loss to the Cougars. Strasburg didn't look too eager to answer questions about his brilliance when the bottom line was the Aztecs lost.
Questions about the draft have begun to seep into the conversation, although Strasburg is trying to keep his focus on the field with the Aztecs. He would not answer draft questions on Friday. Nor should he. No good can come for him right now by getting into all that publicly. Of course, maintaining his focus will become more and more of a chore as the season progresses, especially in light of other national media attention in recent days.
ESPN's Peter Gammons reported recently that Strasburg's advisor, Scott Boras, is going to look for a six-year, $50 million contract for his client.
Today there was an interesting piece by Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post examining the success of pitchers selected at the top of the draft over the past 44 years.
There also was a piece today by Rob Neyer of ESPN.com that also examined the history of "can't-miss" pitchers missing in the draft.
Needless to say, the success rate for position players is much higher than the success rate for pitchers.
Boswell isn't telling the Nationals not to pick Strasburg. What he's telling them is don't break the bank if you do it.
He makes some goods point.
Still, how can any team pass up a player who appears to be the best pitching prospect to come along in a generation?
The legend keeps growing about Strasburg's velocity, with it reported that he has hit 103 MPH according to a story by Yahoo's Steve Henson, who has a good chart on players who have touched 102 mph or higher. But velocity is no guarantee of success. Most of those on the list have flamed out. Randy Johnson is the only Hall of Fame-caliber player. Justin Verlander is the only other starting pitcher.
Of course, history and charts have no direct bearing on Strasburg's future.
All I know is Strasburg is under the microscope now and I have a sense this is going to be more of a challenge to deal with than any hitter he faces this season.
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