(ed. note - "In case you missed it this weekend...Here's sdsuaztec4's latest report on Strasburg's latest start...)
Hello Nationals fans! I for one had a rough Friday. Got to the ballpark at around 2:00 PM and sat in my usual seats behind home plate and watched Stephen Strasburg and the Aztecs dominate UC Davis in a 14-0 hit barrage. After that game ended, I got to watch the Padres and Angels battle it out for the Southern California exhibition game championship, which is something I just made up. I have some presents for you but you'll have to wait until the end. Ok fine, you can have one to get you started.
The Warmup
- Does anyone know if MLB mounds are bigger than NCAA mounds? They must be different because both starters struggled with it. They both struggle with their command and at least Stephen lost a little velocity. Either way, he looked damn sexy pitching at Petco Park. I wish there was something I could do that would make it his new home.
- Stephen definitely got a test in this one. The umpire was squeezing him a bit, he walked a couple guys, the fielders made some questionable decisions; he wasn't his best game but still managed to get it done. The Aggies were making a lot of contact, didn't see many swings and misses which was odd. He hung in there though and got the outs. All three singles he gave up with weakly hit and I don't think any of them made it out of the infield.
- With the double header sweep of the Aggies on Saturday, the No. 21 Aztecs move to 22-10 overall and 6-3 in conference ahead of No. 18 New Mexico and No. 22 TCU.
- Post game Interview can be seen here.
- Game highlights can be seen here. The Aztec hitters don't seem to have any problems hitting the ball out of Petco Park.
The Stats
Aztecs 14 Runs on 15 Hits and 1 Error
Aggies 0 Runs on 5 Hits and 2 Errors
WP: Stephen Strasburg (6-0)
LP: David Popkins (0-1)
Stephen Strasburg
6 IP 3 Hits 0 ER 0 R 2 BBs 24 Batters Faced 6 Ks
0.00 ERA 0.83 WHIP 9 K/9 9/2 K/BB Ratio
Season Stats
(6-0) in 7 starts. 48.1 IP 27 Hits 8 ER 10 BB 94 Ks
1.49 ERA 0.77 WHIP 17.5 K/9 9.4 K/BB
Don't forget to check the SDSU Universe season tracker for updated season statistics.
Analysis
Stephen Strasburg pitching at Petco Park? That IS delicious! Like I said before, I think the mound bothered him to the point that his control was off and he lost a little velocity. He hit 98-99 a few times but the Petco gun had him sitting around 94-96. The problem wasn't the velocity however, because it was his fastball which he could not control all game. At one point, he practically abandoned the fastball completely and relied on his breaking pitches which he was able to control much better. Mind you, his breaking pitches sit at around 84-88 MPH as well which is faster than a lot of MLB fastballs. I think the reason that he had so few strikeouts is because of his inability to locate the fastball which he usually uses to setup the hitters for the offspeed. The result was a lot of contact and very few swings and misses. Fortunately, this is Stephen Strasburg who's offspeed pitches are good enough to hold them to 3 infield singles and zero runs. I suppose it could have just been an off day but I'm sticking with my mound theory.
Tony removed him after 6 innings and 93 pitches. Obviously he could have gone longer, but Tony is trying to limit his pitch count to around 100-110 for you guys and we already had an 11 run lead at that point, no reason to risk anything. He was able to get all of the freshman in for a few innings. A freshman relief pitcher even got a RBI double! Altogether, I think this was a good learning experience. Some days, one of your pitches might not be working and you need to have others to rely on. Stephen proved that even on his off days he can dominate. Mind you, UC Davis is awful but I think the point stands.
Inning by Inning
1st- First batter ruined the no-hitter with an infield single which probably should have been turned into an out. Next guy moved him over to second with a 1-3 grounder. A walk put two men on but fortunately he was able to get his fastball going enough to K the DH. The 5 hitter grounded out to end the threat.
2nd- Groundout. The next two batters made some good contact but both were turned into outs by the outfielders.
3rd- Three quick groundouts put a quick end to this inning.
4th- The first batter reached on an error by the shortstop. He quickly struck out the next two batters but he put another man on first and moved the runners over when he spiked a curve ball. Oh well, just freeze the next hitter with the sharp breaking ball.
5th- A single led off the inning but a quick groundout and GIDP ended the inning with only 5 pitches thrown.
6th- He seemed like he was finally starting to get used to the mound this inning but it would be his last. He cracked the first hitter on the elbow with a 96 MPH fastball. I'm sure that felt good. Struck out the next guy, but a single from the following hitter put runners on the corners with only 1 out. Another strikeout looking and and 53 ground out ended the threat and Stephen's night.
The rest of the Aztec bullpen had little trouble the rest of the game surrendering only 2 more hits in subduing the Aggies.
Next Game
Next home game is April 24th against No. 22 TCU. Ok, here are some presents for you. First, check out the up-to-date list of awards that Stephen has won this year so far.
- March 25 - CollegeBaseballInsider.com West Regional Player of the Week
- March 25 - College Baseball Hall of Fame National All-Star Lineup (weekly)
- March 24 - Pro-Line Athletic National Pitcher of the Week (by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association)
- March 23 - Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week
- March 23 - Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week
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March 17 - College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup (weekly)
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March 16 - Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week
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March 9 - Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week
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March 9 - Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week
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March 9 - College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup (weekly)
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March 9 - RecruitingCloser.com National Pitcher of the Week
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March 4 - College Baseball Insider West Region Player of the Week
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March 2 - Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week
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March 2 - College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup (weekly)
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March 2 - Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week
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March 2 - RecruitingCloser.com National Pitcher of the Week
Here are some pictures I took. Unfortunately, the stupid camera focuses on the net behind home plate instead of the player you are trying to take a picture of. What are you gonna do?
