At Last!!!

Game 25, Monday, April 30, DBAP, Durham, North Carolina

Durham Bulls 1, Indianapolis Indians 0

Season: 7-18; Home Stand: 1-3; Streak: 1-0

Box, Wrap 

Matt Torra went eight innings allowing only 1 baserunner (a walk) in the 7th and gave up just one infield hit in the 8th. A brilliant bit of pitching. He was followed by Cesar Ramos who gave up one hit, then earned the first save of his eight years of professional baseball. Together they set the stage for breaking the Bulls’ long, long, long losing streak and won Bulls’ first shutout of the season.

To win, of course, the Bulls had to get at least one run, which they didn’t do until the 8th inning. Sean O’Malley drew a walk, scooted off to second base on a wild pitch, and then scored on a Jesus Feliciano double.

This has been a difficult road. Kyle Hudson’s single at the top of the 3rd inning was the first hit of any kind in more than 14 innings. It took a couple of brilliant plays by shortstop O’Malley and second baseman Reid Brignac to pull it off.

Second baseman Reid Brignac? There’s another mini-story. Will Rhymes was so upset being called out when he thought he beat a throw to first 6th he managed to get himself thrown out of the game. Reid Brignac was the only infielder on the bench, so he was in. I think Rhymes was the first ejection of a Bull this year.

Which brings up another mini-story. Stephen Vogt was the DH for the game and Craig Albernaz was catching. Vogt went out to warm up Ramos while Torra was pitching, then switched off with Albernaz so he could go to bat in the 8th.

About that bench. Ain't hardly anybody there. Brandon Guyer went on the DL.

Outside the game:

• According to broadcaster Patrick Kinas, big changes are coming for the pitching crew. Alexander Torres has been moved to the bullpen. Lance Pendleton makes his first start tomorrow. Jim Paduch will be here tomorrow as well and will go into the starting rotation. Torres is reportedly not upset at the change. Something clearly needed to be done.
• Over at Rays Prospects, BurGi has a spectacular analysis of all the pitchers in the Rays system. A swimming pool for stats folks to dive into.
• The Rays have done the deal with Hideki Matsui. He should be showing up in Durham in time for his 38th birthday. Setting up the trivia question: Who is the oldest player to put on a AAA Bulls uniform? 
• Jose Lobaton, who has spent a lot of time in a Bulls uniform, may be coming through on a rehab assignment. It’ll be nice to see him in the dugout again. 

Chart of the Day

Pitching Efficiency (Pitches Per Out)

This is a really simple stat with some interesting results. How many pitches are thrown per out? The fewer pitches, the more "efficient" you are. Matt Torra got through eight innings today with just 89 pitches. That's spectacular efficiency.

Click on chart for larger image

Correction: In the chart it shows Alex Cobb only pitching 2⅓ innings. It should have read 28⅓ innings. PE computation, however, is accurate.