Nate Robertson vs. Ted Lilly
Robertson once again cruised along early, then struggled a bit late in a loss to the Giants on Wednesday. The 32-year-old gave up two earned runs on six hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings, but he cruised through the first five frames. Robertson allowed one run and needed only 52 pitches to get through the first five innings. In the sixth, however, he let the first five hitters reach base — one on a dropped fly ball by Brett Carroll — and gave up two runs to eventually suffer his third consecutive loss. Said Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez about Robertson’s recent late-outing struggles: “We’re going to sit down and put our heads together — all three of us [along with pitching coach Randy St. Claire] — and see what we can come up with, because that’s not a guy that does that.”
Strength – When he has good command, he can strike batters out and make life miserable on left-handed hitters. Is also capable of pitching out of the bullpen.
Weakness – When his command is off, he gets hit early and often. Also tends to lose the strike zone for stretches, which compounds his mound issues.
Lilly did not get a win in his last start against the Pirates. The lefty gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings, including three doubles in a row. Very un-Lilly like, Lou Piniella said. Lilly is still building up arm strength after undergoing surgery last November, so he’s still in Spring Training mode. The last start was only his third of the year.
Ricky Nolasco vs. Randy Wells
Battling the rain, Nolasco left some balls out over the middle of the plate against the Giants on Thursday, but he still turned in a quality start, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking none in six innings. He has now turned in three quality starts in his six outings. But because the Marlins failed to score a run in the first five innings for the third consecutive game, Nolasco came away with the loss. It wasn’t a great start, but it was an improvement over the 27-year-old’s previous outing — when he gave up five runs in a season-low four innings to the Nats. “He hasn’t really been the Ricky we’ve seen, but today, three runs against a tough opponent … and he gave us an opportunity to win the game,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said Thursday.
Strength – Has a plus fastball, and he features a strong curveball and good change-up. Is very effective against right-handed hitters. Can dominate with strikeouts.
Weakness – Will struggle with his mechanics and confidence, and loses control of his pitches as a result. Injuries are a major concern.
Wells had his shortest outing as a starter in his last game against the Pirates and was mad at himself after the game about it, saying it was “terrible” and “unacceptable.” Lou Piniella told him even Cy Young lost a few games. Wells lasted two innings, giving up seven runs, six earned, on five hits and three walks. He walked the first two batters he faced in the game and they were two of the five runs to score that inning. Wells had posted quality starts in three of his five previous starts, so the abbreviated outing was unexpected.
Chris Volstad vs. Tom Gorzelanny
The 23-year-old will be making his seventh start, and for the first time since April 25, it won’t be against the Nationals. Perhaps that isn’t a good thing for Volstad. In his last two starts, he’s faced and beat the Nationals, giving up three runs in 18 innings with 12 strikeouts. Volstad has made four career starts with no decisions against the Cubs. He has a 2.81 ERA vs. them.
Strength – Has an intimidating frame for a major-league starter. Is also a smart pitcher with a great feel for the position and good arsenal of pitches.
Weakness - Is a little too hittable, as he doesn’t take advantage of his intmidation qualities nearly enough when on the bump. Must also improve his strikeout/walk ratio.
Gorzelanny had another strong outing on Saturday against the Reds, but again had little offensive support, trailing 3-1 when he exited after six innings. Gorzelanny allowed three earned runs and nine hits, struck out nine and issued one intentional walk. His only blemish was a two-run home run by Joey Votto in the first inning. But a bullpen meltdown in the late innings resulted in a 14-2 loss and sealed Gorzelanny’s fourth defeat. Afterwards, the Cubs left-hander lamented his high pitch count. He needed 22 pitches to get through the first inning and 100 total. Gorzelanny was coming off his first victory of the season.
Scouting reports provided by MLB.com and TSN.ca
