June 14, 2012

Daily Brief: Chapman’s streak of appearances WITH earned runs

Last Game
The Reds continued their winning ways against the Indians last night by winning 3-5. Mat Latos was filling in for a sick Mike Leake, and Latos turned in the kind of performance we’ve been expecting from him from the beginning. Maybe short rest doesn’t give him enough time to put too much pressure on himself.

Next Game
The Reds go for the sweep of the three-game series today at 12:35 p.m. Leake (2-5, 4.97 ERA) defends against Josh Tomlin (3-3, 4.96 ERA). They look pretty evenly matched, but Tomlin had the advantage of not spending the last few days puking. That I know of.

What’s Eating Aroldis Chapman?
After starting the season with a streak of 24 appearances without an earned run, Aroldis Chapman has now allowed at least one earned run in each of his last three starts. Last night he got the save, but came into the game in the ninth with a 4-run lead and served up a solo shot to Jose Lopez. Talk about streaky.

Though Chapman’s performance last night wasn’t the shelling he’s received in the last couple games, I’m still concerned about the abrupt change from “record-settingly good” to “meh.” If the season had started a week ago, we wouldn’t be looking at Chapman in a closer’s role right now.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
If the Reds win this afternoon, they will pull their all-time record against the Indians to .500 (38-38).

Comments are closed.