Don't look now, but the rag-tag YS9 bullpen has the Frick’s third best ERA, and if their pass through Boise is real—always a gamble—the rotation isn’t too far behind.
This Monday, Ernesto Ramos evened his record at 3-3 by going seven innings, giving up only one run to beat the Spuds 5-1. Then Tuesday, Carlos Valle was about as good, winning his fifth game with a six-inning performance in which he gave up two runs and struck out seven. Luis Colon capped the trifecta by shutting the Spuds down for six and a third innings. He now stands at 5-1 for the season.
“Those are our three horses right now,” said manager Bill Inkster. “We’ll need to ride them as far as they’ll take us.”
When it was noted the in the recently popular PQS metric, the trio’s last three starts registered in at a 4/3/4, Inkster was nonplussed. “Is that good?” he said. Ultimately, yes, it is. Especially since Valle’s “3” in that string as a full six innings, missing the somewhat arbitrary cutoff by one out. Buoyed by news that Hiroyasu Osaragi may be coming back early, fans are beginning to wonder if these three can carry the club through the All-Star break, many noting that Inkster is sticking mostly with them and mixing and matching starts by Han-lee Kim, and lefties Jose Chavez, Momcilo Djuretic, and even rookie Edgardo Llauro.
“We’re kind of a meatball rotation right now,” Inkster said, joking with the press corps. “Can you throw a slider?”
LATEST SURGE SIMPLY SCHEDULE?
One is tempted to proclaim that the last three outings are made against the not-so-mighty Spuds, an offense that is, admittedly, in the lower half of the league. It is also true, however that “lower half” is not “bottom. The Spuds sit 8th to 11th in most offensive categories—not good, but not total dog meat. Beyond that, Valle has been on a solid string of six good outings (3/5/5/3/3/3 in the PQS-o-meter), and Colon has turned a 4/4 his last two. Of the three Boise scallopings, only Ramos’s comes as a departure from recent performances.
Regardless, the staff as a whole is going to get a real test this coming week, as the Nine host Pacific Division contenders Valencia and California over their next seven games.
