Red Sox 07 ALDS Game 3
 | @ |  | |||||
| C. Schilling | 0-0, -.-- | J. Weaver | 0-0, -.-- | ||||
| Red Sox | 2-0 | Angels | 0-2 | ||||
Sunday, October 7 Angel Stadium of Anaheim ✠ 3:00 PM ETESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report
Red Sox: Schilling is one of the best big-game pitchers of this generation and all you need to do is view his postseason stats for proof. Schilling has made 15 postseason starts in his career, going 8-2 with a 2.06 ERA. Believe it or not, he has not pitched in the playoffs since Game 2 of the 2004 World Series. Schilling was lined up to pitch Game 4 of the 2005 Division Series, but the Red Sox were swept in three games. Since coming back from the disabled list on Aug. 6, Schilling has reinvented himself. The loss of velocity has been compensated by increased attention to command of his supplementary pitches. In his last eight starts, Schilling worked at least six innings. Schilling pitched three times against the Angels this season, going 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA. In 12 career appearances against the Angels, Schilling is 6-2 with a 3.67 ERA. Schilling will make this start on 11 days of rest. The last time he pitched in Anaheim in the postseason was Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS, and that was a 9-3 win by the Red Sox. Schilling went 5-5 with a 3.65 ERA in his 11 road starts this season.
Angels: Weaver's education as a Major League pitcher continued in his second full season. He got a late start, recovering from arm issues he'd carried into the offseason after a busy rookie year, but soon made up for lost time by delivering a string of quality starts. Weaver's height -- he's 6-foot-7 -- and sweeping delivery provide deception for a fastball that gets in on hitters, looking faster than the 91-92 mph radar readings. He complements his heater with a high-caliber changeup and good breaking ball. As with most Angels pitchers, everything revolves around fastball location. When he's hitting his spots, he's tough to beat.
As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.
Hitting History vs Weaver
| Player | AB | H | 2b | 3b | HR's | RBI | BB's | K's | BA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Pedroia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .200 |
| K. Youkilis | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .333 |
| D. Ortiz | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | .500 |
| M. Ramirez | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .000 |
| M. Lowell | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
| J.D. Drew | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| J. Varitek | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 |
| C. Crisp | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .091 |
| J. Lugo | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
| Totals | 73 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 13 | .288 |
Once again we see a pretty decent batting average against the opposing pitcher. Looking deeper into the numbers the 3-4-5 hitters are batting .304/.393/.565. So the key to this game is having runners in position to be brought home. Pedroia and Youkilis need to start laying some lumber on the ball to accomplish this. The bottom of the order is simply terrible as Tek, Coco and Lugo are batting .222/.222/.444.
Weavers splits this year show a huge difference between right handers and lefties at the plate. Left handed hitters are batting .291/.348/.406 while righties are at .269 (not bad)/.306/.430. I like the odds of the offense scoring some runs in this game.
Historical Pitching Lines
| Pitcher | GS | W | L | Sho | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | IP/GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schilling | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 57 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 40 | 3.67 | 1.11 | 7.00 |
| Weaver | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 4.70 | 1.35 | 5.75 |
Over all numbers show that Schilling should have a higher chance of success. His ERA is not bad vs good team and his WHIP is very good. I like the fact that he averages 7 innings per start against this team also. If he can give us his normal start then we should be sitting pretty. The trend though is not looking so good as he has given up a total of 15 runs in his last four outings vs this team (2-2).
This Years Pitching Totals
| Pitcher | GS | W | L | Sho | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | IP/GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schilling | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4.05 | 1.10 | 6.67 |
| Weaver | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 1/3 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 6.97 | 1.65 | 5.17 |
Of course trends can be tricky. Even though the last two starts by Curt against the Angels have not been good, it is the playoffs. In the post season hehas the best winning percentage at .800 (8-2/10+ DEC) and the 3rd best ERA at 2.06 (100+ IP) in post-season history. Schilling is 3-0 in 4 lifetime Division Series starts with a 1.14 ERA (4 ER/31.2 IP), the 4th best all-time among pitchers with at least 20 innings. He is 8-1 in his last 12 post-season starts, the loss coming to the Yankees in Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS.
The question is how will Weaver handle this start. It is now win or go home time for the Angels and that can sometimes be over powering for young starters. Stay tuned at three to see what will be. (I say Sox clinch).
♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!
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