Tues @2 single elimination winner plays OM...Aub played Vandy two weeks ago and swept them outscoring them 29-6
UK vs Aub..
- Thread starter sluggercatfan
- Start date
Should be a good game. Auburn is swinging the bats well. They’re starting a true freshmen, Jack Owen, who has been the midweek starter most of the year. Curious to see who Kentucky throws. Some here have said it will be Hjelle, which would really make the matchup tough for Auburn.
In conference games, Kentucky has made one more error than Auburn. I’d say the two defenses are pretty similar. Auburn has a .974 fielding % to Kentucky’s .973 in SEC games.
We need at least one win. We are 3-4 in our last 7 games. We need as many wins as possible to lock in a tournament appearance. Many say 14 is the magic number for getting in. I don't think that's the case this year. Still, we have work to do and need to bounce back. Win game one and we add another victory against a top 15 opponent. Then we can staff game two of needed because it is at least double elimination at that point.
I'll be surprised if they go with Hjelle on 4 days rest. If Lewis is truly not available, I don't see a good option.
I'd love it if it were Lewis, but doubt it. We could possibly throw Harper but I believe he threw at least some this weekend.
Hjelle threw a bunch of pitches Thursday, so I wouldn't expect him to pitch much, if at all, on Tuesday. And with Lewis not pitching as desperate as UK was for arms in Vandy series, I suspect he will not be available. Would appear that Harper may be the best option. Maybe one of Coleman or Haake may be available for some number of pitches, along with Hazelwood. IIRC, Harper pitched on Friday against Vandy but was not sharp and didn't throw a ton of pitches. Hopefully he pitches well (and efficiently) if called upon tomorrow.
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Here's the numbers on Auburn's presumed starter Jack Owen. W-L 2-2, era 6.19, made 6 starts, 32 innings, 41 hits, 23 runs, 22 earned, 13 walks, 34 K's, 3 HR's and opponents are batting .315 against him.
He is a Freshman lefty out of California. They do have some good arms in the bullpen, so if he struggles early, they can bring in some quality relief.
He is a Freshman lefty out of California. They do have some good arms in the bullpen, so if he struggles early, they can bring in some quality relief.
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OK, after giving this some thought, here is what I would do.I start Harper, hoping to get 3, maybe 4 decent innings, I then bring Hjelle out of the pen and hope he can give us 5 or 6 quality innings.
Harper has pitched 46 innings this year, allowed 53 hits, but only 12 Xtra base hits, only 2 HR's. He pitched 1.2 innings Fri. night, and threw 38 pitches, facing 10 batters. I hope and pray for at least 3 good innings, and bring in the Ace.
Harper has pitched 46 innings this year, allowed 53 hits, but only 12 Xtra base hits, only 2 HR's. He pitched 1.2 innings Fri. night, and threw 38 pitches, facing 10 batters. I hope and pray for at least 3 good innings, and bring in the Ace.
UK batters will make him look like a Friday all American. At least that's what we seem to do against pitchers with high ERAs.
Owen has pitched better of late. In his last three starts, he has a 3.29 ERA and a .241 BAA in 13.2 IP, although that’s obviously been against non-SEC teams. His issue all season has been getting through a lineup a second or third time. And we have some good arms in the bullpen, but I don’t know how many would be available. Probably just Daniel and Coker if I had to guess.
Let's not sell him short though, that was against Troy and South Alabama, both of which are top 55 RPI teams.
True. He’s had a very promising last few starts, enough for me to think he can get into the weekend rotation next year. But he hasn’t faced an offense like he will see tomorrow. I’m excited to see how he fares and looking forward to another good game.
Well, you kind of never know with our offense. We can explode but we've been struggling lately. Squires hits 5 hole and is just like 3 for his last 36. The DH and RF positions are shuffled among 4-5 players and none have been impressive and consistent enough to stick. Aklinski was hitting 2 hole and he dropped to 8 because of struggles. So, 1 through 4 is as good as you'll find. 9 is pretty solid, but 5-8 has left a lot to be desired recently.
Still, we seem to hit pitchers with good reputations really well and the ones who have inflated ERAs seem to have career outings.