Prior Was On
by Bryan SmithJune 04, 2004
Aaron mentioned in his last post that Prior's first start was today. Let's just say that things went very well for Prior, who only allowed two hits and no walks in six innings. He struck out eight in 85 pitches, and was perfect against the first thirteen batters he faced. Mark's fastball was between 93-95, and his curveball was equivalent to the 2003 version.
With all that being said, things aren't going too well for the Cubs. Moises Alou had to throw Rob Mackowiak out at the plate to save a run in the fifth, and the Cubs have left too many runners in scoring position. While watching this game, I kept wondering why Rey Ordonez is on a Major League baseball, not to mention a contender. Ordonez has made an error, failed to bunt a runner to third, and flown out to left with a man on second through six innings.
Tike Redman saved a would-be double with a diving play in the fifth, and Josh Fogg has matched Prior with six scoreless frames. Prior will stay 0-0, 0.00 ERA for another day.
Bryan Smith, co-founder of Baseball Analysts, is a freelance writer with work appearing at SI.com, BaseballProspectus.com and Baseball America. Feel free to e-mail Bryan here, and look for his annual prospect list at SI.com next week.