News
Garza looking to reach 200 innings
Tampa Bay (82-76) vs. Baltimore (60-98), 7:08 p.m. ET
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
09/30/09 11:29 PM ET
ST. PETERSBURG -- It's a right of passage, per se. For starting pitchers, few numbers are more important than 200, which is pretty much the goal for the number of innings in a season.Since 2007 with the Twins, Matt Garza has shown he can be a dominant pitcher in the Major Leagues, but he has never gone deep enough through a season to top 200 innings.
He can finally do so on Thursday.
Garza will be making his final start of the season in the series finale against the Orioles, and he'll be coming in with 197 innings in 2009 -- needing just three to reach his goal.
"It's a goal for every starting pitcher," Garza said about reaching 200. "It just lets you know that you're able to pitch deep into games. You're not a five-and-dive guy -- you go and go and go and go until there's nothing left. That's what I want to be -- I want to be one of those guys who just go and go and go until they come and get you."
To be fair, Garza never had a full season in the Majors until last year, when he went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA in 30 starts and finished with 184 2/3 innings.
This year, the 25-year-old right-hander's record is worse at 8-11, but that has a lot to do with getting the lowest run support in the American League -- 3.75 runs per game. On top of that, he sports a solid 3.93 ERA, has the second-most strikeouts in club history at 185, and he entered Wednesday fourth in the AL with a .232 opponents' batting average.
"Up and down," is how Garza summed up his season thus far. "I've had good times, and I've had bad times. I've set personal records this year and records I don't like setting. But all in all, I feel like I have improved. I've definitely been able to go deeper in games, and just progressing like I should be, getting better each year.
"It's been tough knowing this is the last start, but I'm just going to keep going, try to finish this last one out strong and get ready for next season."
Pitching matchupTB: RHP Matt Garza (8-11, 3.93 ERA)
Garza endured a tough outing Saturday night in Texas when he allowed seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings to take his 11th loss of the season. When he is on the top of his game, he can be dominating. It's when he doesn't have his good stuff that he struggles. The fact that he is zeroing in on 200 innings for the season is a good indication he is getting closer to finding consistency. He should have far more victories this season, but he has the least amount of run support on the team. Garza is 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in seven career starts against the Orioles; he is 12-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 31 career starts at Tropicana Field. BAL: LHP Chris Waters (0-0, 8.10 ERA)
The Orioles decided to shut down rookie Chris Tillman after cranking his innings count to a career-high 161 2/3. That means Waters will be making his first Major League start since Sept. 26, 2008. That year, he went 3-5 with a 5.01 ERA in 11 starts for the Orioles. The 29-year-old, originally a fifth-round Draft pick by the Braves in 2000, went 9-7 with a 4.49 ERA in 29 games (20 starts) for Triple-A Norfolk this season, striking out 71 batters and walking 47. Tidbits
Rays manager Joe Maddon announced Wednesday that veteran right-hander Chad Bradford likely won't pitch the rest of the year. Bradford, 35, hasn't checked into a game since Sept. 23 and has been battling back and arm problems this season. He is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in 20 games in 2009. "I don't think you're going to see him the rest of the year, I really don't think so," Maddon said. ... Only CC Sabathia, Dan Haren and Roy Halladay have joined James Shields in starting at least 31 games and tossing at least 215 innings each of the past three seasons. ... B.J. Upton stole his 40th and 41st bases of the season on Wednesday. With him and Carl Crawford (60), the Rays have two teammates who have combined for 100 steals this season, making them the first AL team to do that since the 1997 Tigers. ... Ben Zobrist is batting .385 (20-for-52) with three home runs and 15 RBIs in his past 14 games. Tickets
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• Friday: Rays (David Price, 9-7, 4.60) vs. Yankees (CC Sabathia, 19-7, 3.21), 7:38 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Rays (Jeff Niemann, 12-6, 3.94) vs. Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 14-7, 4.11), 7:08 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Rays (Wade Davis, 2-1, 3.45) vs. Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 12-9, 4.10), 1:38 p.m. ET
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
