Some stuff from the weekend:
The Giants beat Noah Syndergaard on Sunday. While the big hit was Hunter Pence’s two-run homer to right off a 98-mph fastball -- the first home run off Syndergaard this season -- the key decision was made the previous batter, as Bruce Bochy showed why he's such a great manager. The score was still 0-0, and the Giants had runners on the corners with one out and Brandon Belt up. With a full count, Bochy decided to send Buster Posey from first base. Posey is one of the slower runners in the game (he had just two steals in 2015), so considering Syndergaard's ability to strike hitters out, it was a potential strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. But Bochy was also banking on Syndergaard's inability to hold runners in case Belt failed to make contact. Belt lined a hard one-hopper to second base, plating the game's first run, and with Posey running, the Giants avoided the double play. Pence followed with his home run. Bochy didn't get any hits or runs in the box score, but that one decision created a three-run inning.
Buster Olney touched on Syndergaard's trouble holding runners because of his slow delivery to the plate -- base stealers are 12-for-13 off him so far. I agree with Buster: It's not a big concern, and as Ron Darling said during the Mets broadcast, the team probably doesn't want to worry about telling Syndergaard to speed up his delivery from the stretch, given his obvious success. Olney pointed out that Greg Maddux survived just fine, despite often ignoring baserunners. That said, teams will be wise to run wild on Syndergaard -- the Giants entered the game with seven stolen bases and stole three off him, while the Reds swiped five in his previous start -- and Syndergaard is on pace to allow 78 steals over 30 starts. Dwight Gooden holds the single-season record, with 60 in 1990. The most in the past five seasons was the 44 that Jon Lester allowed last year, a lot in an era when only 16 pitchers have allowed even 30 over those five years. Lester, it should be pointed out, had a 3.32 ERA, higher than his 2.97 fielding independent pitching, which doesn't factor in steals. Syndergaard has a 2.51 ERA but a 1.40 FIP. So the steals will cost him some runs; it's just a matter of how many.
The Phillies are 15-10 -- remarkable given they're last in the National League in scoring at 3.28 runs per game. They've been outscored by 16 runs and are hitting .229. The one offensive bright spot has been Odubel Herrera, who is hitting .301/.449/.410 and has more walks than Bryce Harper. He had 28 walks last year in 147 games; he already has 23 in 25 games. I doubt we've ever seen a player transform his approach at the plate from one season to the next like this. The rotation has been outstanding with a 3.40 ERA and 162 K's in 143 innings, while Jeanmar Gomez is 2-0 and converted all eight of his save opportunities. Can they keep it up? Look, the offense is terrible, but the rotation might be legit, especially when you check out the strikeout-to-walk ratio of these guys: Aaron Nola (37-6), Vince Velasquez (39-10), Jerad Eickhoff (32-5) and Jeremy Hellickson (28-6). Bob McClure has been the pitching coach since 2014 and is working wonders with this group. I said before the season that one of the projected NL cellar dwellers could surprise and finish .500. Maybe the Phillies are that team.
Watched some of the Royals-Mariners this weekend, and the Royals just aren't hitting, as they were shut out in back-to-back games, including Wade Miley’s complete game on Saturday. They're averaging 3.38 runs per game, second-worst in the AL, and a full run per game less than in 2015. Lorenzo Cain (.601 OPS) and Kendrys Morales (.609 OPS) are really struggling. One easy fix: Dump Alcides Escobar from the leadoff spot. The Royals are last in the majors with just seven runs from the leadoff position -- and that's with Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, the two guys in the lineup doing well, hitting behind him.
A good sign for the Mariners: The bullpen has been pretty effective so far, with a 2.51 ERA, and that's been with Joaquin Benoit, the team's top setup guy, pitching just five innings so far and on the DL. Closer Steve Cishek is looking much better than he did in 2015, with more bite on his slider and better control, while Nick Vincent and Tony Zych have both pitched well. The bullpen was a huge unknown heading into the season. It's so far, so good, and it's a big reason the Mariners are 13-11.
I'd be worried if I'm a Yankees fan. They're 8-15; they're not scoring runs (3.52 per game); four of the five starters have ERAs of more than 5.00; the bullpen depth behind Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances is thin -- and they're old. Maybe there's some bad luck going on here, as the starters have allowed a .338 BABIP, but Michael Pineda continues to throw too many hittable pitches and Nathan Eovaldi has always allowed a lot of hits. The hope was Eovaldi's splitter, which he started using last season, would help complement his upper-90s fastball. His fastball has been a little more effective than last year, but he's still giving up a .308 average on it. The season is far from over, and the rotation should improve, but I don't know about an offense relying on seven players 32 or older.
Watched some of Shelby Miller’s start on Sunday, and he's still a mess, falling way off the mound. Here he is last September. He's always had that delivery in which he drives down low with his back and slings his arm across his legs, but check where his pitching hand ends up. Last year it was about parallel with his knees; this year it's ending up even lower (he's even scraped his knuckles on the mound a couple of times). I don't know if Arizona should send him down to Triple-A for a couple of starts or just let him fight through this or what. The Diamondbacks have won just two of his six starts: In one they scored 11 runs, and in the other, Miller left after two innings. It also doesn't help that Zack Greinke has a 5.50 ERA.