Another rookie, another stellar start....the Cardinals rookies are making it look too easy.
Tonight was the much anticipated debut of Michael Wacha and he didn't disappoint.
Pitching on 8 days rest, Wacha dominated the fading Kansas City Royals, holding them to just two hits and one run in 7 innings, while striking out 6.
But wait, it gets even better.
Wacha actually set down the first 13 batters he faced before Lorenzo Cain doubled in the 5th. Cain scored one out later when Elliot Johnson singled. However, Wacha settled back down after that, retiring the next 6 hitters he faced before being removed from the game.
Relying mostly on his fastball, which ranged from 92-97 mph, and his change, Wacha kept the Royals guessing all night, inducing 9 groundouts and only 4 flyouts. He only threw 2 curveballs out of his 93 pitches.
It would have been nice to see him get the win, however, Mike Matheny decided to bring in Mitchell Boggs to close out the game, as Edward Mujica was unavailable, as he promptly gave up a homer to Jeff Francoeur to tie the game (was Trevor Rosenthal unavailable too?) and a walk. Matheny then brought in Victor Marte to add more fuel to the fire and well let's just say I'm not too happy with Matheny's decisions (and neither is Wacha).
In any case, just a couple days after telling everyone to temper their expectations on Wacha, I am now jumping on the Wacha bandwagon full bore. Yes, its just one start, however, it only took only one Shelby Miller start last season to get everyone excited about him.
I've got a feeling that Wacha is going to be just as special.
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