NL Central: Trouble brewing in Milwaukee bullpen

Baseball Betting Lines

04/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's a good chance that Trevor Hoffman will one day have a plaque alongside baseball's all-time immortals in Cooperstown, but it won't be for the Milwaukee Brewers closer's achievements over the early portion of this season.

Hoffman is in the midst of possibly the worst stretch of a terrific 18-year career that has seen the veteran fireman rack up 594 saves, the most of any player in major league history. The 42-year-old has managed to convert only 3- of-7 opportunities to begin this 2010 campaign while serving up an alarming six home runs over a span of nine innings pitched.

The low point of Hoffman's shockingly poor start occurred in a series with Pittsburgh earlier this week. Brought in to preserve a 3-2 lead in Tuesday's matchup, he was rocked for five ninth-inning runs -- four of which came on a grand slam by Pirates' catcher Ryan Doumit. Hoffman had a chance to redeem himself the following day but again faltered, with Doumit again homering off the right-hander in the ninth to tie that contest at 4-4. The Pirates would eventually win by a 6-5 score in 14 innings.

Those two meltdowns brought Hoffman's earned run average to a woeful 13.00, a stark contrast from the longtime San Diego Padre's start to his first year in Milwaukee. He converted 16 consecutive save chances to begin last season and failed to allow a single run over his first 18 appearances as a Brewer.

Hoffman wound up saving 37 games and posted a stellar 1.83 ERA, the second- lowest figure of his storied career, while garnering a seventh lifetime All- Star nod during his Milwaukee debut. Those outstanding numbers lend support to the aging reliever's assertion that he can still get the job done, and that those struggles can primarily be attributed simply to a lack of execution.

"It's a function of not throwing quality strikes," Hoffman said after Tuesday's loss. "My fastball is a good pitch when it's located. My confidence is still good. I still feel good."

Hoffman's four blown saves in April have already matched his entire amount from the previous year.

FINALLY, IT'S MILLER TIME FOR PIRATES

Doumit's heroics helped enable the Pirates to register their first series win in Milwaukee in nearly four years, and Tuesday's 7-3 come-from-behind triumph also ended a seven-game losing streak for the Bucs, with four of those defeats coming at the hands of the Brewers.

Miller Park had been an absolute house of horrors for Pittsburgh in recent years, as the Pirates had lost an unbelievable 22 consecutive games at the venue prior to Tuesday's win. That was the longest streak of wins by one team over a single opponent at home since the Cleveland Indians topped the St. Louis Browns 27 straight times from 1953-54.

The latest clashes between the two divisional foes had been remarkably one- sided as well. Milwaukee had outscored Pittsburgh by a whopping 53-4 margin in taking the first four 2010 meetings, including a 20-0 beatdown at PNC Park on April 22 that served as the worst loss in the 124-year history of the Pirates. In Monday's opener of the just-completed set, the Brewers pounded Pittsburgh pitching for 17 hits en route to a 17-3 rout.

"I think we earned back a little bit of respect in the Brewers' eyes," Doumit told the Pirates' official site following Wednesday's win. "We've been a doormat against these guys. When you're winning by 17 or 20 runs a game, you tend not to take the other team too serious. After these last two games, I would like to think they know we're not going to give up. They're going to be in for a dogfight from here on out."

The Pirates had not won a series in Milwaukee since taking two of three tests from the Brewers between July 24-26, 2006.

Andy LaRoche played a key role in Pittsburgh's avenging of the Brewers, with the third baseman backing up a 4-for-5 performance in Tuesday's game with a two-run homer in Wednesday's finale. The 26-year-old owns a robust .358 average for the season and batted .565 (13-for-23) during a five-game hitting streak prior to Thursday's test at Los Angeles.

REDS ON ROLL AFTER STORMING THROUGH HOUSTON

The Brewers-Pirates series isn't the only one between NL Central members in which one of the teams has had their way with the other of late. The Cincinnati Reds got the best of the Houston Astros throughout most of the 2009 season, and little changed when the divisional foes renewed acquaintances at Minute Maid Park earlier this week.

Cincinnati won all three bouts between the clubs after downing the Astros the Astros and longtime Red nemesis Roy Oswalt by a 4-2 count on Thursday. Although the sweep was the Reds' first in Houston since June 2-4, 2010, Dusty Baker's troops have now prevailed in 12 of their last 13 skirmishes with the Astros. Cincinnati went 12-4 versus Houston over the course of last year.

The three wins moved the Reds to .500 (11-11) for the season and into second place in the tightly-bunched NL Central standings, four games behind front- running St. Louis. Cincinnati will continue its six-game trek with a trio of showdowns with the defending champion Cardinals beginning Friday.

The Reds were in great need of some momentum heading into its key early series with St. Louis. The team had lost eight times in an 11-game span heading into the road trip.

"It's an up-and-down season," first baseman Joey Votto remarked on Cincinnati's Web site. "I hope we're not going to get too high right now. We have a real tough series against St. Louis. I think going into this series, St. Louis has a pretty good idea that we played well. I think they'll be ready to play against us and play well."

The Reds will be heading to St. Louis riding a season-best four-game winning streak, having bested San Diego at home last Sunday before embarking on its present jaunt.

STREAK ENDS FOR ASTROS' OSWALT

Oswalt lost to the Reds for only the second time in his 10-year career following Thursday's outcome. The Houston ace had entered the matchup sporting an incredible 23-1 record over 32 appearances (30 starts) versus Cincinnati, including a 12-0 mark with a 2.26 ERA in 16 games taking place at Minute Maid Park. He had won his last eight decisions against the Reds.

The three-time All-Star did pitch well enough to win on most nights, though. Oswalt held Cincinnati to a single run over the game's first six innings before giving up a two-run homer to Votto in the seventh that put the Astros at a 3-0 deficit. It's not the first time the accomplished right-hander deserved a better fate, as Oswalt has notched a quality start in all five of his mound trips this season and currently owns a 2.73 ERA that contradicts a 2-3 overall record.

"Roy's pitched outstanding and is very capable of being 5-0 right now," right fielder Hunter Pence conveyed on astros.com. "It's tough. We want to score as many runs as we can and haven't been able to do it for him. There's been a lot of good pitching going on for us, and we need to get clicking offensively."

Wandy Rodriguez has also been going well for Houston as of late, with the team's No. 2 starter twirling 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball and fanning seven in his last start, a 5-2 verdict over Pittsburgh on April 24. The diminutive lefty may have to miss his next turn in the rotation, however, after experiencing back spasms during a recent workout.

Rodriguez had been slated to start Friday's series opener at Atlanta, but was tentatively pushed back a day in order to get some additional rest. Brett Myers will instead take the ball when the Astros start up a three-game set with the reeling Braves.

CUBS' ZAMBRANO ADJUSTS TO NEW ROLE

Carlos Zambrano became baseball's most expensive setup man when Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella elected to move his struggling Opening Day starter into the bullpen last week to make room for Ted Lilly's return from shoulder surgery. While the move certainly raised some eyebrows among fans and followers of the North Siders, the early results show that the controversial decision may not be such an off-the-wall idea after all.

The Cubs stumbled out of the gates with losses in nine of their first 14 outings of the season, with an ineffective and injury-riddled bullpen a main culprit towards the team's poor early play. The addition of Zambrano, a three- time All-Star with three seasons of 16-plus wins to his credit, provides both a proven arm and a fiery competitor to fill what's been a glaring hole in front of standout closer Carlos Marmol.

Zambrano's lackluster 7.45 earned run average through his first four starts of the year also helped trigger the shuffle, as have the strong showings from rotation members Carlos Silva (2-0, 1.73) and Tom Gorzelanny (2.45 ERA), thought to be the two most likely candidates to join the relief corps when Lilly was activated. A season-ending shoulder injury to Angel Guzman, who performed capably as Marmol's bridge last year, was a factor in the switch as well.

To his credit, Zambrano -- known as much for his temperamental disposition as his impressive arsenal of pitches -- has accepted the new arrangement in the hopes it will improve the Cubs for the time being.

"I'm not happy about this decision," he recently told the club's official site. "But I feel good about helping my team and to do everything to help solve whatever the problem is."

Zambrano's first relief appearance in the majors since 2002 came in Chicago's 5-1 victory at Milwaukee last Saturday, with the native Venezuelan surrendering a run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings. Lilly, incidentally, made his season debut in that contest and limited the Brewers to three hits over six shutout frames to nab the win.

PENNY PROVING TO BE WISE INVESTMENT FOR CARDS

Add one more name to the list of pitchers who have resurrected their careers under the tutelage of esteemed St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan.

Brad Penny ran his season record to 3-0 by firing 7 2/3 shutout innings in the Cardinals' 2-0 decision over San Francisco this past Sunday at AT&T Park, the fourth straight quality start for the offseason acquisition. The resurgent right-hander has produced an eye-popping 0.94 earned run average over that span, having thrown at least seven innings and yielding two runs or less each time out.

Such a turnaround didn't seem feasible for Penny, signed by St. Louis to a one-year, $7.5 million deal in December. The 31-year-old had been cut loose by Boston last August after recording a lackluster 5.61 ERA over 24 starts and went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA during a injury-plagued 2008 season with Los Angeles. He's been able to reclaim the form that made him a two-time All-Star with the Dodgers a few years back with help from Duncan, who's been able to tap into Penny's strengths by convincing his new pupil to alter his approach.

Known as a power pitcher throughout his 10-year tenure in the majors, Penny has relied more on a heavy sinker that had resulted in less strikeouts but fewer damaging hits as well. The burly veteran has amassed a career-best groundout-to-flyout ratio of 1.96 through his four starts and most notably, has yet to allow a home run in his 28 2/3 innings of work.

Penny gave up 22 homers over 160 1/3 innings with the Red Sox and San Francisco last season.

Saturday's start was a fitting example of Penny's successful new philosophy. Although the Giants managed eight hits against him, six were singles and 14 of his 26 outs recorded came on the ground. Penny also did not walk a batter on the afternoon.

"I didn't throw a pitch as hard as I could all day," Penny told the Cardinals' official site afterward. "That's the first time in my career that's happened. [The Giants] were being aggressive and they didn't let me get deep into counts. The key for me was mixing it up."