Today was billed as the first big duel between Gavin Floyd and John Danks, who were both scheduled to throw four innings if their command allowed it. Much like last week,
Danks proved the victor in a head-to-head comparison:
| Floyd |
|
Danks |
3.2IP, 9H, 6R, 6ER,
2BB, 3K |
Line |
3IP, 2H, 2R, 1ER,
1BB, 3K |
Kenny Lofton (3)
Ian Kinsler (3)
Michael Young (3)
Sammy Sosa (3)
Hank Blalock (2)
Marlon Byrd (2)
Brad Wilkerson (2)
Chris Stewart (2)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (2)
|
Batters faced |
Marlon Byrd (2)
Brad Wilkerson
Chris Stewart
Jerry Hairston Jr. (2)
Freddy Guzman (2)
Ian Kinsler
Ramon Vazquez
Jason Botts
Matt Kata
Nate Gold
|
Floyd had somewhat of an excuse with facing the far better hitters, but Danks took care of what he needed to do. If Andy Gonzalez were able to start a double play instead of throwing it away twice, Danks would've gotten out of his last inning of work without a run crossing the plate. Last week,
his defense made him look good, but he managed to stay afloat even with no help.
After the first error, Danks went ahead and got another double play ball -- though Gonzalez threw it away again. If he were Buehrleish, like the comparison I drew last week, the line drives would've started coming after the first run scored.
At least Gonzalez made up for it with a three-run homer that helped Danks earn the win.
Unless the terrible results are due to Floyd working out of his comfort zone based on Don Cooper's orders, and I doubt that's the case, Danks should get the start next time. Whenever that does happen, it promises to be the most interesting development of the spring to date.