Sullivan: Ryan Vogelsong’s most perfect pitch
From Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs on October 22, 2012:
The way people talked about him, Chris Carpenter was supposed to be unbeatable in the playoffs, and Ryan Vogelsong was supposed to be a little more beatable. Yet the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Giants has advanced to a Monday Game 7 in large part because, on two occasions now, Vogelsong and San Francisco have bested Carpenter and St. Louis. In Game 2, Vogelsong allowed one run in seven innings, while Carpenter went four innings and allowed five runs, two of which were earned. In Sunday’s Game 6, Vogelsong allowed one run in seven innings, while Carpenter went four innings and allowed five runs, two of which were earned. Ryan Vogelsong isn’t the only reason the Giants are still alive, but he might be the biggest one, and he’s earned this post.
Vogelsong was outstanding on Sunday, and he didn’t allow his first hit until there were two out in the fifth. He came out amped up, throwing his fastball harder than usual in the early innings, and he struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. He wound up with a career-high nine strikeouts, and while he acknowledged later that he got away with some mistakes, all good pitching performances require that a pitcher get away with some mistakes. Vogelsong made mistakes, but he didn’t make many of them.
The challenge when writing about a stellar performance is trying to capture every last detail. I’m not going to even accept that challenge and instead I’m going to write about Vogelsong’s one pitch that has most stuck with me from Sunday night. There were a lot of really good ones, but I’m still hung up on an Allen Craig swinging strikeout in the top of the fourth. On a night that Ryan Vogelsong was fantastic, I think the pitch he threw to get rid of Allen Craig in the fourth was the most fantastic.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/ryan-vogelsongs-most-perfect-pitch/
Originally published: October 22, 2012. Last Updated: October 22, 2012.