The Texas Rangers offense has walked the least number of times and seen the least number of pitches in the league. CC Sabathia and backup catcher Francisco Cervelli were obviously aware of that in last night’s rain-shortened victory.
Anthony McCarron of the NY Daily News also picked up on this.
“Right away, from pitch one, they were swinging,” said Sabathia, who is 6-0 with a 1.62 ERA at the Stadium since last year's All-Star break. “They swung at a lot of pitches.”
McCarron’s reporting was on the money.
Sabathia threw 20 first-pitch strikes, enabling him to keep a low pitch count (73) through six innings. He struck out nine, walked none and allowed just three hits and a run.
This start followed up Sabathia’s no-hit bid last week against Tampa Bay, which was also caught by Cervelli.
It’s good to know a team’s ace is very comfortable working with a backup. It makes sense to pair the backup with the ace, because you don’t expect to have to score as many runs with your ace on the mound. Props to Cervelli.
