KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010 / SPORTS
3B
WE'RE GOING STREAKING
BASEBALL GAMEDAY KANSAS OPENING PITCH TEXAS TECH OPENING PITCH
JAYHAWKS VS. RED RAIDERS Kansas and Texas Tech both carry four-game win streaks into this three-game series
AT A GLANCE
Kansas (24-14-1, 5-6-1) returns home winners of four straight after Wednesday's thrilling 1-0 victory against Missouri at Kauffman Stadium. The Jayhawks are looking for their first series sweep this season against a Big 12 opponent or otherwise.
Poppe
AT A GLANCE
Freshman pitcher Tanner Poppe
PLAYER TO WATCH
Walz and Selik set the tone as Kansas' Friday and Saturday starters, but the burden of closing out the weekend with a flourish now falls on Poppe, Kansas' new Sunday starter. Poppe aced his first Big 12 test, throwing six strong innings in last Sunday's victory against Nebraska. He needs to repeat that performance against Tech's potent offense.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Jayhawk pitcher's hold off the Red Raiders attack?
Scoring runs against Tech's pitching staff shouldn't be a problem for Kansas. But holding Tech's offense in check is a much tougher task. The Red Raiders get on base at a prolific clip, and when they do, they cash in on those opportunities
18-6 — Kansas' record when holding opponents to fewer than five runs
BY THE NUMBERS
23-4 — Kansas' record when scoring five or more runs
.250 — Third baseman Tony Thompson's average in 19 games since returning from injury
Brett Lisher
Texas Tech is the surprise of the Big 12. The Red Raiders come into this weekend's matchup with the Jayhawks riding a four-game winning streak. True freshman Barrett Barnes' emergence is a big reason for that surprise success. The Red Raiders are currently sitting third in the Big 12 Standings with a conference record of 8-7 after being picked last in the preseason conference rankings.
PLAYER TO WATCH
First baseman Barrett Barnes
The reigning Big 12 player of the week had an excellent series against Oklahoma. Barnes hit two home runs and drove in five runs, helping Texas Tech take two games from the Sooners. Barnes leads the Big 12 in runs scored with 49.
QUESTION MARK
Barnes
When will the Red Raiders level off?
Texas Tech is in strong contention for the NCAA Tournament, but they have not faced stiff competition up until meeting Texas and Oklahoma. They took one game from Texas and defeated the Sooners in two out of three.The Red Raiders' pitching staff is by far the worst in the conference and it's only a matter of time before it catches up to them.
BY THE NUMBERS
19-1 — Texas Tech's record when leading after six innings
1-18 — Texas Tech's record when trailing after six innings
6. 43 ERA of Brett Bruening, the Red Raiders starter tonight
GAME OUTLOOK
The best chance for a series victory relies on the Jayhawk pitching staff, particularly the three starters. If Kansas' pitchers continue to throw well and keep Texas Tech's offense in check, a series victory - and perhaps a sweep - is attainable.
Behind Texas (13-2) and Kansas State (9-3) the rest of the Big 12 teams are all lumped together in the middle, including both Tech Tech (8-7) and Kansas (5-6-1). A series victory for either side means a huge jump up in the conference standings.
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
If a starter falters against Texas Tech, Kansas' bullpen is well rested and throwing extremely well of late.
on Friday, then senior Cameron Selik and freshman Tanner Poppe would follow suit on Saturday and Sunday.
Junior Wally Marciel, who has allowed only three runs in his last six and 2/3 innings, and senior Travis Blankenship, who hasn't allowed a run in his last four and 2/3 innings, have grown stronger as the season has worn on.
Price said the recent successes of his pitchers — especially his bullpen — rested in their ability to continually find the zone with first-pitch strikes.
When pitchers fall behind in the count, they're forced to throw fastballs to hitters that are expecting them. Against teams like Texas Tech, those pitches often find the seats.
"When we've had trouble it's
been when we're behind in the count," he said.
Marcel agreed, saying that retiring leadoff hitters and limiting walks were points that pitching coach Ryan Graves emphasized.
"C o a c h Graves always stresses that walks will always kill you," Marcelci said. "As a pitching staff, we take it on our shoulders and take it really personally to not walk guys."
Texas Tech's pitching staff carries a 6.36 team ERA — by far the worst in the conference. Kansas'
team ERA is 4.48, which has continued to decrease in recent weeks.
The Red Raider pitchers are also tops in the conference in a few other unflattering categories.
"As a pitching staff, we take it on our shoulders and take it really personally to not walk guys."
If the Jayhawks' pitching holds up, all indications are that their offense will have plenty of chances against a Red Raiders' staff that is the polar opposite of its offense.
WALLY MARCIEL Junior relief pitcher
including a conference high 181 walks, a.301 opposing batting average and 431 hits allowed.
Thoug h Price said the ideal scenario for the Jawhaws was
to jump out to an early lead, he acknowledged that the offense would go for naught if the pitching didn't hold up.
"It all goes back to the pitching."
Price said.
- Edited by Taylor Bern
MLB
Pirates face worst rout in team history
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH — Ryan Braun, Jim Edmonds and the Milwaukee Brewers went totally batty.
The Brew Crew piled up 25 hits Thursday and trounced Pittsburgh 20-0, handing the Pirates the most-lopsided loss in their 124-year history.
"It was fun and it was special," said Braun, who homered, doubled, singled and drove in five runs. "This game is really so much about failure, particularly as a hitter, that you rarely get a day where everyone is enjoying so much success at the same time."
"I've never been involved in a game like this and I likely never will be again. So, I enjoyed it and I'll savor it. It's one to remember," he said.
Milwaukee matched a club
mark for margin of victory and set a record for its biggest shutout win.
Prince Fielder hit his first home run of the season while Edmonds and George Kottaras also connected — they were among 10 Brewers with an RBI. Milwaukee finished with 12 extra-base hits.
Milwaukee led 10-0 after five innings then scored six runs in the seventh and four more in the ninth. Edmonds doubled twice and singled. Rickie Weeks doubled twice, singled and scored four times.
"Now that was something else," Milwaukee manager Ken Macha said.
Randy Wolf (2-1) pitched six scoreless innings and three relievers finished up. The Brewers won their fourth in a row and gave Pittsburgh its third straight loss.
Daniel McCutchen (0-2) was tagged for six runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings. Remarkably, his ERA stayed the same as it was entering the game, 14.73.
"Lots of times, it felt like I was throwing batting practice to them," McCutchen said.
The Brewers also won by 20 in 1992 when they beat Toronto 22-2. The Pirates' previous one-sided loss was by 18 runs, done twice.
Milwaukee swept the threegame series and outscored the Pirates 36-1. Pittsburgh has lost eight times this season, by at least six runs each time.
According to STATS LLC, it was the fifth most-lopsided shut out in modern major league history, which began in 1900.
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