Sports Page Atlanta

Pitcher Jorge Campillo dominated as the Braves shut out the Brewers 5-0.  The right hander went 7 innings, 6 hits, 0 earned runs, striking out 6 and walking no one.  This was not the first time Campillo took control of Milwaukee, nor it was the 2nd time.  In fact it was the 3rd time as he improved to 3-0 against the hard hitting central team.  He is not doing horribly against the rest of the majors, but there is a difference as you can see…

                                    Season vs Brewers                Rest of Majors

Record                                      3-0                                       3-4

ERA                                         1.42                                    2.83

Opp Average                           .200                                   .239

Walks                                           0                                       21

Strikeouts                                 18                                        54

Even though he pitched just 8 innings and received the loss, Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo pitched a complete game in the 2-0 loss to the Angels last night.

You probably guessed it was Campillo’s first career complete game. He actually did not even have one in his 48 career minor league starts.

The Braves have only 2 complete games this season (Tim Hudson has the other).

In fact only 40 pitchers this season have thrown one and Roy Halladay has 5. The 5 is pretty amazing since Halladay was the only pitcher to have more than 5 last year when he led the majors with 7.

Cy Young is the all-time leader in complete games with 749.

I think that record is safe. Greg Maddux is the active leader with 109. Statistically (remember this is a stat article) he would have to pitch until the year 2143 and keep up his current pace to break the record… doubt it

Tom Glavine (56) and John Smoltz (53) have 109 combined.

For fans going to the Mets games on September 19th, 20th and 21st at Turner Field you better get there early.  The Braves starting pitchers have done a great job when playing the Mets in Atlanta this season.  What makes it more impressive is that everyone is pitching in. (sorry about the pun)

The starting pitchers are a combined 5-0 with a 1.50 era.

April 5th - Tim Hudson: 6 ip, 3 er - win

April 6th - John Smoltz: 5 ip, 0 er - win

May 20th (game 1) - Tom Glavine: 6 ip, 1 er - win

May 20th (game 2) - Jorge Campillo: 6 ip, 0 er - win

May 21st - Jair Jurrjens: 7 ip, 1 er - win

On the other side, the Braves starting pitchers at Shea Stadium this year are just 1-2 with a 7.62 era.

Although Jorge Campillo had only pitched in relief for the Braves this season, Bobby Cox named him as the started of the second game of Tuesday’s double-header. Since the Braves rotation has been punished with injuries this season, the team desperately needed a quality start from Campillo, who has pitched fantastically out of the bullpen.

In his 21.1 innings of relief work, Campillo has given up only three earned runs (1.27 ERA), 16 hits, and has struck out 17 batters while only walking five. These dominant numbers, plus Campillo’s great curve-ball, gave Cox the ability to try Campillo as a starter.

Nine of his 13 outings have been for multiple innings, including three scoreless frames Thursday in Philadelphia.

“He’s got a great curveball, great change-up and he can zip his fastball in there a little bit,” manager Bobby Cox said Saturday.

Campillo was a starter most of his eight years in the Mexican League and in the minor leagues with the Mariners.

Campillo’s start was fantastic Tuesday night. He pitched six scoreless innings and only gave up three hits. He dominated hitters as he struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone. Campillo lowered his ERA to 0.99 and most importantly, for the Braves, is that the team won 6-2 and is now only 1.5 games back in the division.

photo credit: Chocolatito

When Tom Glavine walked off the field on Sunday afternoon after only 16 pitches, Braves fans the world over had the same reaction…”are you kidding?” The much heralded depth of the 2008 Braves starting rotation is being tested early this season after Mike Hampton was put on the DL before his first start, and may be tested further with the uncertainty surrounding Tom Glavine’s hamstring.

So let’s play hypothetical for a bit…who fills in if these two are out for a prolonged amount of time? The contenders? Jeff Bennett, Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes, Buddy Carlyle, Jorge Campillo. James has proven that he doesn’t belong on a major league roster. Bennett is a “Bobby Cox guy,” but his prolonged lack of command after coming in for the injured Glavine is concerning. However, coming in cold like that when you aren’t expecting to pitch is a tough situation, so he should receive a pass on that. He’s in.

Who else? My vote goes for Campillo. He looked awesome in the two innings he pitched on Sunday, not giving up a walk or a hit while striking out three. Plus, I think for the sake of the organization, James, Reyes and Carlyle need to be getting consistent work in Richmond. The Braves have shown that these three are, in the very least, in the Braves immediate plans. They need consistent innings in AAA to continue their development. Campillo looked good, he’s already up, so there is no need to disrupt the AAA rotation with a roster move when Campillo will probably provide a similar start to what any of the AAA guys would. Again, just a hypothetical.

Braves pitcher Chuck James was sent to the minors, in his place the Braves called up pitcher Jorge Campillo.

James pitched one game this season, a loss against the Rockies. The southpaw allowed 6 runs on 5 hits in 3 innings of work. He won 11 games in each of the last 2 seasons, but this season he has been bothered with an injured shoulder.