Uehara made his 8th start for the Orioles today, and was true to previous form.
In 5 innings, Uehara allowed 6 hits, 4 er, 2 bb’s, with 3 k’s.
He had 94 pitches for the game, with 64 strikes… and he allowed 3 of the 4 er in the 6th inning.
Lets look back at his previous games:
May 10th against NY – Uehara pitched 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 er, 0 bb’s, with 5 k’s. He threw 94 pitches, with 65 strikes.
May 5th at Tampa – Uehara pitched 6.2 innings, allowing 7 hits, 3er, 1 bb, with 8 k’s. He threw 92 pitches, with 72 strikes… he let up 5 runs in the 6th and 7th innings (3 unearned).
April 29th vs LAA – Uehara pitched 6.1 innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 er, 0 bb’s, with 5 k’s. He threw 103 pitches, with 69 strikes… he let up 2 runs in the 7th.
April 24th vs Texas – Uehara pitched 6.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2er, 0 bb’s, with 6 k’s. He threw 92 pitches, with 64 strikes… he let up a run in the 7th.
April 19th @ Boston – Uehara pitched 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2er, 1 bb, with 5 k’s. He threw 105 pitches, with 74 strikes…
April 13th @ Texas – Uehara pitched 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 7er, 4 bb’s, with 3 k’s. He threw 87 pitches, with 56 strikes… he allowed 3 er in the 6th inning without recording an out.
April 8th vs NY – Uehara pitched 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1er, 1 bb, with 1 k. He threw 86 pitches, with 54 strikes.
You know what you will get with Uehara most nights. You can count on about 95 pitches, his ability to throw strikes, and give you 5 to 7 innings of competitive ball.
You can also expect him to be done pretty quickly, and you have to be anticipating a move after 80 pitches.
Uehara turned 34 on April 3rd… during the ’07 and ’08 seasons in Japan, he pitched a total of 150 innings out of the bullpen.
Even in his previous years as a starter, he was pitching on longer rest.
Trembley and Kranitz are clearly trying to limit the wear and tear on Uehara during the early parts of the 2009 season, to try and have him available all year.
You do have to wonder about Uehara’s abilities to compete all year as a starter. Is he going to wilt with the heat and humidity?
He had 32 saves in 2007 with the Yomiuri Giants… is it possible we see him moved to the Orioles bullpen prior to season end?
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.