Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,124
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Posted Sun, Jun 02 4:48 pm
(Edited Sun, Jun 02 4:51 pm)
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In response to Baseball: UCLA v LMU, Sunday 6pm PT ESPN3 (Woochifer)
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With the season on the line, Savage is giving the ball to freshman Nick Nastrini, who hasn't pitched since the 1st month of the season. He was dominant in his early season start against LMU. I would assume that Nastrini will have a short leash if he gets into any trouble.
https://twitter.com/UCLABaseball/status/1135345418739445761
Gutsy call by Savage. If it goes south, I'm sure the keyboard commandos (check the comments on the softball game threads on BN, if you're curious to see what unhappy winners sound like) will be secondguessing this decision all the way through next year.
Nastrini has great stuff, but he hasn't seen real game action since March and it's a high pressure situation. If he comes through though, the Bruins will be about as well situated as a team going through the elimination bracket can get for tomorrow's elimination game. |
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- Nice! MarkLA
6/02 6:03 pm
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,124
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Posted Sun, Jun 02 6:07 pm
(Edited Sun, Jun 02 6:20 pm)
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In response to Baseball: UCLA v LMU, Sunday 6pm PT ESPN3 (Woochifer)
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UCLA goes yard for the 7th time today, 3rd time in this game. I'm not a fan of relying on the long ball, but the Bruins are getting quality at-bats against LMU tonight.
Nastrini looks awesome tonight. So far, through 3 innings he has 5 Ks, 0 BBs, and 2 Hs. And he just struck out the side in the 3rd.
He has also been very efficient. Throwing strikes, and in the last couple of innings he's also varying the pitches a lot more. Early on, the pitches looked flat as he primarily threw fastballs. But, he has begun mixing in the sliders and off-speed stuff. He has thrown less than 40 pitches so far. If he can last through the middle innings, it sets the Bruins up as well as possible for tomorrow.
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,124
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Posted Sun, Jun 02 6:55 pm
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In response to Baseball: UCLA v LMU, Sunday 6pm PT ESPN3 (Woochifer)
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In the in-game interview with Savage, he said that he was hoping to get about 70 pitches out of Nick Nastrini tonight. Nastrini just got his 7th K with his 71st pitch. So, presumably he's done for the night and might have helped save UCLA's season. Savage commented that Nastrini was giving the Bruins more than he had expected.
I didn't realize that Nastrini's injury necessitated removing a rib! He was cleared about a month ago, and had pitched 2 simulated games with a pitch limit of 70 pitches. So, tonight was in line with how he had been practicing over the last couple of weeks.
In the 5th, Nastrini was clearly gassed (he had lost more than 5 MPH off his fastball) and he loaded the bases. But, LMU only got 1 run on a sac fly, and Nastrini pitched out of the jam. Savage showed a lot of confidence in his freshman pitcher by leaving him in to finish out the 5th inning. Now, the Bruins are setup with their normal bullpen rotation with Townsend or Hadley coming in the 6th, and Filby, Mora, and Powell all available to finish out the game. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,124
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Posted Sun, Jun 02 7:55 pm
(Edited Sun, Jun 02 8:02 pm)
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In response to Baseball: UCLA v LMU, Sunday 6pm PT ESPN3 (Woochifer)
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Stronach got the leadoff triple in the 9th, and Mitchell just got the RBI single. Bruins chased another LMU pitcher. Powell is working on a two-inning save. Mora pitched two innings earlier today, so better to save him for tomorrow with a comfortable lead. Powell had a shaky 8th inning with 2 BBs, but a double play bailed him out. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,124
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Posted Sun, Jun 02 8:13 pm
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In response to Baseball: UCLA v LMU, Sunday 6pm PT ESPN3 (Woochifer)
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Powell struck out 2 in the bottom of the 9th, and retired the side in order.
Nastrini gave the Bruins the chance to advance. Gutty effort by the freshman and a gutty call by Savage to start him AND leave him in the game to finish out the 5th inning when Nastrini was clearly running on fumes.
Having Nastrini available as another starter gives the Bruins a huge boost, as their starting rotation was dangerously thin. They still have to figure out what to do for tomorrow's Regional closeout. But, UCLA has much better options than if Nastrini hadn't given UCLA those 5 crucial innings to start tonight's game.
Bergin would be available to start. Presumably, Ryan Garcia can pitch a few innings on 2 days rest. Everybody in the bullpen would probably be available for short work as well.
And UCLA got into LMU's bullpen tonight as well, so they will also have to cobble together their pitching committee for the closeout game. |
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