I'm Impressed

Missed the game yesterday, but I will have to say I'm impressed by the pitching line of Brad Hennessey yesterday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Seven innings pitched, only three hits allowed (one a double), only one walk issued, and seven strikeouts? That's great anyway, but adding to that is that he was facing a decent offensive team playing in their home park -- which is a hitter's park.

Cool.

Performances like this one don't raise Hennessey's stock, and shouldn't make anyone change their opinions on him. However, that he is capable of turning in this kind of performance under these circumstances is certainly encouraging. This is the exact reason why the young players should be getting as much playing time as possible.

Since coming back up in July, Hennessey's had three good-to-great starts and one horrible start -- and I'm liable to give him a pass on the game vs. the Marlins because the Marlins ended up scoring 16 runs in that game, leading me to believe perhaps they just weren't to be stopped that day.

Like I said, encouraging, and Noah Lowry's recent outings have been encouraging as well. The rotation is starting to build some confidence -- well, except perhaps for Kevin Correia, but he just seems to need to find a way around the gopher balls, and he may be as well as can be expected.