Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
Jensen Lewis | .053 | Jhonny Peralta | -.119 |
David Dellucci | .046 | CC Sabathia | -.091 |
Masa Kobayashi | .027 | Franklin Gutierrez | -.091 |
Like his last start, CC Sabathia's problem was control, walking four in 5.1 innings.
He had racked up 107 pitches when he was pulled. This against a lineup that shouldn't have given him any problems.
More alarming than Sabathia's struggles, however, were the offense's inability to yet again put together any production whatsoever. Victor Martinez was the Indians' best hitter last season, but in a nine-man lineup, one player's absence shouldn't cause that devastating effect. The main culprits in the power outage have been Jhonny Peralta (.143/.190/.143), Casey Blake (.118/.167/.176), and the left field platoon (no hits in 13 at-bats).
To top things off, Rafael Betancourt, last year's bullpen security blanket, gave up 4 hits and two runs in just one-third of an inning. It didn't affect the outcome of the game (the offense made sure of that), but it's another uncertainty to add to the pile that's accumulated over the first week of the season.