Matt Spencer celebrates after what would prove to be the game winning home run.
It’s not the normal night for Threshers news, but the pitching staff threw such a gem tonight, I thought the news was worth sharing.
The Clearwater Threshers came out on Friday night after being shut out for the first time this season on Thursday looking for some retribution. Antonio Bastardo took the hill for the team, and for five innings he held the Lakeland Flying Tigers on the runway never able to take off. He picked up ten Ks and allowed just three hits and three walks over that period.
Meanwhile Matt Spencer picked up his first home run of the year in the second inning to get the Threshers out on top 1-0.
Antonio Bastardo was lifted after five with Brett Harker coming in out of the bullpen in relief. Harker gave up just one hit with three Ks but lasted only 1.1 innings leaving the game abruptly with a back strain in the seventh inning. Matt German came on to replace Harker, and he picked up where the pitchers before him had left off. Matt would go 2.1 innings fanning five and giving up no hits and no walks taking the game to within one out of completion.
Brian Schlitter would come on to replace Matt German and record the final out on a deep fly ball to left field. It was only fitting that the game would end with Matt Spencer the hero of the night making a dramatic diving catch to end the game.
For his first home run of the year, and the Threshers only run of the game, plus his terrific diving catch to end the game Matt Spencer the SCHMIDT LIST player of the game award.
Kudos have also got to go out to the all the pitchers in tonight’s game as well. The staff recorded 18 strikeouts in the game, including 10 by starter Antonio Bastardo.
Phuture Phillies 
I saw that box score and did a double take. 18 Ks! and I like the bullpen work. Could use a little more hitting but with pitching like that, a Spencer pop is all you need.
Thanks for the write-up.
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Another Clearwater fan said that a line drive hit Bastardo’s pitching hand in the 5th. He finished the inning, but I hope he is ok.
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Gotta like that from Bastardo, but the guy I’m even more impressed with is Spencer. Decent debut in Williamsport, double jumped to High A and he’s hitting over .300.
Thanks for the late night report Jeff.
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A line drive was hit up the middle over Bastardo’s head, and he reached for it with his bare hand. It really only grazed his fingers. It wasn’t like he got hit squarely on his hand. He seemed fine, but I suppose time will tell for sure.
He was lifted more because he had thrown a lot of pitches than the hand issue. He took a bunch of guys deep into counts, and threw more pitches than you normally would over five innings of work. They already had Harker warming up in the bullpen before Bastardo was hit, so they had already made the decision to pull him before he got hit in the hand.
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Thanks Jeff.
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The staff at Clearwater is really doing well although only Cardenas and Spencer are hitting. I could easily see Michael Taylor and Michael Durrant et promoted early if they both keep hitting and Clearwater doesn’t.
I went to the Reading game last night (had to see journeyman Bouknight instead of either of the three prospects) and enjoyed watching Harman and Golson. Harman can definitely be a major league utility type guy althouh his bat looked slow to me while Golson continues to surprise me with his strong all around play. Golson also hung around and signed autographs long after the game ended. Anyone hear anything about Donald’s hand that got hit?
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Jeff, do you know what he throws? The profile has him with an 87-91 FB, good changeup, and mid 80s slurve, but that’s awfully general. And is there any way to get video of him pitching? He’s been my favorite prospect since I noticed him throwing up ridiculous K numbers last season (the name didn’t hurt either :-P), but there’s almost no info or video on him whatsoever. I’d think that a lefty with his K numbers would generate more buzz than he has. Also, considering the fact that he seems to be wild and doesn’t exactly have a frame built for endurance, do you think they’ll try to move him to the pen at some point?
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What’s the story with this German kid? Looks like a big strikeout artist. Why haven’t we heard more about him?
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Hoping that Bastardo is not a fluke. With his small frame he might not be best to start–for endurance’s sake. But a guy who throws lefty and can K hitters is a valuable tool out of the pen.
Should he maintain his mojo, he’d be another candidate to move up in midseason.
Also note better numbers from Taylor and Spencer. Together with a new and improved Golson and Brown, our OF prospects are looking better…along with better prospects Marson, and Donald. Suddenly, our early-season good returns promises a better position-player assessment toward this season’s end…with in-season “moving up” becong more likely along with several pithers , Savery especially along with Carrasco, Outman, and Bisenius.
Meanwhile, the news on Happ and Mathieson is mixed. To me, it seems that this is Happ’s last great hope to reach the bigs but hasn’t been able to find the strike zone consistently, even though he seems to get more than one K per inning. Mathieson is locked into arm-recovery-strengthening and probablt won’t be able to pitch effectively until June or July; only question is: will he have to give up his slider?
ALSO–VERY CURIOUS ABOUT GERMAN! A 6’8″ lefty, 240, whose numbers in ’07 showed a .167 ba against by lefty hitters and .240 vs righties., 12.46 Ks/inn. D/B: 6-27-84 With these kind of numbers he seems a candidate to move QUICKLY UP AS A LEFTY RELIEVER, having pitched in relief so far. Deserves our attention.
This site should have plenty of good action in ’08!
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I was trying to dig up what phuturephillies said about German, but I can’t seem to find it. I seem to remember the book on German being that he was a soft-tossing lefty whose stuff wouldn’t hack it at higher levels.
That being said… his numbers from both last year and this year have been fantastic, as Art D. points out. It’s still very early, but maybe German can overcome his alleged lack of pure stuff.
Of course, we can only look at the numbers. Jeff, any firsthand observations regarding German?
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The last report I’d gotten had German’s fastball around 84 MPH. That’s gonna be tough to work with as he climbs. But we’ll see.
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The starting pitching over the weekend was over the top. Castro and Naylor 7 shutout innings both averaging better than than a strike out an inning and Savery 8 shutout innings out pitching Porcello of the Tigers.
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Yeah, heckuva outing by Savery yesterday. A few more games like that and he’ll be up in Reading.
– Jeff
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