Home Baseball Baseball: Stanford @ Oregon State

Baseball: Stanford @ Oregon State

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The projected pitching matchups:

Friday: Wetzler (5-2 3.18) vs. Appel (6-1, 2.73) 5:35 pm
Saturday: Fry (4-3, 2.25) vs. LHP Mooneyham (5-4, 3.98) 1:05 pm
Sunday: Child (4-3, 2.65) vs. TBA 1:05 pm

Regarding hosting: they'd have to win every series from here on out, and IMO they'd have to sweep Stanford this weekend to get the necessary RPI boost. So at this point it's just a matter of fine-tuning their game and gaining confidence for the tournament. This team doesn't feel elite…seems like they'll play the role of gritty "tough out" in the tournament rather than favorites.

Pat Casey continues to have a rough year. Having Conforto bunt in the 8th inning last weekend goes beyond head scratching. Let's call it like it is: the decision was flat out stupid. Casey needs to show more confidence in his players.

Go Beavs!

209 COMMENTS

  1. Beavers don’t need to sweep Stanford to get a regional, just win every series, the RPI boost will come from winning 2 of 3 from Stanford and Oregon. However, they need to sweep Utah to host, no excuse losing a game there. Then they need to beat WSU 2 of 3. If they win 2 of 3 from Stanford, beat UO on Tuesday, sweep Utah, win 2 of 3 from WSU and win 2 of 3 from UO, they’ll host a regional.

    I do agree with you that Casey needs to show confidence in the guys. When your coach doesn’t have confidence in your abilities, you’re more than likely not gonna have confidence at the plate. Baseball is such a mental game, last thing a player needs is to feel that his coach doesn’t have complete faith in him.

    Conforto bunting was made worse by what happened the previous week against UCLA. He had Conforto attempt to bunt, Michael couldn’t get the bunt down and hit a double up against the wall. He already saw that Conforto is a clutch hitter in those situations and is the best hitter on the team, yet somehow he made the same mistake again.

    There’s been way too frustrating decisions. Every series is enormous from this point on, he needs to pick his spots, when you have guys struggling at the plate, don’t bunt your best hitter and the only guy in your lineup who can truly change the game with a swing of the bat.

    I expect Stanford to win tonight, need Fry and Child to be at their best for the Saturday and Sunday games. Big series. Beavers are capable of winning every series remaining, just need to get the job done.

    • I think winning every series puts them on the bubble. It would be close. If they sweep Stanford and win every series after I think they host. Anyway, it’s all very unlikely, so I’m hoping they refine the “gritty/tough out” role they’ll more likely be playing.

  2. Mr. Jason asked me to send this for him:

    Go Beavs!

    Stephanie S. JasontheBeaver’s summer intern. OSU Class of 2015

    I hope… I like.. did this… like totally right… whatever.

  3. Danny Hayes and Kavin Keyes are BOTH starting for the first time since March. Gorton is not in the lineup tonight, for some reason. Dylan Davis also out of the lineup. Interesting moves. We shall see how they work out.

  4. Ben Wetzler needs to be at his very best tonight going up against Mark Appel, Beavers are gonna have to try and scratch a couple runs across, gonna be really tough though. Wetzler needs to keep them in it.

  5. Wetzler walks a guy to load the bases, then forces a runner out at the plate. Bases loaded and 2 outs for the Cardinal now

  6. Wetzler gets a ground ball and the runner is forced out at 2nd. Wetzler escapes a bases loaded and 1 out jam. When he comes out for the 2nd inning, Wetzler needs to start throwing strikes. Can’t be walking guys.

  7. Tyler Smith with a ground ball to first. Gordon to third. Nice job of executing and making a productive out by Smith

  8. Beavers don’t execute with a runner on third and 1 out and don’t score. They simply cannot let opportunities to score against Appel go by like that.

  9. Wetzler is going to have to battle out there tonight. He has no command of his secondary pitches and even his fastball command is shaky.

  10. Tommasini with a swinging bunt single and Gordon lays down a bunt and he’s on. Runners on first and second and 1 out for Tyler Smith

  11. Runners on first and third with 2 outs for Michael Conforto. Would be nice if he made up for his last at-bat with a clutch hit here

  12. Wetzler has retired the last 5 batters. He may just be getting into a good rhythm. Scoreless going to the bottom of the 4th.

  13. Keyes has been awful all season, Beavers got a lead-off guy on base, then on a 1-1 count the coaching staff chooses for some unknown reason to take the bunt off, he then pops out, next guy Barnes hits into a double play. I really don’t see any logic behind letting Keyes swing away in that situation. He’s done nothing to inspire that kind of confidence.

    • You are right but in fairness, didn’t Keyes give it a good ride his first at bat? Casey seems to be clinging to the hope that Keyes will return to long ago form.

      • He did but he hasn’t shown the ability to consistently swing the bat effectively. Been a struggle all year, that’s where I would like to see them recognize a struggling hitter and have him produce a good out.

  14. Wetzler gives up an infield hit but gets out of it. Through 4 1/2 innings it’s still scoreless. Definition of a pitchers duel.

  15. Rodriguez singles, Tommasini gets on base thanks to an error. Runners on first and second for Max Gordon. 1 out in the inning.

  16. Pat Casey decides to bunt with 1 out and the Beavers don’t score. Scoreless through 5 innings. Mysterious at best decision there.

  17. 7 shutout innings for Wetzler tonight. Pitching like an ace. Struggled with his command early on but has had a great outing so far.

  18. Rodriguez another smart throw (there have been several this ssn), and so far he has done a good job preventing PB/WP tonight.

  19. Gorton missed a lot of time and looks off. First time all season I’ve seen him look this off. Missed a lot of time, I mean, it could be rust. Very odd. Unfortunate things didn’t work out. Beavers just had a great inning and this happens. Not gonna call the decision to go to Gorton as bad, just didn’t work out.

  20. This would be a rough loss. Take a late lead and then give it back. The one true weakness of the team comes back to bite them again. Hopefully the offense can find a way to pull this one out. Need Boyd to get them out of the top of the 8th first though.

  21. Beavers will have Rodriguez, Tommasini and Gordon up in the bottom of the ninth. I hope there’s a pinch hitter in there somewhere.

  22. This game is a perfect example of why you can’t let opportunities go by early in the game to score runs. Will come back to bite you. Pitcher makes one or two mistakes and you can easily find yourself losing in the 9th. Beavers get that run in the first and this is a different ball game.

    • I wouldn’t say shutout by 2 runs or less and about 8 innings. Got to get the ball to Bryant or throw the complete game. The rest of the bullpen is a mess.

    • Questionable bullpen calls bringing in Gorton and Brocker; the latter has been smacked around all year. This has to be a demoralizing defeat, especially since Gorton was hounded off the field by the Stanford dugout. These next two games are a gut-check.

      • Demoralizing in many ways. For one, Stanford has been so productive recently and yet were held scoreless for seven innings, left bases full in the first. Takes all nine innings for a game though.

    • Tonight his fielding error shook his confidence. Even so, his record this season shows he is likely to get one K per inning and give up more than one hit. Like I said, the Keyes of the pitching staff.

  23. Bullpen gave up 6 runs in two innings(More like 8 but 2 were charged to Wetzler) and doesn’t give the offense a chance at a comeback. Just awful.

  24. Another outing with absolutely nothing in the bullpen….starting pitchers have got to be getting pretty tired of throwing 7 strong innings and no one can finish it up….been happening all year. Very disappointing for fans and the team to be so close but so far (if you can”t close it up)!

    • Have to wonder how much Yeskie is to blame when this many guys are underachieving in the bullpen or looking awful.

      • Starr will probably get a look today or tomorrow for an inning. They don’t want to use him too much cause he’s starting on Tuesday but you kind of have to use him. Also, I’d like to see Schultz get some more work, he’s been coming along.

  25. Whale spit. That was a big keg of suck to chug tonight. Looking at the box score, things looked good for six innings, but how many times did we hear Parker say “Weztler gets out of…” when going to an inning break. Going back to the beginning of the thread, it’s clear to all that winning out on these last series is essential to those who don’t wish to break out the golf clubs too soon, but playing like tonight is no way to build confidence. I can’t imagine Casey sharing any happy juice going into tomorrow’s game, and I hate to be a nattering nabob, but if we don’t win this series, it will be a steep uphill grade until Memorial Day weekend.

    What was really odd to me after tonight’s game, long after the lights were off, was the constant ping from the batting cages. Sam Montgomery was teeing off balls until I left at about quarter to ten. Why Sam? Why not some late-night BP for a few others? Dettman?

    I would love to have been a fly on the way in the clubhouse after the game – my hope is that I would have felt uncomfortable being there. These guys are performing at a level below the sum of their disparate parts. It’s past time to shit or get of the pot, and I hope they pull it together to win out the weekend, and continue in that vein the rest of the way.

    Most times, I would criticize those fans (I would normally call them “fans” with the quotes) who left early. Not tonight. I don’t think I’ve seen anything at Goss so not worth sticking around for the end. Get a good night’s sleep, then get up and go out and get ’em, boys!

    Please.

    • Wetzler also had some 1-2-3 innings and he did get out of his jams. I wonder if he could have gotten out of the last one, too.

    • The bad news for OSU is that people do care about football and mens basketball. Baseball, at this point, is still the Beaver’s signature sport. Maybe not for long…sad. JB

      PS: I was at Goss last night the fans didn’t do much to help it felt like the forth quarter of a lost football game. Can’t make todays game, but will DVR and watch tonight. That’s the best and fastest way to get through a baseball game.

  26. Wetzler has shown a pattern for several games of having rough starts and then settling down; combine that with the questionable bullpen and it is easy to see why he is left in the game even after two walks and a hit in the first. I believe the trees left 6 on in the first three innings. The previous thoughts that teams got to Ben after a time or two through the order haven’t applied for several weeks.

    Is Schultz now the best bet for middle relief??
    Hayes had a couple decent swings, how soon till he starts hitting?
    Tommasini sure helped out Keyes last night on pop ups.
    Keyes…..what can you say, all the “head knowledge” you could ask for and just putting too much pressure on himself.
    Post season play is really at risk without a turnaround.

    • Re: Tommasini and Keyes -“”helped out is putting it mildly” OTOH, you can’t fault the Beavs defense. It’s been stellar.

  27. I’ve been to three baseball games this year. I go with a friend who is a major league scout. Between the stop watch, jugs gun and his notepad we don’t have much time to talk during the game.

    On the ride home he said something like; “there is an awkwardness in their (OSU’s) lineup that I can’t put my finger on.” it appears that, while the talent may be there, this team may fail to jell. I’m sure Casey is frustrated. JB

    • The “awkwardness” is that they don’t have an ideal #1, 2, or 3 hitter, so everyone winds up being the wrong guy for their slot and it shows.

      • Smith and Conforto are ideal #2 and 3 guys. Just don’t have an ideal lead-off man right now but Gordon did a nice job last night. Beavers issue is they have a whole at first base and don’t really have a CF set yet. Seems they’re platooning Gordon and Matthews. Davis has been benched. However, Casey is going with Keyes again at 1B and I’m really trying to understand this move and it really makes as little sense as possible. He’s down to .209 on the season. Hopefully this move works out for Casey but I’m not too confident.

        • Conforto is an ideal #4. #3 should make more contact than he does. Smith is a good #2, but ideally you want a lefty with bat control and speed in the 2 slot. Also more walks.

  28. Was getting ready to go watch the Goph’s play Penn State at Target Field, the Twins stadium. Been on the agenda for a month. So of course it starts raining again. Feels like Corvallis here this spring with the incessant rain.

  29. Great start for the Beavers. Fry throws up a 0 and the Beavers get a lead-off homer from Barnes and lead 1-0 after the first

  30. They really green lighted Keyes 3-0?!?!?!?! WHY?! He hit a line drive but it was a bad decision and he made an out. Again.

  31. 2-0 Beavers after 4 innings. Beavers should be up 3-0 but Gorton didn’t get the job done with a runner on third and 1 out. That’s a situation that has been problematic all season.

  32. Matthes singles, advancing to second and then third on two straight passed balls. Tommasini grounds out to third. 1 out for Barnes

  33. This is what has cost the Beavers games and can easily cost them today. Runner on third and no outs and they don’t get him home. Inexcusable.

  34. Getting to a point where Casey has to consider going with a safety squeeze with a runner on third with 1 out from now on. Can’t count on the players to come through with a sac fly or a hit.

  35. Keyes with a good swing and takes the ball right back up the middle for a single. That’s a little unexpected but he has been hitting some hitting line drives the last 2 days.

    • Good points made by Jim Wilson re: the footwork of the first baseman, replay showed that the throw wasn’t too far off for a decent playing 1B to make the play.

  36. Conforto with a walk. Bases loaded and 2 outs for Dunn. Great at-bat by Conforto. Didn’t chase any bad pitches, didn’t get himself out. Dunn has a chance to blow the game open.

      • Dunn is 0-9 with the bases loaded. Thank god we have Conforto. Nobody else can seem to get a hit with runners in scoring position.

        • That usually means the hitter is putting too much pressure on himself to deliver a big hit or he’s trying to hit a grand slam instead of just trying to hit a line drive somewhere. It’s understandable. Hitting a grand slam is great, so you see hitters often pulling off the ball and trying to hit it out. He just needs to relax at the plate. Conforto with the bases juiced is trying to drive in runs, if you make a mistake in the middle of the plate he’ll hit it out, but he’s just looking for a pitch hit hard somewhere, he has the perfect approach in those situations.

    • I agree. He looked gassed in the 9th but finished the job. Big rubber game tomorrow. Need Child to bounce back and pitch well and need the offense to execute.

  37. That throwing error that gave the Beavers a 4-0 lead ultimately was the difference. Game similar to last night but Stanford had a bad mistake that cost them. Tomorrow the offense needs to execute much better with runners in scoring position, especially with less than 2 outs.

  38. Any guesses as to how many runs the Beavs will need Sunday? I’m thinkin’ at least 5. Hope Child proves me wrong.

  39. John Tommasini plays a terrific 2nd base.I hope Fry thanks him for the great catch Tommasini made – leaping high to snag a very hard hit ball that would have ultimately lead to Stanford runs.

    • Tommasini is one of the most consistent defenders, made a similar leaping grab within the last few games. His range and leaping ability are an asset to the team.

  40. Great job by Fry today. Beavs still need to get some hits with runners in scoring position, unreal how many they leave on game after game.

  41. I’m glad they were able to put the suck back into its container for the day. What a great day to be a the ballpark. Having Fry on the bump helps – a lot.

    Still, look at the line. Not many Ks, a few walks, but a complete game. It was a great performance for Fry, the frosh phenom, but it also showed a team effort backing him up.

    Today was a one-hundred eighty-degree turn from last night (with an assist from the Cardinal on that throw past first.) Glad it was on TV!

    Win the series, and keep winning out.

  42. Fry was great. Tree gave a gift with the big error and Ducks lose huge. A good day.
    Anybody hear if Duke is ever going to play for us. If he is as good as advertised, the combo with Fry
    would really be a great set of starters.

  43. Last we heard, Duke quit the team and moved back to Utah. He hasn’t been seen on the sidelines in weeks. He is still showing on the roster.

  44. OT: Cliff previewed UCLA football today. The game against the UCLA Bruins could set the tone for much of the season. It’s a must win or Riley will be behind the 8 ball and have a difficult time finding 6 wins.

    With Wheaton crusing past the Black Mamba at the Twilight meet, and Brandin Cooks even faster, it raises the question…

    Does OSU Maximize its Speed?
    http://beaverbyte.com

  45. Every time Keyes comes up in these situations I think that this will be the time he breaks out of his slump and yet he flies out to end the inning.

  46. Childs a K to end the 7th, still 3-2 Beavs. About time to go to the pen and hope for the best. Beavs have wasted 5 BB in last two innings.

  47. 1-6-3 DP to finish the Trees in the 8th. Piscotti was on base with a dunk may effect his pitching, got to get some insurance now.

  48. Casey doesn’t use Bryant to start the 9th (for some reason??). One of Boyd’s runners scores. Casey has lost it…

    • There are three over there. It is probably Callahan but McNary and Wilson are also over there. They are just on the other side of McAlexander Field House.

    • Excuse me, that would be left field wouldn’t it? The “south side” of campus has Finley as the tall concrete prison looking type building (I used to call it the penitentiary when I lived there). The nicer apartment looking one is Halsell. Bloss looks identical to Finley and is nearly directly behind it. Behind Halsell is a brand new dorm that is popping up that I believe will be similar to Halsell in layout and is primarily for the international students.

      • Sorry it took me a while to reply, got pretty busy at work. I realized my error and couldn’t get back to the computer, lol.

  49. i’ve been at the beach all weekend for a birthday bash, so i’m still gettin up to speed on this series. i’m curious though how it seems like just about everyone feels like the beavs are at least on the bubble to host a regional, yet they keep getting left out of the top twenty five. is their SOS/RPI really that strong?

    • Yes, they have an RPI of 26 right now. Will need to get into likely top 16 to be a regional host but they can easily do this. A win on Tuesday at PK Park against the Ducks and they can jump to about 23. Sweep Utah, beat WSU 2 of 3 on the road and beat Oregon at least 2 of 3 and I think OSU will get the necessary RPI boost to become a regional host. If they could somehow sweep Oregon they would be a regional host without a doubt if they sweep the Utes and beat WSU 2 of 3. The bullpen blowing game 1 of the series could loom large but if they do what they’re supposed to do, I like their chances for a regional.

        • If ifs and buts were candies and nuts…………..

          We are consistently inconsistent. That should count for something.

        • that’s the feeling i’m getting. the funny thing is that with this team i could see them going crazy the rest of the year and hosting only to lose to a mediocre 4 seed and i could also see them limping into the tournament and beating a host school. if only they had a better bullpen..

          • Guys in the bullpen like Schultz and Boyd have been pitching better lately, Yeskie just always mismanages the pen.

          • schultz and boyd are good, i still have faith in bryant to get big outs, but i feel like you need more than three guys to be successful in the post season

          • True but how much of the bullpen’s overall struggles has to do with Cole Brocker? He’s ALWAYS in there when the bullpen completely implodes. That’s the problem I have with Yeskie. A guy like that is obviously a bad pitcher and goes to him in crucial situations repeatedly and mishandles his setup man and closer. I’d like to see him give Baylis a shot who pitched well in his last appearance and Starr has earned some time. Dylan Davis pitched well Friday after having to come in after Brocker imploded yet again. All those pitchers are superior to Brocker and would prefer to see them well before Brocker is even an option. Never was a big Yeskie fan but he has stunk this season. Casey has pretty much given him full control of the pitching staff, I’d like to see him take some of that control back, Yeskie makes far too many questionable decisions.

    • Imagine what the Beavers’ record in conference play would be if the bullpen didn’t stink? Blew a game against Arizona, blew a game against Stanford, Washington, put a game against ASU out of reach. Team should be in 2nd place right now, 1/2 game back of Oregon but the bullpen has let the team down. Also, Dan Child hasn’t gotten a win in conference since beating Washington, the bullpen has blown leads of his 2 of his last 3 starts. That has to be frustrating for him. He pitched well yet again and didn’t have a win to show for it.

  50. I wonder how much of the questionable coaching decisions are due to Casey letting Lees begin to take over and giving Yeskie freedom to (mis)manage the pen. Strikes me there are parallels with the FB team with regard to loyalty and letting subordinates “learn by failing.”

    Is the continued use of Keyes and Brocker a result of Casey’s direction? Was the repeated use of Remmers and even the Katz/Mannion fiasco a result of Riley’s direct involvement?

    Just something to kick around. Obviously Casey is more passionate and has proven to be more successful than Riley so I’m not suggesting they are the same. However, there seem to be other common threads as well in the areas of preparing players for the next level and influencing them for life after sports…a good thing IMHO.

  51. GB90, welcome home. How did Barnes look after the slide? The stream never showed enough to be sure if he was limping or not.
    UPDATE: Both Cliff and the O reporting Barnes injured hamstring. I noted while watching the stream that he didn’t seem to limp after a catch in the outfield after the slide; wonder just how serious it is. Maybe just stiff & sore till time to go get the Ducks?

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