MLB week 5 pitching report: Best performance of the week

While there have been many worthy performances in the MLB this week, including a number of complete games, one must stand above the rest. Here is an analysis of the performance that stands above all others.

A dominant outing from Noah Syndergaard saw a shutout 1-0 victory, where he provided the sole source of offense. His ringing opposite field home run provided him with a 1-0 lead, which he held for the entirety of the game. Despite this complete, commanding effort from the fireballing right-hander, it came against one of the worst MLB teams, the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds- after scoring an onslaught of runs against the Giants following Syndergaard’s shutout- have amounted a minuscule 3.94 runs per game. This is a mark that ranks them seventh from the bottom in the entire major leagues and fifth from the bottom in the National League. While a feat such as Syndergaard displayed will always be spectacular, consideration must be given to the quality of batters he was facing.

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Another standout performance was the Kyle Hendricks 81-pitch shutout against the Cardinals in Wrigley Field. This one particularly stands out not only because he blanked one of the most proficient lineups in the league, but also because he did so on 81 pitches. His performance harkened back to the early days of baseball when 2-hour games were the norm and bullpens were somewhat of a rumor.

He induced a great deal of soft contact, as he only tallied 3 strikeouts, while also forcing 11 ground outs and 16 fly outs. He only surrendered 4 hits in the same span. There is bound to be some luck involved, however, as such a performance relies much on one’s defense and the ability of the balls put in play to find batters. It is incumbent upon the pitcher to create weak contact, but it would be foolhardy to believe fortune did not play some role in his performance given the amount of contact he allowed.

Both aforementioned performances were excellent and deserve recognition- in fact, they could have won this honor just about any other week. Yet, the utter control of the game that Gerrit Cole displayed in Target Field this past Tuesday was unmatched.

To begin the game Cole issued two consecutive walks and it seemed as if his start was doomed by a lack of control and a productive Twins lineup. However, he proceeded to retire the 23 of the ensuing 25 batters- allowing a walk and double in the interim.

Cole held the Twins hitless deep into the game, not surrendering a hit until one out in the sixth inning. For the game, he struck out 11 batters mixing his fastball, slider, and change-up with relative ease. 11 runs of support, no doubt, gave him certain ease on the mound, whereas he had been 1-4 while only having one of those starts not reach the “quality” demarcation.

Overall, this was an impressive week for MLB pitchers; especially those that struggled in some regard to begin the season. As the temperature continues to heat up, the level of pitching performance should rise as well.