ESPN Network: ESPN | NBA.com | NHL.com | ABC | Radio | EXPN | Insider | Shop | Fantasy
ESPN.com
espn.com scoreboard schedule stats history gallery MLB on ESPN.com

Wednesday, October 23
 
Game 5: Washburn vs. Schmidt

By Tom Candiotti
Special to ESPN.com

Editor's Note: ESPN analyst Tom Candiotti will write a scouting report on the starting pitchers for each game in the World Series. Here is the former knuckleballer's report on Game 5 starters Jarrod Washburn of Anaheim and Jason Schmidt of San Francisco.

Jarrod Washburn
Jason Schmidt
Regular season:
18-6, 3.15 ERA, 206 IP, 59 BB, 139 K
Postseason:
1-1, 3.65 ERA, 24.2 IP, 5 BB, 16 K

Jarrod Washburn
Washburn

Washburn relies on his fastball and his deception. For him to be successful, he will need to establish his fastball early on. He will need to get the Giant hitters to get aggressive and swing at his fastball even when he isn't locating it well. Look for Washburn to throw a high amount of fastballs in the first three innings.

He will need to control all of the right-handed bats in the Giants' lineup; Jeff Kent, Benito Santiago, David Bell, Reggie Sanders, and Rich Aurilia are all very good fastball hitters. Washburn will need to control these guys and keep the ball in the park.

Washburn is excellent at making the crucial pitch in a crucial situation. He doesn't rely on the groundball double play when he gets into a jam but rather a pop up to the infield. He will need to pitch hard inside and work up the ladder when he gets into trouble.

Regular season:
13-8, 3.45 ERA, 185.1 IP, 73 BB, 196 K
Postseason:
2-1, 3.86 ERA, 18.2 IP, 6 BB, 19 K

Jason Schmidt
Schmidt

Schmidt will challenge the Angel hitters. You will see power against power. This will be an interesting matchup in that Schmidt will throw hard (95 mph), and the Angels love to hit fastballs. He will need to be able to pitch inside to be effective.

Garrett Anderson will be a key hitter for Schmidt, as will Tim Salmon and Troy Glaus. Schmidt will need to stay ahead in the count against these guys or they will make him pay.

Scioscia will try and get the running game going against Schmidt. He will try and run and hit and steal when possible. Schmidt will need to get the ball to Santiago quickly and he must not rush his delivery or he will make mistakes.

ESPN baseball analyst Tom Candiotti won 151 games pitching in 16 major-league seasons.





Series Page

 ESPN Tools
Email story
 
Most sent
 
Print story
 
Daily email
 




ESPN.com: Help | PR Media Kit | Sales Media Kit | Contact Us | Tools | Jobs at ESPN | Supplier Information | Copyright ©2007 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form. Please click here for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy and Safety Information/Your California Privacy Rights