Owings Watch

Micah Owings had his worst start of the year against the Padres (5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K) but also went 3-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. He's now hitting 389 / 421 / 444 on the year and has a 125 OPS+. San Fransisco Giants' clean-up hitter Bengie Molina is hitting 313 / 337 / 525 with a 125 OPS+. Their production at the plate has been very similar, and Owings hasn't even homered yet. There is a down side to such offensive prowess from a pitcher, and it's that he constantly has to run the bases. While pulling into second on his double, Owings sprained his right ankle and had to be removed from the game. It isn't too serious, and he should be back swinging the lumber (and pitching pretty well too) in no time. The D'Backs called up top prospect Max Scherzer to possibly take Owings' place if he can't make his next start. Scherzer has a 1.17 ERA with 38 K's to just 3 walks in 23 innings at AAA. That reminds me of the numbers Tim Lincecum put up before he was promoted (0.29 ERA, 46 K's in 31 IP).