I’m sitting here smiling at 12:40 in the morning, knowing I have to get up early for today’s radio show. Yes, a little part of the smile is for Zack Wheeler and his brilliant three-hit complete game shutout, the first in his career. But, the biggest part of my smile points towards Las Vegas where Darin Gorski turned in his second quality start in a row, allowing five hits and only one run while striking out 11 in 6.1 innings of work.
I like Darin Gorski. For parts of three seasons I’ve watched him work in Binghamton, always impressed by his work ethic, his bulldog determination, yet calm poise he brings to the mound. Several times I’ve written posts expressing my hopes Gorski would get a call to Triple-A and believing the kid had more than earned a shot at a higher level.
With the lack of left-handed starting pitching in the Met organization, I’m hoping Darin Gorski continues to shine. Thursday night’s performance lowers Gorski’s ERA a whisker below 4.00 in over 24 innings in Vegas. That’s a great start when you consider some of the other earned run averages of the 51’s starters; Logan Verrett’s 4.59, Noah Syndergaard’s 4.78, and even Rafael Montero’s 3.75.
Because Gorski doesn’t throw a power heater, I often think he gets overlooked. Instead, based on his body of work, Darin Gorski deserves a second look. Gorski’s the kind of a kid who grows on you. Darin may not blow you away the first time you see him pitch, but the more you get a chance to watch his approach on the mound, the more you come away impressed with his pitching instincts.
Part of my Las Vegas smile has to do with Travis d’Arnaud’s numbers on Thursday. The 51’s catcher had three more hits, all of the extra base variety, two doubles and a home run. Travis is 3-for-5 raising his batting average to .432. D’Arnaud his hit six doubles and six home runs during his short stint in Vegas with an incredible 15 RBI’s.
I don’t care how light the air is or how friendly the hitting conditions are in Vegas. To hit like d’Arnaud is hitting you have to be squaring up on the ball. If you square up on the ball consistently good things happen. I read somewhere the folks in Vegas have simply been trying to clear d’Arnaud’s head from over thinking, while helping him find an approach based on a simple principle – hit the ball up the middle. Good things happen when you hit the ball up the middle. Go, Travis!
