With a shutout for 8.2 innings before he finally ran out of Valero, Kirk Saarloos comes up big again as the A's #5 starter. Look around the league at what passes for a #5 starter and you'll quickly conclude that Los Kirk is a quality pitcher--not a quantity pitcher, mind you, but a quality one.
Saarloos didn't look as good in April and May, because on a team that struggles to score runs, a 5.2 innings, 3-run effort just puts the team in position to lose. But on a team that can score--a team like the Yankees, or the Red Sox, or the post-May A's--Saarloos' gives his team a chance to win every time. Do you think the Yankees would love to have Kirk Saarloos in their rotation right now?
So it's on to August and it's on to Minnesota...May the best backup centerfielder win.
