Win Probability Graph (Courtesy of Fangraphs)
Highest WPA:
Fausto Carmona .382
Casey Blake .096
David Dellucci .070
Lowest WPA:
Josh Barfield -.037
Shin-Soo Choo -.035
Jhonny Peralta -.030
The star of Sunday's show was Fausto Carmona, who made the most of his final start before ceding his starting spot to Cliff Lee. Carmona followed Jake Westbrook's recipe for dominating a game: many, many groundouts. Once he established his strike-throwing ability, Oriole hitters started hacking away early and often. Fausto started the eighth inning with just over 70 pitches thrown. His emotions seemed to get the best of him after that; he rushed his delivery and missed the strike zone. He started the ninth inning, but needed Rafael Betancourt to end it.
So how do you send a pitcher to the minors after such a successful string of starts? Very easily: by telling yourself that he will be needed at some point this season. Pitching depth should never be seen as problem to be solved; it's a treasure to be cherished. Carmona, barring anything unforeseen, will return to Buffalo and continue to hone his skills. He'd be completely wasted in the bullpen, and there's no Jason Johnson in the rotation to kick out.
Next Up: Toronto comes to town on Tuesday. Sabathia vs. Burnett, 7:05 PM