Tag Archives: Lance Lynn

14 Jun

just for starters

Though the field is small, the race for most wins among Mississippi-connected starters in the big leagues is always interesting to watch. Lance Lynn edged out Cliff Lee 15-14 last year, while Paul Maholm ran third with 10 W’s. As we near this season’s halfway point, Lynn — a horse in the figurative sense — has bolted to the lead. The former Ole Miss ace moved to 7-4 with an outstanding effort for St. Louis against Washington on Friday. He retired the first 16 batters and went eight innings, yielding two hits with eight strikeouts in a 1-0 win. Lynn had lost two straight starts after his brilliant shutout of the New York Yankees on May 27, but Drew Pomeranz, another ex-Rebels star, was unable to gain any ground in the wins race during that time. Despite allowing just one earned run over 14 innings, the Oakland left-hander is 0-1 in his last two starts. For the year, Pomeranz is 5-3 – 4-2 since moving into the A’s rotation. He is expected to go again against Texas on Monday. Meridian Community College product Lee is 4-4 for Philadelphia but is out of the race at the moment, stuck on the disabled list since mid-May. He is throwing again, however, and surely champing at the bit to return. Picayune High product T.J. House, who makes his fifth MLB start today for Cleveland against Boston at Fenway Park, is running way in the back, still seeking his first win. The lefty is 0-1 with a 5.24 ERA and yielded five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against Texas his last time out. His hold on a rotation spot may be tenuous for the improving Indians. Maholm, the former Mississippi State standout, is 1-4 with a 4.84 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is now working out of their bullpen — his last start was May 9 — though a spot start here or there is certainly possible. P.S. It’s wait ’til next, uh, half for the Mississippi Braves, who were eliminated from the Southern League South first-half race with a loss at Tennessee on Friday night. The M-Braves will begin the second half, with a clean slate, on June 19 at Trustmark Park against the Jackson (Tenn.) Generals.

28 May

mission accomplished

Ole Miss product Lance Lynn had made 146 career starts, minors and majors, heading into Tuesday’s turn against the New York Yankees. For the first time, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander finished what he started. Lynn notched his first complete game, beating the Yankees 6-0 with a five-hitter. “It was definitely one to remember,” Lynn told The Associated Press. “To do it against the Yankees is exciting, especially if it’s your first one as a professional.” Lynn walked three and struck out two, throwing 126 pitches. He had won just one of his previous six starts but is now 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA. For his MLB career, Lynn is 40-20. And his Cardinals have won 10 of 13 to get to 29-23, 1½ games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central. P.S. Another name to watch in the upcoming MLB draft: Justin Steele, a left-hander at George County High. Baseball America ranks the Southern Miss signee as the No. 120 prospect overall. Steele, 6 feet 2, 170 pounds, went 5-1 with a 0.98 ERA, struck out 92 and walked just 12 in 43 innings.

15 Apr

more lynn-sanity

Lance Lynn might not be considered the ace of the St. Louis staff — he might even be the No. 5 starter — but the Ole Miss product produced an ace-worthy performance on Monday night. Lynn threw seven shutout innings against red-hot Milwaukee as the Cardinals beat the Brewers 4-0 and halted their nine-game win streak. Lynn allowed just three hits and three walks while fanning 11. “Today was as good as I’ve seen him,” a Cards teammate told mlb.com. Lynn is now 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA this season and is an impressive 37-18 over four MLB campaigns. … Atlanta did not face Philadelphia closer and ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon on Monday and may have benefited from it. Dan Uggla belted a ninth-inning grand slam off fill-in closer Jake Diekman in the Braves’ wild 9-6 win. Former Meridian Community College standout Cliff Lee (2-1, 5.50 ERA) is slated to start against the Braves tonight in Philly. Left-hander Lee has been prone to allowing long balls in recent years, and Atlanta hit five (two by ex-Mississippi Braves star Evan Gattis) on a windy Monday.

27 Oct

weight for it

A year before the St. Louis Cardinals’ draft bonanza of 2009 (see Sports Illustrated, Oct. 28 issue), the team picked a stout right-hander from Ole Miss with the 39th overall selection. Lance Lynn, the career strikeout leader for the Rebels, reached the majors rather quickly, by 2011, and pitched effectively out of the bullpen for St. Louis as it won the world championship. Lynn works in a more prominent role now: He’ll start Game 4 of the World Series tonight at Busch Stadium with St. Louis holding a 2-1 edge. Lynn won 18 games for the Cardinals in 2012 but decided after a tough postseason loss to San Francisco that he needed to be stronger for longer. In the off-season, a revamped diet helped him drop some 40 pounds from his 2012 weight. Lynn reportedly weighed 239 when he checked in for spring training. He got off to a great start for the Cards, slumped after the All-Star break but bounced back to post a 2.12 ERA in September. He finished 15-10 with a 3.97 ERA and reached his goal of 200 innings (201 1/3). “I’m more flexible and I don’t have the aches and pains I’ve had in the past,” Lynn told mlb.com about the benefits of carrying less weight. Lynn, 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA this postseason, will face an aggravated Boston club tonight. Cardinals fans are hoping he is up — or should that be down? — to the task.

16 Oct

tough is enough

Lance Lynn might not have been strong on Tuesday night, but he was tough. The former Ole Miss standout worked 5 1/3 innings for St. Louis and left with a lead that the Cardinals’ lights-out bullpen protected for a 4-2 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. The Cards now lead 3-1, and Lynn owns two of the wins, having picked up the first in relief in Game 1. He wasn’t dominant on Tuesday, didn’t appear to have his best stuff. He allowed six hits, three walks and two runs. (He also buzzed Yasiel Puig, which everyone said was unintentional.) Lynn was in trouble in the second inning and again in the fourth. But he “wasn’t afraid to make tough pitches in tough situations,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny told mlb.com. He got out of the second-inning jam — two on, one out, then bases loaded with two down — by getting a pop up and strikeout. In the fourth, three LA hits produced two runs and cut into a 3-0 deficit, but Lynn, a sinkerballer, induced a double-play grounder to escape the inning. He left with the tying run on in the sixth, but it was a job well done. And it’s now the Dodgers who are in a very tough spot.