Last night was a perfect example of the difference between John Maine and Oliver Perez. Neither pitcher has had great stuff the last few outings, but John Maine proved that good pitchers don't need great stuff every outing to get wins.
Of course getting 7 runs of offense doesn't hurt, but Maine found himself getting behind in counts, walking batters, giving up hits and other jams for most of his 6 innings of work. He gave up 2 runs in those 6 innings, but had plenty of opportunity to give up more.
The key is he didn't.
Oliver Perez on the other hand seems to spiral downward when he gets beat early. Perfect example was Wednesday against the Pirates when he completely lost control. I honestly believe that Oliver Perez has better "stuff" than John Maine, but Maine has got a little something extra upstairs that makes him a better major league pitcher.
I'm still waiting for Maine to have a repeat performance of his last September outing against the Marlins. He had magical pitches that day and I know he can repeat that. Hopefully we don't have to wait til September to see it.
By the way, how awesome is Ryan Church right now?
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