Oregon @ Portland (Ducks win series 1-0)

[UOducksTK1]

Game 1: W 7-2 (W McGough 3-6)

[BillM]

I'm hoping 20-31 UP doesn't throw Kyle Kraus at us. He's 2-0 this season against us. Wonder who will get the start for us?

[greenyellow]

I'm hoping 20-31 UP doesn't throw Kyle Kraus at us. He's 2-0 this season against us. Wonder who will get the start for us?

Watch it will probably be him.

[oregontrack]

I'm hoping to see Tessar again. We might very well be seeing him work weekends next year.

It probably won't be Kraus. He'd be going on 3 days rest. They threw him against us midweek last time because they had an upcoming open weekend, and so he didn't have any upcoming games to worry about. He pitched against us mid-week early in the year only because they had almost an entire weekend's worth of games washed out and he needed the work. He's a legitimate ace, we've only seen him twice through some extra bad luck.

[BillM]

Hope it's Tessar too. It'll be interesting to see who our weekend starters will be next year . . . CJ for sure, but if the juniors leave, we'll have a few "openings". Also hope you're right about Kraus. I knew why he had pitched against us . . . twice and hope that they need him for their weekend series.

[oregontrack]

If Kuedell leaves with Anderson and Boer things'll obviously get real interesting in fall and spring camp.

I think Porter Clayton has ace stuff. He's going to be very, very good. What's going to be a problem is his Mormon mission. Most Mormons seem to take their missions when they're 19, or after the typical Mormon's first year of college. Clayton, graduating a year early from HS, isn't 19 yet. So he should be back, one would think? I hope he is. He's on record saying he's going to take one, I'm just not sure when.

Tessar's got good stuff, and has been effective in a small sample size. Both Clayton, Tessar, and Brandon Brennan (redshirting, I assume) were all highly decorated HS prospects that were drafted but chose to come to school. We could very well see Jones on Friday's and two of these three going Saturday/Sundays.

Gold made one start and did okay, and Healy's started twice with mixed results, but I think his future is with the bat.

I know McGough is public enemy #1 around here, but he's been effective in the past as a starter.

Sam Johnson, as of mid-May, was 6-2 with a 1.67 era for Westview HS. He's got a fastball clocked as fast as 95 mph, and command is a strength. He could be a legitimate weapon early, but it's hard to say with freshmen. I think he'll be the extra midweek guy initially, but he's got great stuff. Just depends when it all 'clicks'. Madison Boer was so horrific as a true freshman I was honestly surprised that he survived Horton's massive cutting spree after the 2009 season. The very next year he was an All American-caliber reliever, and as a junior he's been an All-American caliber starter and we'll probably lose him to the draft.

[BillM]

Looks like Porter Clayton gets the start today. Hope he has a better start than he did against Seattle U. Or maybe we're already playing for next year.

From the Oregonian:

Clayton, the freshman left-hander from Idaho Falls, Idaho, has appeared in 21 games this season, but made only his second start two weeks ago at Seattle. In that game, he went 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks with three strikeouts while earning no decision in a game that ended in a 7-7 tie.

[oregontrack]

Ducks put 5 up in the 1st.

[BillM]

That's one way to get over Sunday's disappointment! Go Ducks!

[BillM]

6-2 after 5 . . . had a chance to get a couple across in the 5th. McGough gave up a couple hits but got out of the jam.

[BillM]

7-2 final. Here's to hoping we can put together some complete games . . . hitting, pitching, and fielding . . . against the beavs this weekend.

[oregontrack]

Well.

We're guaranteed an above .500 finish. I know expectations were higher, but if you go back three years and someone would predict we'd be over .500 by year 3, everyone would take it.

[BillM]

I keep thinking that if year 2 and 3 had been reversed, it might have seemed more natural. We got spoiled by last year's overachieving team and maybe our coaches got caught up in it too with all their preseason predictions. I love our young guys . . . even with all the growing pains they went through this season.

Even with the unthinkable (a sweep by the beavs), we'll end up with at least 30 wins (30-26-1 with 3 to go).

[oregontrack]

Agreed completely. Year 2 was so insanely ahead of the curve it warped expectations. We had three legitimate aces, a stocked bullpen, and guys who just knew how to score enough to win games.

[UOducksTK1]

I'm a little afraid about losing a huge chunk of our pitching staff for next season though. Will we be able make a postseason push next season?