Pitching Matchups Dominate Waterfront Park
by Mike Ashmore

Regardless of who they root for, there's no doubting that the fans walking through the turnstiles at Trenton's Waterfront Park have been treated to some excellent pitching matchups.

Let's take a look at some of the best duels that the first half has had to offer:

May 23 - Portland Sea Dogs @ Trenton Thunder
Clay Buchholz vs. Roger Clemens

OK, so you see the name Roger Clemens and it seems obvious that any Double-A game with him on the mound would be a good matchup, right? Well, you're right, but what you might not be aware of is that Clay Buchholz entered the season as the Red Sox third best prospect, according to Baseball America.

And while people were paying up to a thousand dollars online for four tickets just to see Clemens, Boston general manager Theo Epstein came to see Buchholz and refused interviews with several reporters who wanted to ask him about "The Rocket."

But Buchholz himself was available after the game, and he talked about getting the opportunity to face one of his idols.

"Clemens and Nolan Ryan were the two guys I looked up to throughout my childhood years. To be able to go toe-to-toe with him is pretty cool," he said.

You could argue that Buchholz outpitched Clemens, as he got two more outs, allowed one less hit and struck out three more batters, all while not allowing a walk compared to Clemens' four.

As for Clemens, he fired 102 pitches over five and a third innings of work, and felt confident about the outing while discussing it during a nationally televised press conference after the game.

"I did everything I wanted to do with the baseball, pretty much," Clemens said. "I threw all my pitches. It was no different than what my expectations were last year. I've already been through it once, so I knew what to expect."

Buchholz (POR): (ND) 6.0 IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 8K
Clemens (TRE): (ND) 5.1 IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 5K

June 2 - Akron Aeros @ Trenton Thunder
Chuck Lofgren vs. Alan Horne

The Akron Aeros, the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, come into town for just one three-game series over the course of the entire season.

But Thunder fans have lucked out in each of the past two seasons; getting to see top pitching prospect Adam Miller last year, and this year getting treated to their second best prospect, Chuck Lofgren.

Lofgren, who faced off against the Yankees 16th best prospect (as rated by Baseball America) Alan Horne, dominated Thunder batters to the tune of six strikeouts over five innings of work, picking up his fifth Double-A win.

Horne, who has also been paired against top-20 Pirates prospect Josh Shortslef this year, had a rare bad outing, unable to overcome two errors by his defense.

Lofgren (AKR): (W) 5.0 IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 6K
Horne (TRE): (L) 5.0 IP, 5H, 4R, 2ER, 3BB, 2K

June 5 - Binghamton Mets @ Trenton Thunder
Kevin Mulvey vs. Ian Kennedy

At the time, this was the best possible pitching matchup available between the two teams in terms of seeing the best prospects each organization had to offer.

Kevin Mulvey grew up as a Mets fan, and was drafted out of Villanova in the second round by New York last season. He entered the season as Baseball America's sixth-best prospect in the Mets organization, and the highest-rated pitching prospect on the B-Mets roster.

This June 5th start was just his eighth professional appearance.

"Every time I go out, I take something away from it and try to keep getting better and feel a little more comfortable each time," Mulvey said.

"I like pitching to wood a lot better than I liked pitching to metal, that's for sure. Pitching in the pros has been great."

Mulvey's transition to facing wood bats started in the Cape Cod League in 2004 and 2005.

"That helped a lot," he said. "Not only was it pitching to wooden bats, you're facing some of the best hitters in the nation. During the beginning of the summer, the hitters struggle making the transition from metal to wood, but once you get to the end of the summer most of the guys have it figured out, and that's when it's really a challenge.

But the Thunder and their lumber met the challenge of Mulvey, who lasted only 4.1 innings in a loss that evened his record to 5-5.

A nine-run fifth inning outburst by Trenton benefited Ian Kennedy, who came into the season as the Yankees sixth-best prospect according to Baseball America.

Kennedy, who was making his Double-A debut after being selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2006 draft out of USC, didn't fare much better, allowing four runs on six hits in five innings of work, but his team had done enough to secure his first win in a Thunder uniform.

"All I wanted to do was pitch well, but I knew I couldn't determine where," said Kennedy of the timing of his debut.

"I just wanted to do well wherever I was, and hopefully be here by the end of the season, that's what my goal was."

Mulvey (BNG): (L) 4.1 IP, 3H, 6R, 6ER, 5BB, 2K
Kennedy (TRE): (W) 5.0 IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 6K

July 3 - Harrisburg Senators @ Trenton Thunder
Collin Balester vs. Joba Chamberlain

This was a matchup that probably had the most buzz around it so far this season, and the scouts reacted accordingly.

There was plenty a radar gun to be seen in the stands, all attached to the arms of eager scouts, some who traveled hundreds of miles to see Harrisburg's Collin Balester take on Trenton's Joba Chamberlain.

While Balester was nothing short of brilliant, it was Chamberlain who left them wanting more.

Joba (pronounced JOB-ah) struck out the side in order in the first and third innings, eventually leaving with a career-high 12K's, with five of them being of the looking variety.

His fastball sat in the mid-90's all night long, and he justified his status as the organization's fifth-best prospect, as rated by Baseball America.

"I threw all four pitches for a strike better than I have since I've been here," said Chamberlain after the game.

"I've really worked on my changeup with (pitching coach) Scott (Aldred), and it's a pitch that I have confidence to shake to. But the location with my fastball (was good) too, in and out. Tonight, I was able to establish both sides of the plate."

It seems the scouts and the media were the only ones buying into the hype of the pitching matchup, as Chamberlain put little thought into facing the Nationals' number one prospect.

"They're all pretty good in this league, so you've got to go out and put up zeroes and hope they break first," he said.

In the visiting clubhouse, Balester echoed similar sentiments.

"It's not a big deal to me," he said. "Whatever anyone wants to make of it, they can make of it, but I just go out there and pitch like I'd pitch against anyone."

Balester was masterful in his own right, allowing just two hits over six innings of work, but his record dropped to a disappointing 2-7 after a longball to designated hitter Juan Miranda.

"I felt like I did pretty good, I just left that one ball up and he got a home run off of me. But I felt real good, my fastball felt live and my curveball was good, so all in all I felt pretty good."

Balester (HAR): (L) 6.0 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, 1HR
Chamberlain (TRE): (W): 6.0 IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 12K

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