Shot Of The Night

Shot Of The Night is Off Base Percentage's toast to a player who had an exceptionally good or bad night. There's always a reason to drink.

Sorry about shot of the night being late again but I've been in a strikeout coma. And as soon as I'm finished with this shot, I'm going back to writing about Golden Sombreros. Seriously hitters, it was cute when you used to give me maybe a 4 strikeout performance once a week. But 6 in 2 days? Anyway, last night's shot of the night was Cane and Abel: 2-2.5 oz rum, 1/2 can Red Bull® energy drink and it's in honor of Matt Cain. I'm actually proud of what I did there, screw you.

Cain threw 8 shutout innings to improve his record to 8-8. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks but struck out 9. Cain is overshadowed by Tim Lincecum in San Francisco but I always thought he was an underrated pitcher. Turns out he's never had an xFIP under 4.22 and his BABIP is almost always way under .300. It makes him a pretty interesting case. He's either always lucky or his normal BABIP is actually closer to .275 than .300. Even when you remove fielding, he out performs his FIP every season. Can anybody smart out there explain why that is to me?

Honorable Mention: Cole Hamels
Hamels threw 8 innings of 1-hit, shutout ball but didn't get a decision. That would have never happened if Chase Utley was healthy. But luckily for the Phillies, Dom Brown should be on the way. Unfortunately for the Phillies, they'll have to move Jayson Werth instead of Raul Ibanez.