Dodgers Sweep the Giants

Yesterday, the Dodgers completed a sweep of the Giants and they did it in dramatic fashion - with a solo home run in the tenth inning of a scoreless game. It must have been something¹ to have been there to witness San Francisco's Jason Schmidt and Los Angeles' Greg Maddux add another chapter to the storied rivalry between the two teams.

By the way, I still can't get over the fact that Maddux is now playing for Los Angeles. When did that happen? He isn't supposed to be a Dodger. He's supposed to be a Brave or a Cub. Before July, he had only ever played for Atlanta or Chicago. I know it's normal these days for players to move from team to team like nomads (millionaire nomads wandering that vast baseball desert in search of more money), but it just seems so strange that he's playing for a team west of the Mississippi.

For eight innings, Schmidt and Maddux made it miserable for the hitters they faced. Schmidt spread five hits over eight innings, while Maddux gave up two singles in the first inning and nothing else. To add to the marvel, Maddux needed a mere 68 pitches to record his 24 outs. It took Schmidt 115 to get his 24.

The sweep helped the Dodgers stay on top of the National League West. It also "helped" the Giants stay at the bottom of the division (7.5 games behind the Dodgers). With a four-game series against San Diego beginning tonight, followed by a three-game series against Los Angeles this weekend, I'm going to be an optimist² and say their chances of gaining ground in the division are slim.

Because I was curious (and more importantly, because it’s fun), I did a little research to see how Schmidt and Maddux stacked up statistically. Here are five bits of trivia I found interesting. That they all seem to point to the fact that Maddux is better than Schmidt is purely coincidental.

1. Maddux has won 18 or more games in 9 of his 21 big league seasons. Schmidt has won 18 games once in his 12 seasons.
2. Schmidt's best season record was 17 wins and 5 losses in 2003. Maddux's best season record was 19 wins and 2 losses in 1995.
3. Maddux has pitched 108 complete games and 35 shutouts in his career. Schmidt has pitched 20 complete games and 9 shutouts.
4. Schmidt walks one batter every 2.5 innings. Maddux walks one every 5 innings.
5. Schmidt is a career .102 hitter with 7 doubles, 6 home runs and 20 runs batted in. Maddux is a career .174 hitter with 32 doubles, 5 home runs and 78 runs batted in. He has also stolen 8 bases.

¹ For Giants fans, that something is known as agony.
² A pessimist would have said their chances were less than zero.