Travis Wood left-handed pitcher

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Travis Wood made his Major League debut for the Cincy Reds this afternoon, taking the mound against the Chicago Cubs. the rookie left-hander held the Cubs to just two earned runs on two hits. he walked three and struck out four.

Wood still had a shutout going when he was removed after walking Geovany Soto and Starlin Castro to start the bottom of the eighth in a 2-0 game. Nick Masset came in and allowed both inherited runners to score, costing Wood his chance for a victory. if the Reds leave their rotation as it is now, Wood would be in line for two starts next week.

Wood just barely missed out on becoming the Reds fifth starter out of Spring Training when he was beat out by Mike Leake.

you may be wondering why I'm posting on a baseball player, since i don't follow the sport very closely ... i know this dude. i've spent time at his house, and hung out with his parents. he's a hell of a guy.

from a CF perspective, Wood is an interesting individual. before becoming a baseball-only athlete, Travis was an incredible all-around athlete. in track,he set his school's high jump record in junior high andwas the fastest kid at the school. hewas also their top running back AND defensive back in football. despite all that, in high school he decided to focus on baseball because he knew he had a future as a pitcher (at the time he regularly touched 94-95 MPH with his fastball, though he doesn't throw it that hard now). on the diamond, before he became a full-time pitcher in the minors, he was also a stellar centerfielder and had a big bat.

it's cool to seem him make it to the Bigs. i hope he has a long, successful career.

Travis Wood scouting report.

Travis Wood

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

via Rotoworld:

Stepping in as a last-minute replacement for the injured Aaron Harang, Travis Wood surrendered five runs -- three earned -- over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Monday night.


Wood didn't stick around long enough to qualify for the win. He held the Mets to one run over the first four innings -- and even hit an RBI triple in the top of the fifth -- but simply ran out of gas in the bottom of the fifth, allowing a solo home run to Angel Pagan, a triple to David Wright and committing a fielding error which allowed Wright to score. He left the game with runners on first and second base, both of whom eventually came around to score. The young left-hander stuck out five and walked two in the no-decision. It was a tough assignment on three days' rest. Hopefully he'll have no ill effects against the Phillies this weekend.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

young Travis Wood took a perfect game into the 9th inning against the Phillies on Saturday, but he gave up a single hit in the bottom of the 9th. he was matched up in an epic pitchers dual with Roy Halladay, who had also pitched 9 innings of shutout ball with only five hits andone walk.

Wood was pulled after going 9 complete innings, having give up only 1 hit, striking out 8,and giving up zero walks in a phenomenal performance.

it's a shame he's playing for a team that apparently can't score at all.

here are a couple of articles talking aboutthe rookie'simpressive third outing.

Wood flirts with perfecto before Reds fall. this link has a video highlight of Wood's night. the kid can flat-out pitch.

Dusty Baker has spent the better part of his 61 years on this earth in and around the game of baseball.


So when he said, "That was one of the best performances I've seen in a long, long time," it truly meant something special ...
Wood set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts with eight. He also only had three counts in which he had three balls.

Rookie Travis Wood throws near-perfect game. this article has a factual error; it was Wood's third major league start.

On Saturday, the Reds received a near-perfect game out of rookie starter Travis Wood, but failed to generate any offense in a 1-0, 11-inning loss, the team's third straight setback to the Phillies in extra frames.

 

[PhillyBirds]

Watched most of the game, Jimmy, and Wood certainly has good enough stuff to make it big. His fastball was lively and kept hitters off-balance all night. He powered through a solid Philadelphia lineup.

As you mentioned, his only problem was that he was matched up against the best pitcher of a generation in Halladay

.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Travis is slated to start Sunday against Colorado. hopefully, he'll continue to play well.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i wish you baseball guys would post more about the rookie from Arkansas. he's playing very, very well.

here are the reports of his last two outings from Rotoworld:

Travis Wood tossed six innings of one-run ball in a tough-luck loss to the Rockies on Sunday.
He didn't flirt with history this time, but he certainly did enough to put his team in position to win the game. Though he walked four, Wood gave up just three hits and kept the Rockies off the board until a solo blast by Chris Iannetta in the top of the sixth. It wasn't enough. Despite the loss, the rookie left-hander has a 2.03 ERA and 0.79 WHIP over his first four major league starts. Wood should stick in the rotation until Aaron Harang or Homer Bailey are ready to return. He'll face the Astros in a recommended matchup on Friday. Jul. 18 - 4:21 pm et

Travis Wood picked up his first big-league victory after allowing two runs over five innings Wednesday versus the Brewers.
Wood struck out six and walked one. It was mostly bad luck that he had to wait so long for his first victory. The Reds are actually 4-2 when he starts, and both of those losses came in 1-0 games. Wood is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA. Jul. 28 - 5:52 pm et

Wood has pitched impressively, and his record would be a lot better if the Reds could ever manage to score a run when he's on the mound.

 

[Freethinker]

Hey JC, congrats to your buddy on his first big league win the other day. He sure is pitching well and he is on my fantasy team (for whatever that is worth). I wish him continued success this season and the rest of his career.

 

[Deadlift]

STUD