By Jose Garcia (@JoseDGarcia__) — Reporter
San Jose State Baseball must be in an idyllic mood now that they’re out of the state of Nevada. SJSU is set to clash against Cal on Tuesday night in a one-game tilt.
Walks and knocks. San Francisco Giants’ broadcaster Mike Krukow, famously says these words whenever the Giants need to mount some sort of comeback.
The Wolf Pack took Krukow’s old adage to a whole new level against SJSU. The Spartans struck first in each of the three games over the weekend, but Nevada had the last laugh. The Wolf Pack compiled plenty of walks, 24 and plenty of knocks, scoring a whopping 46 runs in three games.
SJSU’s pitching has been the glaring problem in its three-game losing streak. Eliciting free passes to first base never leads to anything good. Neither does allowing double-digit runs in every game. The Spartans have surely learned that the hard way.
If the Spartans’ pitching staff can do a complete 180, their chances of winning skyrocket. During SJSU’s previous three-game winning streak, its pitching looked phenomenal. It allowed two runs or less in three games.
The big difference between the Spartans’ three-game winning streak and losing streak is where they played their games. When they won, they played at home and when they lost they were on the road. Numbers don’t lie. SJSU is 8-4 at home compared to 1-3 on the road.
Playing on their home field should boost the Spartans’ confidence. Not only that, but they’re facing the Golden Bears, who are under .500 at 7-8 and are on a two-game skid.
A few players to look out for on Cal are Dylan Beavers and Caleb Lomavita. Beavers leads Berkeley with five home runs and has an OPS of well over .900. Lomavita is second on his team with three home runs and holds a .804 OPS.
With both teams spiraling downward, SJSU and Cal are desperate for a win. Pitching will more than likely determine today’s victor.
The Spartans will look to get back in the win column today at 6:05 p.m.