Teams favoring offense over pitching

The teams have combined for 17 home runs, a .318 batting average and 69 runs through five games.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- There's no Randy Johnson or Curt Schilling in this year's World Series.
The first five games between the Anaheim Angels and San Francisco Giants have seen plenty of action. There have been blasts by Barry Bonds, clutch hits from Tim Salmon and Scott Spiezio, and big innings by both teams.
One thing fans haven't seen is the dominant pitching that often characterizes October classics.
Saturday's Game 6 was not completed in time for this edition.
Plenty of offense
"Maybe you guys got spoiled last year by Johnson and Schilling, that could be part of it," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. Everybody wants to know answers and try to figure it out. Maybe you have to give these guys some credit for hitting. They have some good hitters and we also have some good hitters."
Both teams also have good pitchers, too. They were each second in their leagues in ERA during the season.
But you wouldn't know it by watching this Series, which the Giants led 3-2 going into Saturday.
The teams have combined for 17 home runs, a .318 batting average and 69 runs through five games. That's tied for the most homers ever in a Series, and the combined average is 18 points higher than the Series record.
"I'm surprised just because of the arms that are in this Series," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "If you go down our pitching staff, our starters have been incredible all year. They've done a terrific job. They have the arms that have gone in and pitched well against good clubs, whether it's home or on the road. I think the Giants can say the same thing."
Just not in the first five games.
By the numbers
The starting rotations have been particularly poor, combining for a 9.07 ERA and allowing 70 hits in 422/3 innings.
Jarrod Washburn, an 18-game winner for Anaheim, is 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA. Kevin Appier went only two innings in his first start for the Angels. Ramon Ortiz and John Lackey each struggled at times in their starts.
The Giants, who had three pitchers with more than 200 innings this season, haven't gotten deep into games with their starters either. Russ Ortiz couldn't complete two innings in Game 2, Jason Schmidt tired quickly in his two starts and Livan Hernandez allowed six runs in his start. Kirk Rueter is the only starter to complete six innings in a game.
"Maybe it's just the way the games have gone," Salmon said. "Maybe it's the offenses, both swinging the bats well. I think right now both offenses are swinging the bat so well, the pressure is continually on the pitchers. I think we're seeing more mistakes because of that."
A look back
This is not typical of past World Series.
Last year, Johnson and Schilling were particularly overpowering in leading Arizona to the Series title. They combined to go 9-1 with a 2.36 ERA in the postseason and got all four wins against the Yankees in the Series.
New York's starters were also good. The two teams' starting staffs combined for a 2.81 ERA in Arizona's seven-game Series win.
This year's matchup has been completely different.
"Part of it is because you might have two hot teams that are swinging the bat well," Baker said. "Plus I think the concentration level on the part of the hitters is extremely high. If you make a mistake, they're not going to miss it."
The Diamondbacks weren't the only team to win a title behind dominant starting pitching. The Yankees won their three straight championships with the help from a deep rotation.
And past Octobers were often remembered for the pitching performances of guys such as Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Orel Hershiser, Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax.
There's been none of that this year. There hasn't been a single shutout in 36 games -- after seven last year. The last time there was a postseason without a shutout was 1992, when there were only two rounds.
Talent level
"Obviously last year was special when you have guys like Schilling and Johnson," Scioscia said. "You can pick any Yankees starter and see the way they were throwing the ball last year.
"I think our guys would have and can pitch better than they have," Scioscia said. "I think the Giants can probably say the same thing on their side."
Russ Ortiz says the poor pitching is just an aberration and a dominant start could be just one game away.
"You look at the big picture, it's just a couple games here and there," he said. "So that's why I don't really feel like it's such a big, huge issue. The numbers just make it look worse."