D-Backs' Owings Shows He Can Hit & Pitch...Again!

Micah Owings had a great outing on Thursday, pitching 6-1/3 shutout innings, AND going 4-for-4 at the plate, with 3 doubles & 3 RBI. He became the first pitcher to have two 4-hit games in a season since Whitey Ford did it in '53.

Owings has been quite spectacular at the plate this season, batting .339 with 15 RBI and 20 hits; 12 of which have been extra-base hits (including 4 HR!). On the mound, though, he's been quite inconsistent. He's 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA for the season, but in his last two starts, he's 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Hopefully this is a sign that he's finally finding his groove (the timing couldn't be better, with the D-Backs fighting to hold onto the NL West lead, and preparing for the post-season).

Owings' only rookie auto is his 05 Topps Chrome Update Auto RC, which is averaging $9.36 TAC in September; down from it's $15 average in August, when he had that great game against the braves, hitting 2 HR & 6 RBI (his other 4-hit game). Now might be a great time to buy this 24-year-old's cards (he just turned 24 today), while they're trading at very affordable prices. I still think that he could be a risky investment, but for less than $10, it might just be a risk worth taking!

Owings is also included in the 03 UD USA set. I saw one of his Red Auto's #'d 750 sell for $7.69 TAC this month.