October 2, 2014

Playoffs Today

The Tigers and Orioles kick off the League Division Series with Max Scherzer facing Chris Tillman. Scherzer increased his innings pitched by six over 2013 and his strikeouts by 12, recording 252 punch outs, third in the AL and the majors. His 10.29 K per 9 was second in the AL behind Chris Sale. As a power hitting team, the Orioles do strike out quite a bit, 1285 times, fifth in the AL. Scherzer did not face the Orioles this season.

Tillman saw his strikeout rate decline this season from 7.8 per 9 IP to 6.5 per 9 IP. Despite that he did not suffer a huge rise in hits allowed, as he cut his home runs allowed by 12. He pitched well in the second half, 6-1 with a 2.33 ERA. He does have strange home/road split. His home ERA is 2.54 versus 4.31 on the road, but his record is 5-5 at home, 8-1 on the road.

The Royals come off their big win in the Wild Card Round to face the Angels. Jason Vargas takes on Jered Weaver. Vargas pitched okay for the Angels in 2013, and a little better for the Royals in 2014. He pitches to contact, with low strikeout and walk rates. He did cut his walks down a great deal in 2014, walking five fewer batters in 37 more innings. The balls in-play works with the great defense the Royals put on the field. Vargas posted a 2.73 ERA on the road this season. He’s had great success pitching at Angels Stadium in his career, 9-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 129 innings.

Weaver turns 32 on Saturday, and his ERA rose in each of the last three season compare to the previous year. In a season where home runs were way down across the majors, he managed to allow 27, the most he ever gave up in a season. Weaver fell one shy of matching the most walks he allowed in a season. He’s no longer the ace of the staff, but he did manage to tie for the AL lead in wins, as he pitched well enough and long enough for the highest score team in the league to accumulate the Ws. He’s no longer a dominant ace, but he will keep the Angels in the game.

Enjoy!

1 thought on “Playoffs Today

  1. Devon

    Totally irrelevant but it immediately came to mind. The Orioles & Tigers finished 1-2 in the AL East in ’83. The following year, the Royals & Angels finished 1-2 in the AL West. So these playoff series feel early 80’s to me.

    ReplyReply

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