If Laugh-In cast members Henry Gibson and Gary Owens had a baby, he would be debuting for the Red Sox tonight. Henry Owens takes the hill against Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees. Owens blew away batters in the minors with 9.9 K per nine innings, but walked four batters per nine. Tanaka already equaled his 15 home runs allowed from 2014 in about 50 fewer innings, but only four of those came on the road this season.
Patrick Corbin leads the Diamondbacks against the Nationals, as Max Scherzer tries to end Washington’s losing streak. Corbin is pitching well since returning from Tommy John surgery. His strikeout rate is up and his walk rate is down relative to his career numbers, but he did allow five home runs in 28 innings. Scherzer comes off a 1-0 win, and only walked six batters in 63 1/3 innings at home this season.
The battle for best Chris takes place in Chicago as Chris Archer and the Rays face Chris Sale and the White Sox. Sale and Archer are 1-2 respectively in the AL in K per 9 IP, Archer owning the better ERA.
Finally, Vidal Nuno and the Mariners face hot Rockies prospect Jon Gray. Nuno makes his first start of the year after 18 relief appearances with Arizona and Seattle. With 38 K in 35 2/3 innings, he owns a 2.02 ERA. Gray posted a 4.33 ERA in AAA Albuquerque with good strike out numbers. He should be used to the altitude.
Enjoy!