The pitching gods descend on Citi Field Sunday afternoon as Madison Bumgarner grapples with Noah Syndergaard. Both pitcher blow away batters, Bumgarner with 38 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings, Syndergaard with 38 K in just 26 2/3 innings. Home runs represent the big difference between the two this season, with Bumgarner allowing five home runs to Syndergaard’s none.
Chris Sale goes for his sixth win of the season as the White Sox face the Orioles and Ubaldo Jimenez. Sale won all five of his starts thanks to a 1.66 ERA. In 38 innings he allowed just 27 batters to reach by a hit, walk, or hit by pitch. Left-handed batters are hurting Jimenez this season, and the White Sox boast a number of switch hitters that can use that to their advantage.
The Indians take on the surprising Phillies with Danny Salazar facing acquisition of the off-season Vince Velásquez. Salazar is doing a much better job this year of keeping the ball in the park. That’s more impressive due to home runs being up compared to last season. Velasquez keeps blowing away batters, with 33 K in 25 1/3 innings. Due to his high strikeouts, he allowed just 16 hits.
Garrett Richards battles Cole Hamels as the Rangers go for a sweep of the Angels. Richards owns a 2.35 ERA, but the Angels scored one run or less in three of his five starts. Hamels comes in with a 2.52 ERA, and all four home runs he allowed were solo shots.
Seattle is not just going for a sweep of the Royals, it’s going for a shutout sweep of the Royals. Ian Kennedy tries to stop that against Taijuan Walker. Kennedy pitched 13 innings at home and 13 innings on the road this season, but all three of the home runs he allowed came in road games. Walker allowed just one run in each of this last three starts, and five runs for the season.
Finally, Drew Pomeranz and Clayton Kershaw take the mound for the Padres and the Dodgers. Pomeranz appears to be effectively wild, his 12 walks in 22 innings balanced by his 31 strikeouts and 17 hits allowed. Kershaw continues his amazing career with 40 strikeouts and just three walks in 37 2016 innings. He held the Padres to one hit and one walk in their first meeting of the season, lasting seven innings.
Enjoy!