Seattle visits Detroit with the King on the mound as Felix Hernandez faces Phil Coke. He’s pitching about as well as in 2010 in terms of the three true outcomes, but his ERA is about a run higher as both his home runs allowed came with men on base and opponents are hitting well with runners in scoring position. Coke’s 2.75 ERA should give him a smile, but with 10 walks and nine strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings, I’m not sure how long that low number will last. K and BB numbers in parity is never a good sign for a pitcher. Either he’s walking too many, or not striking out enough batters.
Matt Cain leads the Giants into Pittsburgh to take on Charlie Morton and the Pirates. Cain is giving up a few extra hits this year, his BABIP at .280 compared to a career .266 mark. His ground ball rate is way up, to 47% from 37% for his career. As a fly ball pitcher who keeps the ball in the park, Matt doesn’t get a lot of balls finding holes in the infield. With more balls on the ground, more are getting through. Morton’s ERA improved greatly compared to 2010, but like Phil Coke, Charlie walks more batters than he strikes out. Don’t expect his ERA to stay low.
Jesse Litsch tries to help Toronto make it two in a row against Texas as he battles Matt Harrison. Jesse owns a huge platoon split so far this season, with right-handers hitting just .083 (2 for 24) while lefties touch him for a .356 BA (16 for 45). For his career those numbers are .249/.286 respectively. Harrison, a lefty, also shows a similar platoon split, but with right-handers getting most of the at bats and recording a .147 BA, it’s working to Matt’s advantage.
Finally, Jair Jurrjens tries to get the Braves back to winning as he takes on the Padres and Aaron Harang. He wasn’t slowed by his injury as he struck out 10 and walked just three since returning from his oblique strain. Harang seems reborn in San Diego. He allowed zero home runs so far, despite his highest fly ball rate since his rookie season. In the past, 10% of his fly balls left the park, but in PETCO those are turning into outs.
Enjoy!