Kenta Maeda comes on to pitch the fifth despite a good performance by Rich Hill. Hill allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out seven. The Astros have a number of right-handed hitters due up. They lead the Dodgers 1-0.
Update: Maeda gives up three fly balls, but all come down in a glove. The Astros still lead the Dodgers 1-0.
Game two of the 2017 World Series gets underway at 8 PM EDT Wednesday night as Justin Verlander leads Houston against the Dodgers and Rich Hill.
Verlander’s 2017 post-season is shaping up as one for the ages. He holds a 4-0 record in three starts and a relief appearance, accounting for over half the Astros post-season wins. He posted a 1.46 ERA so far, walking six, allowing one home run, and striking out 24 batters in 24 2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .200/.258/.294 against him. He induced three ground ball double plays.
Hill has not lasted long in his two post-season starts this year. He prevents hits with a high strikeout rate, collecting 12 K in nine innings. That, however, is balanced by four walks and two home runs allowed. Dave Roberts will not allow Hill to let the game get out of hand.
Enjoy!
The Cubs and Dodgers play game two of the NLCS with the Dodgers up one game to none. Jon Lester takes the mound for the Cubs with Rich Hill on the hill for the Dodgers.
Lester is approaching a season’s worth of work in the post-season. Sunday will mark his 25th appearance in a playoff game. In his 143 1/3 post-season innings he posted a 2.57 ERA, with just 2.1 walks allowed per nine innings. To demonstrate the toughness of his competition, that 2.57 ERA was good for just a 9-7 record. He’s been consistent as his Cubs post-season ERA stands at 2.58.
Hill has been a strikeout beast for the Dodgers in his four playoff appearances, posting a rate of 12.2 K per 9 IP. He’s also been a bit wild, walking 4.8 batters per 9 IP. The Dodgers are putting Hill in a good spot in the rotation. He posted a 2.77 ERA at Dodger Stadium this season, a 4.06 ERA on the road. By starting game two, he will also be able to start game six at home if needed.
Enjoy!
Paul Goldschmidt follows an A.J. Pollock walk with a home run off Rich Hill. That gives the Diamondbacks an early 2-0 lead. Hill’s problems against the Diamondbacks continue.
The Cubs try to dig the Nationals into a deeper hole as they send Jon Lester against Gio Gonzalez. Both teams did well when a left-handed pitcher started against them. The Cubs went 21-14, .600, the third best winning percentage in the majors. The Nationals 22-15, .595, fifth best, about the same as their overall .599 win percentage.
Lester pitched poorly over the last three months of the regular season, posting a 5.17 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates were okay, but he allowed 14 home runs in 78 1/3 innings. Despite the high ERA he did go 8-4. He allowed just one run in 11 innings during his last two starts, so whatever problem hurt him, it might be fixed.
Gonzalez finished 5th in the NL in ERA at 2.96. He was a Cy Young candidate, but he appeared to run out of gas in the last month-plus of the season. He was wild, walking 16 batters in 32 1/3 innings during that stretch.
We could see the bullpens in early in this game.
On the west coast, the Diamondbacks send Robbie Ray against the Dodgers and Rich Hill. Ray pitched 2 1/3 innings on Wednesday in the wild card game, throwing 34 pitches. He will be going on short rest, although Wednesday’s relief appearance will be looked at as a bullpen session. You can see why the Diamondbacks want Ray pitching, however. He dominated the Dodgers in five starts, with one bad game and four great ones. He struck out 52 Dodgers in 31 2/3 innings, posting a 2.27 ERA.
Hill goes in game two likely due to his great pitching at Dodger Stadium in 2017. He posted a 2.77 ERA there versus a 4.06 ERA on the road. He allowed eight home runs in 78 innings in LA, 10 home runs in 57 2/3 innings on the road.
Hill had a strange season against the Diamondbacks. The good is that he struck out 24 and walked four in 19 2/3 innings. The bad is that he only pitched 19 2/3 innings in four starts, allowing 11 runs, all earned. The Diamondbacks didn’t get men on base very often against Hill, but when they did they creamed the ball.
Enjoy!
The Yankees travel to Baltimore as the teams start a three-game series with implications for both the AL East and AL Wild card races. New York trails Boston by 3 1/2 games for the division lead, and leads Baltimore by 3 1/2 games for the first wild card slot. The Orioles are tied for third in the wild card race with the Angels, both 1 1/2 games behind Minnesota. Jordan Montgomery takes on Dylan Bundy in game one. Montgomery is a strikeout machine, with 123 K in 130 innings, helping him limit opponents to a .240 BA. He pitched better than his ERA overall, but allowed 11 of his 18 home runs with men on base, and that situation accounts for about 40% of his batters faced. Bundy is very similar; good strikeout number, okay walk numbers, but a lot of home runs allowed. Sixteen of the 24 home runs Bundy allowed came with the bases empty, helping him to an ERA under 4.00.
The Astros travel to Seattle with Dallas Keuchel facing Erasmo Ramirez. Keuchel’s 2.91 ERA would rank fourth in the AL if the qualifying level were set at 110 innings. He achieved that level by limiting home runs, just 11 in 114 1/3 innings. Ramirez owns a lower ERA since joining the Mariners, 3.62 versus 4.80 with the Rays, despite allowing home runs at a higher rate.
The Rays are four games behind the Twins for the second wild card as the teams open a three-game series in Tampa Bay. Jose Berrios takes on Alex Cobb. Berrios has now pitched about twice the innings of his poor rookie year of 2016. He allowed one more home run, the same number of walks raising his K rate a bit. That combination helped him lower his ERA over four runs. Cobb comes off a strange August in which he made just three starts, going 0-2 despite a 2.20 ERA.
Finally, the Arizona Diamondbacks try to continue their improbable comeback against the Dodgers. Arizona won 10 in a row while the Dodgers went 2-8 to cut Los Angeles’s lead to 13.5 games. This three-game series will be Arizona’s last chance to beat the Dodgers head-to-head. Rich Hill takes the mound in Phoenix against Robbie Ray. Hill followed up his great July (1.45 ERA) with a poor August (4.71 ERA). He allowed seven home runs in August after allowing eight through July. Ray makes his fifth start of the season against the Dodgers, 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He struck out 39 in 24 innings, but did allow four home runs and 12 walks.
Enjoy!
Chris Sale leads Boston against Toronto and Brett Anderson. This might be one of the more lopsided contests of the day. Sale holds opponents to a .200/.245/.322 slash line, while Anderson comes in .347/.414/.571. Anderson turns everyone into an MVP. After a good performance by Corey Kluber Monday night, Sale still leads in the Cy Young competition thanks to nearly 40 more strikeouts.
The Diamondbacks try to keep the Dodgers lead under 20 games as LA visits Phoenix. Rich Hill takes on Zack Godley. Hill pitched well against the Diamondbacks this season but has not won. He owns a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings, with two walks and 11 K. Godley has similar stats against the Dodgers, with an 0-1 record in two starts and a 2.92 ERA. He walked two and struck out 11 in 12 1/3 innings.
Enjoy!
The Dodgers fail to score in the top of the ninth, but Rich Hill comes out to try to accomplish nine perfect innings. He will face Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer, catcher Chris Stewart, and a pinch hitter for the pitcher. There is no score in the game.
Update: Mercer hits the first pitch hard off the third baseman’s glove. Logan Forsythe gets the error, and the perfect game is over.
Update: Stewart sacrifices the runner to second.
Update: Jose Osuna pinch hits. He grounds a 1-1 pitch to third for the second out.
Update: Starling Marte hits the first pitch to shortstop for a ground out. Hill pitches nine no-hit innings, but the game goes on.
Update: Here is a list of no-hitters broken up in extra innings.
Update: The Dodgers do not score in the top of the tenth. Rich Hill is out for the tenth, still under 100 pitches.
Update: Josh Harrison homers leading off the bottom of the tenth, and the Pirates win 1-0. Incredible.
Rich Hill looked dominant as he blew away the Pirates 1-2-3 in the sixth inning to complete 2/3 of a perfect game. Hill struck out eight of the eighteen batters he faced so far. He’s mixing his pitches well, getting batters to guess wrong so far.
Hill may need to pitch the perfecto, as the Dodgers have no runs on six hits.
Update: Two ground outs and a strikeout, and Hill is perfect through seven. He’s throwing his fastball about 90 MPH, but it’s staying up in the zone and batters are missing it. It looks like they are expecting it to drop a bit, and the ball stays high.
Update: Trevor Williams issues a walk and hits a batter in the top of the eighth inning, but a great stab of a line drive by Jordy Mercer saves the shutout for Pittsburgh. The game remains tied at 0 with the Dodgers going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Update: Chase Utley answers, snaring a line drive off Josh Bell, diving through the air to catch the ball. What a play for the first out of the bottom of the eighth!
Update: Hill seems to be 0-2 on every batter.
Update: A pop out and a strikeout end the inning, Hill is perfect through eight. The Dodgers need to score in the ninth, or Hill may need to pull a Pedro Martinez or Harvey Haddix.
Max Scherzer leads the Nationals against the Marlins and Dan Straily in a lunch time game in Miami. Scherzer pitches extra well on the road with season, posting a 6-1 record with a 1.84 ERA. He’s walked five and struck out 34 in 22 1/3 June innings. Straily does his best work at home, 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA this year. Opponents are hitting just .184/.277/.298 against him in Miami.
The Arizona Diamondbacks continue their important series in Colorado as Taijuan Walker faces Jeff Hoffman. Walker’s strength as a pitcher continues to be his low walk rate, 2.39 since the start of the 2015 season. This season, he dropped his home run rate, allowing just four home runs in 57 innings, helping him to a 3.32 ERA. Hoffman literally turned his rookie season of 2016 around. He pitched 31 1/3 innings last year, 32.0 so far in 2017. His home runs allowed dropped from seven to three. His walks allowed dropped from 17 to 6. His strikeouts increased from 22 to 36, which helped drop his hits allowed from 37 to 24. All that combined dropped his ERA from 4.88 to 2.25. That turned around an 0-4 record last year to 4-0 this season.
Finally, play the rhyme game as Tyler Pill of the Mets takes on Rich Hill of the Dodgers. The Dodgers hope Pill makes them better, instead of the Mets hope that Pill makes them ill.
Enjoy!
Jose Berrios faces Chris Tillman as the Twins battle the Orioles. Berrios is off to a great start, pitching 15 1/3 innings in two starts, walking two and striking out 15. That led to just four hits. Tillman struck out 12 in his 15 1/3 innings since returning from an injury, but allowed six runs along the way.
Marcus Stroman of Toronto takes on Matt Garza of the Brewers. Stroman is 3-0 on the road in four starts. His 2.63 ERA away has been supported by 26 runs. Garza shows great control this season, striking out 22 and walking just six in 29 2/3 innings.
Martin Perez meets Chris Sale as the Rangers continue their series in Boston. Perez allowed a .295 BA this season, but just .217 (10 for 46) with runners in scoring position. Sale’s streak of start with at least 10 strikeouts stands at eight. Just as outstanding is his 12 walks in 88 innings during the same streak.
Finally Mike Leake and the Cardinals battle Rich Hill and the Dodgers. Leake owns a 1.89 ERA at home, 2.25 on the road, but his record is 3-0 away, 1-2 in St. Louis. The Cardinals scored 12 runs in his five starts at home, 17 in his three road wins. Hill made a triumphant return from his blister in his last start, holding the Giants to one run in five innings of work.
Enjoy!
Rich Hill finishes the six inning with a shutout intact. He allowed just two hits so far, both off the bat of Kris Bryant, both singles. He walked two and struck out six. Hill extends the Dodgers pitchers scoreless innings streak to 15 against one of the best offenses in the majors.
Update: The same can’t be said of Jake Arrieta. He just allowed a home run to Justin Turner leading off the bottom of the sixth. That’s the second home run Arrieta allowed in the game, and he leaves with the Dodgers leading the Cubs 4-0.
Rich Hill throws a ton of pick offs to first base to try to keep Anthony Rizzo close. The announcers wondered why, since Rizzo is not a threat to run. After a few pitches, when Hill goes to the plate, Rizzo takes off and steals second. Hill then walks Jorge Soler, his second walk of the inning, and the Cubs have runners at first and second with one out in the second inning. There’s no score.
Update: A passed ball puts runners on second and third.
Update: Addison Russell strikes out. Two down.
Update: Miguel Montero grounds out to end the inning. The Cubs let a potential big inning go to wastes. No score in the middle of the second inning.
Rich Hill gets two fly outs and a strikeout to retire the Cubs in order in the top of the first inning. That’s 10 straight scoreless innings for the Dodgers pitching staff.
Update: Jake Arrieta allows a single in the bottom of the first, but that’s it. No score at the end of one inning.
The Indians go for a sweep of the ALCS in Toronto, the game scheduled for a 4:08 PM EDT start. Corey Kluber takes on Aaron Sanchez. I’m a bit surprised Kluber is pitching today instead of Ryan Merritt. Kluber goes on short rest a day after the bullpen pitched a tough game. The Indians just have to win one in four games. Why not wait a day, and let Kluber pitch on full rest? Merritt could just take one for the team.
I’m also a bit surprised the Blue Jays waited until game four to pitch Sanchez, probably their best starter. He was roughed up by the Rangers, but that was one game. He’s been off for nine days, and the Jays most likely cannot start him again even if the series goes seven games.
The NLCS moves to Los Angeles as the Cubs take on the Dodgers in game three. Jake Arrieta faces Rich Hill, with the start scheduled for 8:08 EDT, 7:08 CDT, and 5:08 PDT. Arrieta owns mixed results in the post-season. He struck out 33 and walked five in 25 2/3 innings, allowing two home runs, so his three-true outcome numbers are great. He also allowed ten runs, however, putting his ERA out of whack with the above stats.
Rich Hill threw a total of 110 1/3 innings in 2016 with the Athletics and Dodgers. His four home runs allowed gave him the lowest HR rate of any pitcher with at least 110 innings. His high K rate makes him tough to hit. This should be another great pitching duel for these two teams.
Enjoy!
Trea Turner shows off his speed in the third inning. He singles, steals second easily, then moves to third on a fly ball to right-center, which wasn’t all that deep. With two out, he intentionally walks Daniel Murphy, and Dave Roberts brings in Joe Blanton to pitch to Anthony Rendon. The big curve ball is out of the game with the Nationals leading 1-0. Another quick hook in the 2016 post season.
Update: On a full count, Rendon flies out to center to end the inning. The Nationals still lead the Dodgers 1-0.
Facing his first batter, Rich Hill gets hurt on a ball in play. Trea Turner sends the ball back through the box for the first out, but it gets Hill on the wrist. He throws a few practice tosses and stays in the game with one out.
Update: Hill strikes out Bryce Harper looking. Looks like he’s okay.
Update: Hill strikes out Jayson Werth as well. No base runners at the end of one.
The final LDS gets settled Thursday night as the Dodgers play the Nationals in Washington. The expected starters are Rich Hill and Max Scherzer. Hill says he will start*, but the Dodgers have not confirmed that. If he does, it will be on short rest as the game two postponement forced the loss of a day off.
In game two, Hill struck out 7 of the 22 batters he faced. With two walks and two HBP, only 11 batters put the ball in play against him. Those eleven recorded six hits, however, including a three-run homer. His strikeouts didn’t reduce the hits against him.
Scherzer pitches on a little extra rest. His career opposition slash line stands at .205/.290/.365. His one weakness in the post-season is giving up home runs with men on base, as four of the seven HR hit against him were multi-run homers.
Scherzer did pitch better at Nationals Park this season than he did on the road, posting a 2.56 ERA in 102 innings. Only 10 of his 31 home runs allowed came in Washington.
It should be quite a battle. Enjoy!
*I will update this post if Hill is not the starter.
The Nationals lineup starts at the top in the fifth for the third try at Rich Hill. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Daniel Murphy all single to bring home another run. The Nationals lead 4-2, and Hill is gone from the game.
Harper and Murphy both earned their hits with two strikes.
Update: Perdo Baez comes in and gets a double play as Harper is thrown out trying to score on a shallow fly ball by Anthony Rendon. The teams go to the sixth with the Nationals leading 4-2.
Rich Hill hits Danny Espinosa for the second time to put two men on base in the fourth, and Jose Lobaton takes Hill deep to give Washington a 3-2 lead. Hill’s curve ball, which has been so tough all day, stayed up and Lobaton crushed it. Washington has their first lead of the series.
The FS1 broadcast just used PitchCast to show all four curve balls used to strikeout Bryce Harper in the first inning. You could nicely see the four different arcs of what normally we call the same pitch. It appears Hill has almost an infinite number of curves.
Rich Hill tries to dig a deeper hole for the Nationals, and Tanner Roark tries to even the NLDS against the Dodgers. Hill pitched brilliantly for the Dodgers in his six starts, striking out 39 batters in 34 1/3 innings, walking just five. He also posted a reverse platoon split for Los Angeles, the lefty hurler doing better against RHB. That’s not true for his career. Roark pitched very differently in 2016 than in his last full season as a starter, 2014. He struck out many more batters, but walks many more also. With about the same home run rate, this combination worked for him as he allowed fewer hits, resulting in a very similar ERA. He posted a 2.85 ERA this season, 2.83 in 2014. If you look at his Bases empty/Runners on split, he may have been walking hitters to avoid their power.
Corey Seager is the most likely Dodger to get a hit in the game given Roark starting, according to my neural network, while Daniel Murphy is the most likely Nationals batter to get a hit against the Dodgers.
At 4 PM EDT, the first elimination game of the LDS takes place as the Indians invade Fenway to try to send the Red Sox home for the winter. Josh Tomlin takes on Clay Buchholz. Tomlin pitches to contact, walking just 20 batters and striking out 118 in 174 innings during the regular season. Among ERA qualifers (162 IP), Tomlin induced contact 80.6% of the time, highest in the majors. Given that the Red Sox are both selective and high average hitters, this should be a good match-up for the Boston offense. Buchholz turned his season around late. He owned a 5.91 ERA through the All-Star break, allowing 17 home runs in 80 2/3 innings. Since, he allowed just four home runs in 58 2/3 innings, good for a 3.22 ERA.
Mookie Betts is the player most likely to get a hit with Tomlin starting today, and the most likely player in any game today. Francisco Lindor is the most likely player on Cleveland to get a hit against the Red Sox.
The second elimination game of the day takes place at 7:30 PM EDT in Toronto, as the Blue Jays look to sweep the Rangers. Colby Lewis tries to keep the Rangers alive against Aaron Sanchez. Lewis is a post-season veteran, owning a 2.38 ERA in nine appearances. He pitches carefully, walking a ton of batters but allowing very few hits. Sanchez makes his first post-season start, but pitched brilliantly in nine relief appearances in 2015, allowing just one unearned run in 7 1/3 innings.
Devon Travis is the most likely Blue Jays batter to get a hit today, while Adrian Beltre gets the nod against the Jays.
Enjoy!
Rich Hill tries to dig a deeper hole for the Nationals, and Tanner Roark tries to even the NLDS against the Dodgers. Hill pitched brilliantly for the Dodgers in his six starts, striking out 39 batters in 34 1/3 innings, walking just five. He also posted a reverse platoon split for Los Angeles, the lefty hurler doing better against RHB. That’s not true for his career. Roark pitched very differently in 2016 than in his last full season as a starter, 2014. He struck out many more batters, but walks many more also. With about the same home run rate, this combination worked for him as he allowed fewer hits, resulting in a very similar ERA. He posted a 2.85 ERA this season, 2.83 in 2014. If you look at his Bases empty/Runners on split, he may have been walking hitters to avoid their power.
The Giants try to gain home field advantage with a win in Chicago as Jeff Samardzija takes on Kyle Hendricks. Samardzija owns a long history at Wrigly Field, all but one start there for the Cubs. He struck out a ton of batters in the those games, doing a pretty good job of keeping the ball in the park for what can be a easy home run park. Hendricks led the NL in ERA by 0.3 runs. He was outstanding at Wrigley, 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 2016. Only four of his 11 home runs allowed came at home.
Enjoy!
The Mets can clinch a wild card berth with a win against the Phillies and a Cardinals loss. Robert Gsellman takes on Alec Asher. The two have combined for a total of 79 1/3 major league innings. Gsellman posted strong three-true outcome numbers so far, especially his 35 K in 38 2/3 innings with one home run allowed. Asher’s strikeouts are very low, he fixed his home run problem from 2015. He gave up eight home runs in 29 innings last year, none in 21 2/3 innings this year.
The Blue Jays hold the tie-breaker with the Orioles, so as long as they continue to win, they will host the wild card game. Marco Estrada takes on the Red Sox and Rick Porcello in a game threatened by rain. Estrada holds a 4.26 ERA career at Fenway, but his last start there was his best. I wonder if Porcello actually starts this game? If it’s wet and cold, why risk the best pitcher on your team? Winning home field is a long shot now, and with Cleveland’s depleted rotation, I suspect the Red Sox might want to play the Indians rather than the wild card.
Finally, the Dodgers try to push the Giants out of the post-season as Rich Hill faces Madison Bumgarner. In his brief time with the Dodgers, Hill faced the Giants twice and allowed one run in 11 innings. He managed to lose the game with the one run, as the Giants pitched a shutout. Despite striking out 32 Dodgers in 23 innings and walking just three, Bumgarner is 0-2 against the Dodgers this season in four starts with a 3.91 ERA. The Dodgers BABIP is .356 against Bumgarner this season.
Enjoy!
Atlanta takes on the Mets with Julio Teheran facing Robert Gsellman. Teheran is a good pitcher on a bad team, with a 5-10 record despite a 3.18 ERA. He greatly improved his control this season, reducing his walk rate from 3.3 per 9 IP in 2015 to 2.0 per 9 IP in 2016. So far in his rookie year, Gsellman allows a high OBP but moderates that with few extra base hits off his pitches.
The Nationals continue their series with the Marlins as Tanner Roark battles Jose Fernandez. Roark can top his 2014 win total with a victory Tuesday night. The Marlins, however, hit him pretty well in his career, with a .280/.338/.417 opponents slash line. Fernandez showed no ill effects of Tommy John surgery has he set a new single season high in innings and wins, and struck out 54 more batters than in his 2013 season in about the same number of innings.
Seattle tries to even their series with Toronto with J.A. Happ facing Hisashi Iwakuma. Taking the next two games would great enhance the Mariners wild card chances. Happ goes for his 20th win of the season, the first time he would reach that level. His .294 opposition OBP keeps batters off base, and his .348 slugging percentage allowed with men on mitigates the damage when they do reach. Iwakuma is pitching well down the stretch, although his 3.07 ERA in his last nine starts resulted in a 5-4 record.
Finally, the Giants try to even their series with the Dodgers with Johnny Cueto taking the mound against Rich Hill. Cueto pitched well against the Dodgers this season, 2-1 in four starts with a 3.18 ERA. He struck out 29 batters in 28 1/3 innings with just five walks. Hill gave up four runs his last time out after not allowing a run in his first three Dodgers games. He held the Giants scoreless for six innings in his Dodgers debut.
Enjoy!
If Rich Hill stayed healthy this year, he might be leading the Cy Young contender in both leagues. He threw seven perfect innings Saturday night before his blister problem forced Dave Roberts to remove Hill from the game against the Marlins. The Dodgers wound up allowing two hits as they won 5-0.
In an injury filled season with the Athletics, Hill went 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 90 in 76 innings and allowed just two home runs with a good walk rate. With the Dodgers, he stepped it up a notch. In three starts, he has not allowed a run, given up just six hits in 19 innings, struck out 20 and walked two. I’m wondering if this is one of those situations where the blister changed his grip of the ball just a bit to make him more effective?
Hill was not happy with the decision:
Hill would downplay the severity of the blister after the game, but Roberts chose to anger his pitcher rather than subject him to an injury risk.
Hill received the news with fury. Roberts sat beside him in the dugout midway through the eighth. He took off his cap and told Hill his night was over. Hill swore and stomped around the sunflower seed-strewn walkway. He slammed a bat against the bench.
“I get it,” Hill said. “I’m very adamant about living in the moment. I did not want to come out of the game. But I think there’s a bigger picture here, and we all know what it is.”
That’s twice this season Roberts had to remove a pitcher from a no-hitter to save the starter for the future. That takes a lot of guts, but we all saw what happened to Johan Santana.
The Dodgers magic number is 18.
It’s the battle of Japan in Seattle as Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees take on Hisashi Iwakuma. Tanaka makes his third start in Seattle, a place where his home country doesn’t need to wake up too early to watch. He’s 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA, striking out 20 Mariners in 16 innings at Safeco Field. Iwakuma is 8-2 at home with a 3.48 ERA, with only eight of his 34 walks coming at home.
The Rangers send Yu Darvish against the Reds and rookie Tim Adleman. Darvish appears to have not lost velocity or control due to his Tommy John surgery. He struck out 76 batters in 59 innings so far, walking just 14. Adleman is one reason the Reds improved since the All-Star break. In his first five starts, he has allowed 11 walks and three home runs in 24 1/3 innings, but still holds a 2.96 ERA. He held batters to a .154 BA with runners in scoring position.
Finally, Johnny Cueto leads the Giants against the Dodgers and Rich Hill. Cueto improved his home run rate compared to last season, which helped bring his ERA down nearly two runs. Hill makes his first start for the Dodgers. He posted a 2.25 ERA for Oakland, striking out 90 batters in 76 innings.
Enjoy!
The Dodgers acquired Rich Hill and Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics for three pitchers:
The Dodgers acquired starting pitcher Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick from Oakland on Monday for a package of young pitchers Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton, ranked fifth, eighth and 13th in the Dodgers’ system by MLBPipeline.com, according to a baseball source.
At seasonal age 36, Hill is having a great season, posting a 2.25 ERA in 76 innings with a very high strikeout rate. Reddick is getting on base way above his career .317 average. The Athletics were certainly selling high here. The three pitchers they received all strike out batters at a high rate and are pretty good at preventing home runs. Each might walk a few too many batters. All in all, Oakland did a good job of restocking their young pitching talent by trading two overachieving players.
The new faces the old as Lucas Giolito leads the Nationals against Bartolo Colon and the Mets. Washington leads New York by four games in the AL East as they play a four-game series leading into the All-Star break. Giolito only struck out one batter in four innings in his first MLB start (short due to rain), but only allowed one hit. Colon’s seasonal age is over twice that of Giolito. In his age 43 season, Colon owns a 2.87 ERA. He walked just 17 batters in 94 innings.
Rich Hill is a bright spot for Oakland as he faces the Astros and Doug Fister. Hill brings a 2.31 ERA into the game. His strengths are 80 K in 70 innings with just two home runs. That holds batters to a .206 BA. Fister owns a better ERA than his poor 2015 season, but in five fewer innings he walked more batters, allowing one more home run, and struck out just one more batter.
Enjoy!
All three games played on the west coast Monday night resulted in shutouts. Rich Hill pitched eight shutout innings for the Athletics as they gained a needed game on Seattle, Oakland winning 5-0. Hill lowers his ERA to 2.18, one of the few bright spots for the Athletics this season. Ryan Madson finished the game in the ninth as the Mariners managed nine hits, all singles.
In the National League, Clayton Kershaw and Johnny Cueto each threw a two-hit shutout. Both needed to be that good as both games ended in a 1-0 score, the Dodgers downing the Reds, while the Giants stopped the Padres. It had to be a particularly galling game for Reds fans, being the best pitched game of their eight-game losing streak. Brandon Finnegan pitched all eight innings for the loss. Kershaw walked one and struck out seven, so even on an off-night, the Reds were unable to do anything against the Dodgers big lefty.
Cueto did Kershaw one better, not issuing any walks in his start, while striking out six. His ERA drops to 2.38. While Cueto gets a complete game, Hunter Pence pinch hit for Cueto in the bottom of the ninth, and doubled in the winning run. All in all, a great night for late night pitching.
All three pitchers move up nicely on the Tom Tango Cy Young Tracker board. Kershaw now leads Jake Arrieta by six points, who in turn leads Cueto by five points. Hill moves past Jose Quintana into second place, but trails the amazing Chris Sale by nine points.