Tag Archives: Yovani Gallardo

July 6, 2014

Games of the Day

Kansas City and Cleveland play the rubber game of their series as Danny Duffy takes on Corey Kluber. Both have middling records with great ERAs. Duffy pitched well on the road this season with a 1.84 ERA in 44 innings. Kluber has a fine line for winning. He went 4-0 in May with a 2.09 ERA, but 1-3 in June with a 2.89 ERA.

Yovani Gallardo and Mat Latos square off in Cincinnati as the Brewers play the Reds. Gallardo has not allowed a home run to the Reds in two starts this season, but he has not won either of those games. Latos shows a decline in his strikeouts in his first 25 2/3 innings since coming back from an injury, but he only walked four batters to go with his 15 K.

The Cubs still have a good starter left as Jake Arrieta pits his 1.81 ERA against the Nationals and Jordan Zimmermann. Jake allowed just two home runs in 64 2/3 innings both on the road. (I really wonder if Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel looked good because the wind was blowing in this year at Wrigley.) Only two of Zimmermann’s six home runs allowed came at home this season.

The Astros send Colin McHugh against Garrett Richards and the Angels in a battle of young veterans. McHugh cranked up the strikeouts this season to greatly reduce the number of hits he allows, bringing his ERA into the low 3.00s. Richards made a similar change, also reducing the home runs he allowed.

Samardzija makes his Oakland debut as the Athletics host the Blue Jays and Drew Hutchinson. The Blue Jays will be without Edwin Encarnacion, who will undergo an MRI in a few days to see how badly he injured his leg. Hutchinson owns a 2.33 ERA away from Toronto where he allowed just three home runs in 64 2/3 innings. Samardzija allowed just one unearned run in two starts against American League teams this season, but did not get a decision.

Tim Lincecum gets to face one of his favorite teams as the Giants take on the Padres and Jesse Hahn. Tim won both of his starts against San Diego this season, one a no-hitter. He struck out 13 and walked four Padres in 15 innings this season. Hahn is off to a great start to his rookie season, with 36 K in 27 2/3 innings, helping him to a .190 BA allowed and a 1.95 ERA.

Enjoy!

June 24, 2014

Games of the Day

Former Mets prospect Scott Kazmir leads the Athletics against the Mets and former Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon. Kazmir ranks third in AL Cy Young Tracking points. He currently leads the AL in ERA, but lacks the innings of Felix Hernandez and Masahiro Tanaka. Colon, once again, is keeping his walk rate very low, helping him to an opposition .295 OBP. He does give up power, but most of his home runs come with the bases empty.

Clayton Kershaw follows up his no-hitter (near perfect game) with a start against the Royals and Danny Duffy. With 86 strikeouts and just eight walks in 64 1/3 innings, Clayton’s K per BB is approaching the Spinal Tap like 11. Kershaw did give up a hit in the last inning he pitched in the previous game, so his no hit inning streak is at nine. He did finish the previous game with four shutout innings, so his scoreless inning streak stands at 13. Duffy gave up quite a few home runs in his 2011 rookie year, but since allowed just seven homers in 113 innings, 0.56 per nine.

Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals try to extend their win streak to four games as they face the best team in the National League, the Brewers, led by Yovani Gallardo. Compared to his last two seasons, Zimmermann is doing a better job of limiting free passes and home runs. After a rough May, Gallardo is back on track with a 2.77 ERA in four June starts.

Finally, Jesse Hahn tries his hand at keeping the Giants off the scoreboard as the Padres face Tim Hudson. With just three MLB starts under his belt, Hahn already struck out 19 batters in 16 2/3 innings, limiting his opponents to 12 hits. Only two of those went for extra bases, both leaving the park. Hudson has not lost at home this season, with five wins in seven starts in San Francisco.

Enjoy!

June 14, 2014

Games of the Day

Mat Latos makes his 2014 debut as the Reds continue their series with the first place Brewers. Yovani Gallardo stands in opposition. Latos pitched outstanding ball for the Reds in his first two seasons with the team, averaging 210 innings, 61 walks, and 186 strikeouts in two consistent seasons. Gallardo slumped since the start of May, but recovered with seven shutout innings in his last start.

Garrett Richards and Gavin Floyd battle in Atlanta as the Angels continue their inter-league series. Richards keeps the ball in the park, with just two home runs allowed in 81 2/3 innings this season, and 25 HR in 311 2/3 innings for his career. Floyd cut his walk and strikeout rates in half from last season, helping him to a 2.57 ERA.

The Nationals try to score a run against the Cardinals as Stephen Strasburg takes on Shelby Miller. Strasburg pitched much better against lefties than righties this season. He holds eft-handed batters to a .228/.284/.282 slash line, righties .280/.318/.418. Miller allowed a .185 BA with runners in scoring position so far this season.

Impressively, Fox managed to pick all three games to carry today, so you’ll get to see one of them. Enjoy!

May 20, 2014

Games of the Day

Justin Verlander faces Trevor Bauer as the Tigers continue their series with the Indians. Verlander underwent major surgery over the winter, but it doesn’t seen to have hurt his performance too much. His strikeout rate is down, he’s giving up hits at a lower rate. Bauer makes his second start of the year. He was blowing away batters at AAA and seems to have finally gotten his walks under control.

Johnny Cueto tries to continue his outstanding season as the Reds face the Nationals and Doug Fister. Cuteo came into the season with six complete games in 160 starts. He’s completed three of his nine starts this season. Fister righted himself in his second start after getting hit around in his first appearance coming off the DL. He’s still has his great control, as he’s yet to walk a batter.

Yovani Gallardo and Julio Teheran face off for the second time this season as the Brewers try to even their series with the Braves. Both pitched six strong innings in their first starts of the season, but Gallardo came out on top, allowing no runs to Teheran’s two. Teheran has been better since, with a 2.20 ERA on the season compared to Gallardo’s 3.07.

The Yankees visit the Cubs with Masahiro Tanaka battling Jason Hammel. Tananka allowed seven walks and seven home runs so far. It’s decently unusual for walks to be less than or equal to home runs. Among pitchers with at least 100 innings, it did happen six times in the last three years. Hammel has been outstanding this season, reducing his walk rate 1/3 versus his career average and upping his K rate.

Enjoy!

May 9, 2014

Games of the Day

Nolan Arenado may have a tough time extending his hit streak to 29 games as the Rockies face Johnny Cueto in Cincinnati.

The Cubs visit Atlanta as Jason Hammel takes on Julio Teheran. Hammel is posting the lowest season ERA of his career as he upped his strikeout rate and reduced his walk rate. Teheran also found better control this season, helping him to a 1.80 ERA.

Masahiro Tanaka bats for the first time in North American major leagues as the Yankees battle the Brewers and Yovani Gallardo. Tanaka seems to be trading walks for extra-base hits. He’s allowed a .250 OBP, walking just six batters, but 15 of the 35 hits he allowed went for extra bases. Extra base hits, however, do less damage with no one on base. Fourteen of the extra base hits came with the bases empty, including six of the seven homers. Gallardo limits both the walks and home runs of opposing batters. His OBP allowed stands at .299, but batters slug just .352 against him. He too has allowed just on extra base hit with men on base.

Finally, the Marlins try to beat the Padres for the second night in a row, this time sending Jose Fernandez against Tyson Ross. In these games, the Padres offer the 1-2 punch of Fernandez on the mound, and Giancarlo Stanton at the plate. Right-handers hit just .114 off Fernandez this season, while Stanton slugs .617 against righties in 2014. Giancarlo is on a pace to drive in 185 runs this season. Ross owns a 1.67 ERA in four starts at home this season, and only one of the five homers he allowed came at PETCO Park.

Enjoy!

May 3, 2014

Games of the Day

Tanner Roark and A.J. Burnett battle as the Nationals continue their series in Philadelphia. Roark’s 2.76 ERA is mostly due to 15 shutout innings at home this season. Both his home runs and two thirds of his walks came on the road this season. Burnett has been a bit wild this spring, with 17 walks in 37 2/3 innings. He continued what he learned in Pittsburgh, however, keeping the ball in the park with just one home run allowed.

Drew Smyly (the Mystik Spiral of the pitching world) and the Tigers square off against Danny Duffy and the Royals as Kansas City tries to stop Detroit from pulling away in the AL Central. Smyly continues the high K, low walk rate that helped him to a 6-0 record in 2013, but he has allowed two homers in 15 innings. Duffy makes his first start of 2014 after six strong outings from the bullpen.

Finally, Yovani Gallardo faces another ace as the Brewers visit the Reds and Johnny Cueto. All three of Gallardo’s home runs allowed came on the road this season, but his ERA away from home is still an excellent 2.41. Cueto already recorded 50 strikeouts in just 47 innings. He struck out 51 batters in 60 2/3 innings in 2013.

Enjoy!

April 28, 2014

Games of the Day

It’s a quality, not quantity night in MLB as seven games make the schedule, but some very good pitching match-ups emerge. The only eastern game takes place in Cincinnati, with Jeff Samardzija leading the Cubs against Alfred Simon. Samardzija has yet to win in 2014 despite a 1.53 ERA in five starts. He’s doing every thing right, allowing a home run and nine walks while striking out 27. He’s gone at least seven innings in each game, but was victimized by the bullpen or the offense for two losses and three no decisions. Simon brings a 1.30 ERA into the game. He turned his career around as a reliever with the Reds after poor work in Baltimore. He continues that as a starter, allowing just 17 hits in 27 2/3 innings.

The Athletics visit the Rangers with Sonny Gray taking on Yu Darvish. Sonny pitched 64 outstanding innings in his rookie season of 2013, and in half those innings this season has seen his strikeouts shrink a bit and his walks rise a bit. He’s only allowed one home run, however, so his ERA is a bit lower at 2.25. Darvish allowed 26 homers last season, but seems to have brought that under control as he allowed just one so far in 28 innings.

The first place Brewers lead the Cardinals by 4 1/2 games as the two teams meet in St. Louis (clang, clang, clang wen the trolley…). Yovani Gallardo and Micheal Wacha do battle. Like Samardzija, Gallardo has three no-decisions despite a 1.42 ERA, but unlike Jeff, Yovani won his other two games. After high home run rates the previous three seasons, Gallardo allowed just one dinger so far in 2014. Wacha’s been very tough with men on base this season, allowing a .130 BA and a .217 slugging percentage. Seventeen of his 18 strikeouts have come with men on base, despite 20 fewer at bats with men on.

Enjoy!

April 17, 2014

Games of the Day

Yovani Gallardo and Edinson Volquez both are making early bids for comeback player of the year as the Brewers visit the Pirates. So far in 2014, Gallaro pitched about 1/10 of the innings he did in 2013. His strikeouts are in line with last season, but he cut his walk rate in half and has yet to all a home run, after allowing about one every ten innings last year. Volquez stayed out of trouble this season, facing batters just three times with runners in scoring position (54 batters faced).

Jon Lester and Chris Sale square off in the battle of the Sox in Chicago. Lester, with the lower ERA, is 1-2, thanks to the Red Sox scoring just one run total in his first two starts. Sale holds a 3-0 record, as the White Sox scored at least five runs in all three of his games.

Finally, James Shields takes on Astros ace Scott Feldman as the Royals travel to Houston. The five runs scored against Shields this season are all a result of the three home runs he allowed. Feldman owns one of the more amazing pitching lines I’ve seen. He allowed just seven hits in 20 2/3 innings and one run. He only struck out seven batters and walked eight. That sort of ratios tends to lead to poor results. The Astros fielders must be eating up balls in play. Houston’s DER is just a bit above league average, however.

Enjoy!

April 12, 2014

Games of the Day

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Saturday gets off to a bang with two excellent pitching match ups at 1 PM EDT. The Red Sox continue their series in The Bronx as John Lackey faces Hiroki Kuroda. Lackey came out of the gate tough to hit, with just eight safeties allowed in his first 13 innings. Kuroda is in complete control, as he walked just one batter in his first 12 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, the Rays send Alex Cobb against the Reds and Alfredo Simon. Cobb pitched one great start and one poor start so far, but hitters are batting just .182 against him so far. Simon shut down the Mets for seven innings, allowing just four hits and one walk. He went 9-6 with a 2.78 ERA in two years as a reliever for the Reds.

Edinson Volquez and Yovani Gallardo are both off to good starts as the Pirates take on the surprising Brewers. Volquez has not posted a good ERA since 2008, but his ground ball tendencies play into the hands of the Pirates strength positioning fielders. Gallardo has yet to allow a run this season, batters going 1 for 12 against him with runners in scoring position so far. Of his 11 hits allowed, only three went for extra bases, and they were all doubles.

Finally, Taylor Jordan takes on Alex Wood as the Nationals and Braves vie for dominance in the NL East. In his very short career, Jordan walked just 13 batters in 58 innings, better than one every four innings. Wood uses the K as his weapon, with 86 strikeouts in his 91 2/3 MLB innings.

Enjoy!

April 6, 2014

Games of the Day

Matt Cain

The Giants bullpen looks forward to another decision as Matt Cain pitches in LA. Photo: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals are Pirates are tied with the Brewers atop the NL Central at 3-2 as Adam Wainwright faces Edinson Volquez in Pittsburgh. Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings in his opening day start, the only caveat his four walks in seven innings. Adam walked just 35 batters in 241 2/3 innings during the 2013 season. Volquez makes his first start for the Pirates. He’s coming off his second 5.71 ERA season in three years, and his spring training numbers don’t indicate he’s improved much.

Meanwhile, the Brewers go for a sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway. Yovani Gallardo takes on Jon Lester. Gallardo pitched six shutout innings in his first start, holding the Braves 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. The Brewers would love to see him return to full ace stature. Lester struck out eight and walked one in seven innings, but his great start was not enough for a Boston victory.

Finally, the Sunday night game features Matt Cain against Zack Greinke as the Giants go for a sweep of the Dodgers. Cain is Mr. No Decision at Dodger stadium. In 13 starts there, he is just 2-2 despite a 2.65 ERA and great three-true outcome numbers. Greinke doesn’t have much experience in the Giants/Dodgers rivalry. He pitched well, however, in his only start against San Francisco in Dodger Blue.

April 29, 2013

Even Dozen

The Brewers unleashed their home run bats Monday night, with five different players homering against the Pirates as they play in the fifth. One of those was the starting pitcher, Yovani Gallardo. His shot gives him 12 homers for his career. He’s only 27, so we could see him put up quite a few, as long as he stays in the National League. Gallardo also has 18 doubles, so 30 of his 67 hits have gone for extra bases.

Milwaukee leads Pittsburgh 9-2 in the bottom of the fifth.

April 18, 2013

Games of the Day

Matt Cain and Yovani Gallardo come into the Giants Brewers game with high ERAs. Cain is giving up walks and home runs at a higher rate, but for the first time in his career, he’s allowing more hits than innings pitched. He has lost some velocity this season. Gallardo makes his first start since a DUI arrest. If his ERA remains above six, fans might think he’s PUI.

Alexi Ogando and the Rangers take on the newly dominant Carlos Villanueva and the Cubs Wednesday afternoon as well. Ogando made a seamless return to the rotation after 57 relief appearances in 2012. He’s still blowing away batters with 17 K in 16 2/3 innings. Carlos joins the rotation full time for the first time in his career. He walked just three batters in his first 14 innings.

Tony Cingrani

Tony Cingrani makes the first start of his major league career Thursday evening. Photo: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

On the west coast, Justin Verlander and Hisashi Iwakuma try to keep the Ks coming in Seattle. Verlander strikeouts are fine this season, but he walked seven batters in his first 18 1/3 innings. Iwakuma walked just one batter in his 20 2/3 innings so far.

Finally, rookies Jose Fernandez and Tony Cingrani square off as the Marlins face the Reds. The 20 year old Fernandez proved to be worth the call up, as he struck out 13, walked one and has not allowed a homer in his first 11 innings. Cingrani fills in the for injured Johnny Cueto. He struck out nine in five relief innings last season. He averaged 11.8 K per 9 IP in the minors with a low walk rate.

Enjoy!

April 16, 2013

Yovani DUI

Via Lone Star Ball, police arrested Yovani Gallardo for a DUI.

Gallardo, a 27-year-old right-hander, was driving westbound on Interstate 94 near S. 76th St. when he was pulled over at 2:10 a.m. for driving slowly and deviating lanes. McLaughlin said Gallardo failed a field sobriety test and later registered a blood-alcohol level of .22, nearly three times the legal limit in Wisconsin (.08).

McLaughlin said Gallardo — who has no prior criminal record — will not face jail time but will receive citations of $300 for operating while intoxicated — first offense, with an extra $300 because of the level of intoxication and $178.80 for lane deviation.

I’m glad no one was hurt. I wish players like Yovani would hire a driver.

April 14, 2013

Opposite Aces

The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 8-0 on Saturday as the aces of the teams continue to head in opposite directions. Both Adam Wainwright and Yovani Gallardo suffered down seasons in 2012, Adam due to missing a year recovering from surgery, Yovani due to an elevated walk rate. Wainwright has come back strong. He has yet to allow a walk or a home run, while striking out 24 in 22 innings. About the only thing wrong with Adam is when batters do hit the ball, they are producing a .361 BABIP. Adam appears to be challenging hitters to make contact, and they miss often enough to keep his ERA low.

Gallardo, however, saw his strikeout rate collapse this season. For his career, Yovani strikes out 9.12 batters per nine. That’s down to 4.96 in 2013. Couple that with a .393 BABIP this season, and he is a disaster in the making. Gallardo is suffering from the double whammy of more balls in play and a high percentage of them falling for hits. His velocity is down 2 1/2 MPH from 2011. He got by with a 1 MPH drop in 2011, but the extra slowness appears to have hurt him in 2013. His fastball and slider are much closer in velocity, so that’s one less thing he can use to fool a batter. I would guess he’s not quite this bad; his FIP points to a pitcher with an ERA in the fours. He may no longer be an ace (I would not be surprised if he were hurt), but he shouldn’t be terrible.

September 23, 2012

Games of the Day

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The Athletics and Yankees follow up Saturday’s wild game with a good pitching match-up as A.J. Griffin faces Hiroki Kuroda. In 12 MLB starts Giffin owns a nearly 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio. Kuroda proved to be one of the best free-agent signings of 2012, as he both ate innings for the Yankees and provided a fine ERA.

Yovani Gallardo goes for his 17th win as the Brewers face the Nationals and Chien-Ming Wang. Gallardo would match his single season high for wins with a victory, while Wang’s start appears to be designed to give the Washington rotation an extra day of rest and get people in line for their playoff starts.

The Braves and Phillies feature an old school match-up of great control pitchers as Tim Hudson faced Cliff Lee. This might be a two-hour game.

Finally, Gavin Floyd takes on Jered Weaver as the White Sox try to stay in first place and the Angels try to gain the wild card race. Floyd makes his third start since coming off the disabled list. He walked two and struck out 10 in his 11 2/3 innings since returning. Weaver goes for his 19th win in trying to solidify his Cy Young credentials. I’m somewhat surprised FanGraphs ranks Weaver so low. His strikeout rate is down this season, and his xFIP is rather high. Still, it is possible that with 20 wins and a great ERA, he wins the award. It’s possible the Angels have both the MVP and the Cy Young and don’t make the playoffs.

Enjoy!

September 18, 2012

Games of the Day

A.J Griffin puts his undefeated record on the line as he and Oakland take on Detroit and 16-game winner Max Scherzer. Griffin is unusual in that he works half his time in a great park for pitchers, but owns a 1.15 ERA on the road. Scherzer upped his strikeout game this season. His 11.2 K per 9 IP leads the league, and is almost two K per 9 IP higher than his career average.

Andy Pettitte returns to the mound tonight as Toronto visits New York. With Phil Hughes throwing better, Ivan Nova rested and Pettitte back from injury, the Yankees suddenly have some starting depth.

The Dodgers travel to Washington as Aaron Harang takes on Jordan Zimmermann. Jordan hasn’t pitched that well since the start of August, posting a 5.31 ERA. Harang has pretty much been the definition of a back of the rotation starter. He’s 9-9 with a 3.79 ERA, not bad, but not great.

Yovani Gallardo battles A.J. Burnett as the Brewers and Pirates both try to climb in the NL wild card race. Gallardo improved since the ASB, especially in his walk rate. Burnett’s ERA is slightly better, but his wins are down due to less support.

Finally, the Angels host the Rangers as Texas starts a stretch where they play LAnaheim and Oakland in 13 of their last 16 games. This sets up the opportunity for both the Angels and A’s to knock Texas out of the race. Ryan Dempster and Jerec Weaver get things started. With Texas, Dempster is keeping his walks low and his strikeouts high, but his hits allowed are a bit high. Weaver has a 5.94 ERA against Texas this season.

Enjoy!

September 12, 2012

Games of the Day

The Phillies play a late afternoon game hosting the Marlins as Josh Johnson faces Cliff Lee in a battle of good pitchers with losing records.

Alex Cobb trieds to even the Rays series against the Orioles as Baltimore sends Miguel Gonzalez to the mound.

A.J. Burnett squares off against Homer Bailey as Pittsburgh tries to stop the slide toward .500 in Cincinnati.

John Lannan replaces Stephen Strasburg in the Nationals rotation as they face New York and Matt Harvey.

Atlanta tries to stop the Brewers surge as Paul Maholm takes on Yovani Gallardo in Milwaukee.

Oakland tries to make it three in a row against the Angels as outstanding rookie A.J. Griffin battles LAnaheim veteran Ervin Santana.

I really like that a number of good, young, pitchers are taking part in the division races tonight. In addition to Griffin, keep you eyes on rookies Gonzalez and Harvey, and second year pitcher Cobb.

Enjoy!

July 15, 2012

Gallardo in Control

Yovani Gallardo‘s control hasn’t been great this season, but he faced the Pirates this afternoon and did not walk a batter in seven innings on the mound. He fooled most of them, striking out 14 of the 25 hitters he faced. Despite all the walks, the one run allowed today lowered Gallardo’s ERA to 3.59. He’s done a good job this season of holding opponents to a low average with runners in scoring position. Milwaukee wins 4-1.

June 25, 2012

Games of the Day

The Brewers travel to Cincinnati with a chance to move up in the division as Yovani Gallardo takes on Mat Latos. The two potential aces pitched less than effectively so far this season. Gallardo comes in with a 4.22 ERA. He allowed 12 home runs in 89 2/3 innings, and Great American Ballpark is not kind to that high a rate. Six of those homers have come in the month of June. Latos allowed 16 home runs in 2010 and 2011 in around 190 innings each year. He’s allowed 16 so far in 79 2/3 innings. Eleven of those came at home, so Great American exposed a weakness of Mat’s.

Stephen Strasburg makes his first start in Colorado as the Nationals take on Jeff Francis and the Rockies. Strasburg uses his curve ball and change-up evenly, but curve balls do not break as much at high altitude. We’ll see if he adjusts in the game by using the change more. He also might just go to his two-seam fastball to attempt to induce grounders. Francis improved in his last two starts, allowing just one run in five innings against the Phillies his last time out. His 75 pitch limit should keep him fresh, and so far the Rockies four-man rotation is working out for Francis.

Enjoy!

June 15, 2012

Lack of Hits in the Twin Cities

Francisco Liriano completed five innings against the Brewers, walking two and striking out five but not allowing a hit. Minnesota hasn’t scored, as Yovani Gallardo only allowed one hit through four innings. This could be a very good one to watch the rest of the way.

Update: Trevor Plouffe homers in the bottom of the fifth to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

Update: Lirano walks two in the top of the sixth, and with one out, Ryan Braun hits the ball over the fence in dead center and the Brewers lead 3-2.

May 14, 2012

Shocking Pitching

I’m not sure which is more unlikely, Miguel Batista pitching seven shutout innings for the Mets, or Yovani Gallardo walking six batters in six innings (but only allowing two runs). Batista allowed 10 runs, eight earned, in nine innings as a spot starter this season, walking five and striking out three. He showed good control against the Brewers, walking on and striking out five.

Gallardo walked just 16 in his first seven starts, so his control numbers still look good. He only allowed two hits to limit the damage, but without run support he takes the loss. The Mets win 3-1.

April 27, 2012

Gallardo Mauled

The Cardinals continue to have their way with Yovani Gallardo. The first six Cardinals reach in the top of the third, a double by Matt Carpenter chansing Yovani from the game. Yovani will be charged with eight earned runs in two innings, and the Cardinals lead the Brewers 10-1 in the bottom of the third.

April 27, 2012

Game of the Day

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Ivan Nova

Ivan Nova returns to the 21st century against the Tigers on Friday. Photo: © Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The Tigers already have a loss even before they start their series with the Yankees. On the field, however, Justin Verlander faces Ivan Nova as the 2011 ALDS opponents face each other for the first time in 2012. Verlander’s 2012 so far has been a continuation of his 2011. He’s striking out batters at a high rate, not walking very many, and he’s even tougher to hit than last season. Nova allowed four home runs so far in 2012, but walked just two and struck out 20 in 19.0 innings. He’s one of the brighter spots in the Yankees rotation.

The Rays meet the Rangers with James Shields battling Matt Harrison. A nice rivalry should be developing here, as Texas defeated Tampa Bay two years in a row in the ALDS. Shields, a right-handed pitcher, is shutting down left-handed batters, holding them to a .188/.233/.261 slash line. Harrison brings a 1.66 ERA into the game on the strength of holding opponents to an 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. He keeping both the opportunities and success rate low.

The Brewers travel to St. Louis for the first time after dropping two of three to the Cardinals at home during their first series of the season. Yovani Gallardo takes on Jake Westbrook. The Cardinals give Yovani trouble, hitting 17 home runs against him in 65 2/3 career innings. That helped up Gallardo’s ERA at 6.17 with a 1-8 record against St. Louis. Westbrook held opponents to a .189 BA and a .216 slugginer percentage despite a ton of balls in play against him. We’ll see how long his .219 BABIP holds up.

Finally, two first place teams meet in Los Angeles as Ross Detwiler and the Nationals face Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. Ross ranks fifth in the Nationals rotation but owns a 0.56 ERA. He struck out 15 batters in 16 innings with just four walks. Kershaw was king of the Ks in 2011, and is off to another good start with 22 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings, and just six walks. Clayton does beat Detwiler in the home run allowed category, zero to one.

Enjoy!

April 6, 2012

Going Deep on Gallardo

The Cardinals found the distance in Milwaukee this afternoon as they have launched four home runs against Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo. Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina all went deep. Gallardo allowed 27 home run last season, and if this continues, he may set a new single season high for himself. The Cardinals leads 5-2 in the top of the fourth.

April 6, 2012

Games of the Day

CC Sabathia and James Shields square off in Tampa Bay as the Yankees face the Rays.

(You could remake the producers with Sabathia and Shields instead of Bialystock and Bloom. Imagine the woman in this scene substituting the names of the two pitchers:

)

Sabathia has mixed results against the Rays since joining the Yankees. He owns a 3.69 ERA but a 2-6 record. Last season was an extreme example of this as CC posted a 2.51 ERA in four starts, pitched two complete games, but only won the start in which he shutout Tampa Bay. That tells you the Rays pitching can match anyone in the league. Shields finished over 200 innings for the fifth season in a row, and for the first time extended himself past 220 innings to just shy of 250. He had the same problem with the Yankees, however, as in five starts he went 2-3 despite a 2.33 ERA.

The teams that fought for the NL Central open Miller Park as Jaime Garcia and the Cardinals visit Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers. Garcia’s ERA jumped almost 0.9 runs compared to his first full season. He greatly improved his control dropping his BB per 9 to 2.3 from 3.5. His FIPs for the two seasons were close, but his ERA outperformed it in 2010, and underperformed it in 2012. If he comes back to the middle this season, expect a 3.30 ERA. Gallardo broke 200 innings for the first time in 2011, but his strikeout rate took a slight dip and he more than doubled his home runs allowed compared to 2010.

Finally, the Giants send Tim Lincecum against Arizona and Ian Kennedy as the teams favored to finish atop the NL West start the season. Lincecum bounced back from a down 2010 to be tough to hit again in 2011. He owns a 4.12 ERA at Bank One Ballpark despite extremely good K/BB/HR rates there. Kennedy found his control and a way to keep the ball in the park in 2011, lowering his ERA from 3.80 in 2010 to 2.88 last season. He held opponents to a mere .141 BA with runners in scoring position, something that might be tough for him to repeat.

Enjoy!

February 27, 2012

Gallardo Completes an Orbit

Yovani Gallardo turns 26 today. With some upside left, he’s already pitched an impressive career. In five seasons he never posted a losing record, and his ERAs stayed below 4.00. On top of that, he contributed at the plate, with a .218/.258/.391 batting line, including nine home runs. Happy birthday!

October 12, 2011

Playoffs Today

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The Rangers and Tigers send their number four starters to the mound in game four of the ALCS, getting underway a little after 4 PM EDT. Matt Harrison faces Rick Porcello. These two represent a nice example of how won-lost records don’t always reflect underling ability. Both pitchers posted 14-9 records, but a side-by-side comparison shows that one pitched much better than the other. Harrison struck out batters at a higher rate, gave up fewer home runs and many fewer hits, and had his ERA come in nearly 1.4 runs lower than Porcello. The only area where Rick turned in a better performance than Matt was in walks, where both posted a very good rate. So while their records match, this pitching duel should favor the Rangers.

The small sample size of head-to-head competition tells a different story. Porcello did make one start against the Rangers, giving up just one run in six innings. The Tigers, on the other had, hammered Harrison. The collected 17 hits and five walks in ten innings against him, good for eight runs.

The Brewers travel to the third incarnation of Busch Stadium as they battle the Cardinals in game three of the NLCS, the teams tied at one game each. The team aces face-off tonight as Yovani Gallardo takes on Chris Carpenter. Gallaro cut down on his strikeout rate a bit, but it seemed to result in better control as he walked many fewer batters. That balanced his increased home run rate as he finished with the best ERA he posted in a full season of play. The home runs were especially on display against the Cardinals as eight of his 27 long balls came in 23 2/3 innings against St. Louis. The LDS for Carpenter was much like his regular season, a poor start and a strong finish. He pitched one of the all-time great post-season performances to defeat the Phillies in game five, but only lasted three innings in game two. The same pattern happened against the Brewers this season as he pitched poorly in his first two starts, but came back strong in his last two.

Enjoy!

October 7, 2011

Playoffs Today

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The Arizona Diamondbacks return to Milwaukee as the team send Ian Kennedy against Yovani Gallardo with the NLCS on the line. In game one, Gallardo easily out-pitchEd Kennedy, the former last eight inning, walking one and striking out nine. While Kennedy only walked one in his 6 2/3 innings, he hit two batters. The Brewers were able to put the ball in play, resulting in eight hits.

The big money players for the Brewers stepped up in this series. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are a combined 12 for 30 with three walks, five doubles and two home runs. It seems every time you look up one of them is on base. Jerry Hairston, Jr. is right there with them, giving the Brewers a potent middle of the lineup. They could still use a little help around those players, however.

The Diamondbacks are getting by without a great series from their MVP candidate Justin Upton as Chris Young, Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan Roberts and Miguel Montero are smacking the ball. So far, however, the home team won every game in the series. Arizona scored five of their 23 runs in Milwaukee, so they’re going to need to find a way to generate some offense tonight if they want to advance to the next round.

Former Blue Jays take the mound as the Cardinals and Phillies decide their division series. Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay square off in a battle of aces. Carpenter never really put it together for the Blue Jays, but the Cardinals took a chance on the injured pitcher, and stuck with him when he missed another two years, and were reward with five seasons of 15 wins or more. Carpenter keeps it simple, walking few, keeping the ball in the park, and striking out enough batters to keep the opposition from collecting too many hits.

His friend, Roy Halladay, takes all those traits to the extreme. He allowed ten home runs and 35 walks in 233 2/3 innings while striking out 220 batters. He posted an ERA under 3.00 for the fourth consecutive year, two of those in the American League. He owns the best ERA in the majors in that time (Carpenter is ninth). Of the top six on the list, three missed significant time in 2011 due to injury, making Roy’s durability all the more impressive, as he pitched the most innings in that time frame.

Four teams, four aces, two elimination games. Enjoy!

October 1, 2011

Gallardo Stays Strong

Yovani Gallardo continues to spin a gem, maintaining a 1-0 Brewers lead over the Diamondbacks in the middle of the sxith inning. Yovani allowed three hits and a walk so far, while striking out six. He’s working decently efficiently, having thrown 75 pitches.

October 1, 2011

Playoffs Today

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I have to run to Boston to take care of a family matter, so here’s a very quick look at today’s games. Ian Kennedy and Yovani Gallardo get things started as Arizona and Milwaukee play game one. Kennedy held batters to a .141 BA with runners in scoring position this season account for his ERA being much lower than his FIP. One thing I like about Gallardo is that he can beat you with his bat as well as his arm. Twenty-three of his 52 career hits went for extra bases.

The Cardinals send Kyle Lohse against Roy Halladay. Of course the big matchup is Halladay against Holliday. Roy’s been the happier of the pair, as Matt is 1 for 6 with a strikeout against Roy. Lohse posted a 1.76 ERA against the Phillies in two starts this season, Halladay gave up six walks in 14 innings agianst St. Louis, as he had control issues.

James Shields tries to make it seven road wins in a row in the Texas-Tampa Bay LDS series as he takes on Derek Holland. Texas could not touch Shields this season as he pitched 17 innings in two starts, holding the Rangers to a 0.53 ERA. Holland owns a 4.69 ERA at home versus 3.39 on the road.

Finally, the Tigers and Yankees resume play in the bottom of the second. Doug Fister takes over from Justin Verlander in a 1-1 tie. Ivan Nova should be the bridge to Mariano Rivera as he only needs to give the Yankees six innings to get to the ninth, a normal start for him.

Enjoy!