Max Scherzer tries to improve his record to 7-0 Monday night. Photo: Icon SMI.
The Yankees trail the Rays by two games as the teams square off in Tampa Bay for a three-game series. A.J. Burnett gets the call against David Price. Looking at his stats, Burnett’s ERA seems out of line with the strikeouts, walks and home runs. The Yankees have played good defense behind him, as his BABIP against is just .228. That allows him to get away with giving up a ton of extra base hits, since there aren’t that many runners on base. He’s also allowed the majority of them with the bases empty, nullifying the power of those hits to move runners around to score. Price is showing that his 2010 season was no fluke. He cut his walk rate by more than half while maintaining a decent strike out rate. He’s also going deep in games, averaging over seven innings a start. He only owns one poor performance in his eight games against the Yankees.
Two games separate the Blue Jays and the Tigers in the AL Wild Card race as Detroit’s seven game win streak vaulted them to the top of second place teams. Kyle Drabek visits Max Scherzer. Drabek continues to be wild during his rookie season with 28 walks in 43 innings. He tends to get himself in trouble early in innings with a .531 OBP with none on and none out. Given the number of runners he puts on base, it’s impressive that his ERA is only 4.81. The six double plays he induced helped. Scherzer tries to become the majors first seven game winner tonight. He’s not quite as wild as Drabek, but he’s not that in control either. Couple that with eight home runs allowed in 50 2/3 innings, and a 3.20 ERA also appears out of line. He’s allowing a .143 BA with runners in scoring position, but I bet that doesn’t last much longer. He is pitching in Detroit, however, and all eight of the home runs against him came on the road.
The Giants lead the Rockies by 1 1/2 games as San Francisco goes into Denver with Tim Lincecum facing Clayton Mortensen. Tim only has a 3-3 record to show for his 2.11 ERA. He seems to have decided the only way to win is to shutout his opponents, and comes into the game with 17 consecutive scoreless innings. The last three games he pitched produced a total of six runs, a 3-0 loss to the Nationals, and 2-0 and 1-0 wins against the Mets and Diamondbacks. Mortensen is making his second start to go along with three relief appearances. He’s walked a few batters, but only allowed six hits in 16 1/3 innings this season. He induces a ground ball 63% of the time, and line drives just 8.7% of the time.
Finally, Oakland hosts the Angels as the Athletics sit 1 1/2 games back of the front runners from Anaheim. Joel Pineiro takes on Brett Anderson. Joel’s shoulder seems to be fine as he comes into the game with a 1.33 ERA. He has yet to allow a hit with runners in scoring position this season, and only recorded nine at bats in that situation. Anderson faced mostly poor run support this season, as the A’s scored three runs or less in five of his eight starts. Oakland lost all five games.
Enjoy!
