Duffy owns a 2.51 in sixty one innings this season. His overall numbers don’t look like a 2.51 ERA, and FanGraphs has him with a 3.39 FIP. Even if his ERA goes up a run with the Dodgers, that offense is good enough to with with that.
The White Sox and Red Sox kick off at 11 AM EDT in the traditional Patriots’ Day game, celebrating the battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the American Revolution. It’s the rare time when the holiday falls on the actual anniversary of the battles. The game looks like a good pitching match-up, as Lucas Giolito takes on Nathan Eovaldi.
Giolito found himself in 2019 when he greatly reduced his walk rate without giving up strikeouts. That continues this season as he K’d 26 and walked just five batters in 17 2/3 innings. Eovaldi was hammered by homers the previous two season, but has yet to allow a long ball in 2021.
Josh Fleming makes his second start of the season as the Rays visit the Royals and Danny Duffy. Fleming, with 37 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, strikes me as the prototype of what MLB wants a pitcher to be. He neither walks nor strikes out a lot of batters, but he also doesn’t give up many hits. He’s an action pitcher, if you will. Duffy owns a 0.75 ERA to start the season, thanks in part to most of the hits against being singles, and opponents going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
Finally, the Brewers visit the Padres with Brandon Woodruff facing Joe Musgrove. Woodruff is one of four NL ERA qualifiers not to allow a home run in 2021. Musgrove’s 0.47 ERA is second only to Jacob deGrom in the NL. The Brewers handled him well in the past, however, scoring 20 runs, all earned, in 29 1/3 innings.
Enjoy!
The Padres send Chris Paddack to the mound as they go for a sweep of the Blue Jays in Toronto. Marcus Stroman tries to right the ship for Toronto. Paddack is off to a great start for his career, 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA. He appears to be able to avoid hard contact, as he struck out 56 in 51 1/3 innings while allowing just 28 hits. Only 16.4% of balls in play against him are classified as line drives. Stroman brings a 2.81 ERA into the game, but his 2-6 record is due to the Blue Jays scoring two runs or less in six of his starts.
The Nationals try to make it three wins in a row as Caleb Smith of the Marlins faces Erick Fedde. Smith is a bright spot for the Marlins, posting Jose Fernandez like strikeout numbers. His weakness is the long ball, seven home runs in 53 innings this season. Fedde makes his second start of the season to go with five relief appearances. He is a starter and not an opener, as he went five innings in his first start giving up one run.
The Phillies go for a sweep of the Brewers as Zack Eflin faces Brandon Woodruff. Eflin owns a 2.00 ERA in May as he allowed just two homers in the month, after giving up six in April. Woodruff showed that his 2018 improvement was no fluke as he has nearly the same ERA in 14 more innings. His 3.51 mark is good for a 6-1 record.
Finally, Domingo German tries to become the first ten game winner in the majors as the Yankees face the Royals and Danny Duffy. Opponents hit like defensive catchers against German, as he allowed a .185/.247/.302 slash line at the plate. Duffy walked 11 batters so far in 28 2/3 innings this season. Luckily for him opponents are just 6 for 30 with runners in scoring position.
Enjoy!
Danny Duffy had trouble again giving up three runs in the first inning. His fastball velocity wasn’t the problem, as most of his fastballs were around 93 MPH. His control was bad as he walked three batters. Ned Yost came out to yell at him, and he started throwing strikes. Michael Brantley hit for for a two-run single (Brantley’s first PA of the season), but Duffy settled down without any more damage. The Indians lead 3-2 at the end of one, as Carlos Carrasco gave up three hits in the top of the first.
The Indians host the Royals in the scheduled Cleveland home opener as Danny Duffy takes on Carlos Carrasco. Duffy threw his fastball a lot in his first start, but his velocity was way down compared to last season. That may be why he was knocked around. Carrasco didn’t walk anyone in his 5 2/3 innings in 2018, probably because opponents where too busy smacking the ball around. He allowed seven hits, including two home runs.
It’s supposed to be snowing and freezing in Denver this afternoon as the Braves visit the Rockies for the Coors Field home opener. Brandon McCarthy faces German Marquez. McCarthy saw 40% of balls hit against him go for line drives in game one, but most of those were softly hit. Marquez is 7-3 in 15 starts at Coors. He does give up the long ball, but he balances that with just 2.1 walks per 9 IP at home.
Enjoy!
Danny Duffy pleaded guilty to a DUI charge and will serve a year of probation:
Sean Reilly, a spokesman for the city of Overland Park, Kansas, said Tuesday that Duffy entered the plea last week and will pay $1,220 in fines and court fees. Duffy must report to a probation officer once a month and abstain from drugs and alcohol. He also will be subject to random breath, urine or blood screenings.
This will allow Duffy to continue to play for the Royals, assuming he continues to recover from his elbow surgery.
Police caught Danny Duffy driving under the influence:
Royals pitcher Danny Duffy was cited Sunday in Overland Park for driving under the influence, police said Tuesday.
Duffy was arrested about 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Burger King at 13640 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park police officer and spokesman Brian Payne said he could not release further details. A police report provides no other information.
I used to say that players should hire a car and driver when they wanted to go out, but with the ride sharing services, they don’t need to do that anymore, just press a button the phone. While a limo might not be an appropriate ride to BK, a car with a mustache is fine.
Bottom line, players who make a lot of money should let other people drive them if there is any chance they will be drinking.
It appears one of the best match-ups of the day is the game I’m attending tonight, the Cardinals at the Reds. Lance Lynn takes on Luis Castillo. Lynn allowed 21 home runs this season, five more than he ever allowed before. Castillo makes his ninth MLB start. Opponents are hitting just .225/.294/.410 against him, but he has allowed power with men on base.
The Mariners and Royals are fighting for wild card slots as Felix Hernandez takes on Danny Duffy. Hernandez gave up six runs in six innings to the Royals in his first start against them. Duffy owns a 2.93 ERA at home, where he has yet to allow a home run in 46 innings this season.
Enjoy!
Milwaukee and Washington are first place teams heading in different directions as they meet Tuesday night. Zach Davies takes on Edwin Jackson. The Brewers lost seven of their last eight games, scoring three runs or fewer in all seven losses. Their lead over the Cubs is down to 1/2 game. The Nationals won eight of their last ten games, scoring six runs or more five times.
Danny Duffy and Michael Fulmer butt heads for the second start in a row, this time with the Royals visiting the Tigers. Duffy came out on top last time as he allowed four runs in five innings, but Fulmer gave up eight runs, five earned in 2 2/3 innings. Both are much better pitchers than that game indicates.
Seattle tries to make it two in a row against Boston as Drew Pomeranz faces Felix Hernandez. Pomeranz owns a much better ERA on the road than at home, despite a better set of three-true outcomes at home. It seems to be just luck, as the opposition is hitting .200 against with runners in scoring position at home, .209 on the road. Hernandez looked like the King again over his last three starts. That return to form would do wonders to help Seattle’s playoff chances.
Enjoy!
As it appears more and more likely the Dodgers will never lose another game, the Diamondbacks look to cement their wild card slot. They play the Reds with Taijuan Walker facing Luis Castillo. Walker does a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, especially on the road. He allowed just three home runs in 43 1/3 innings away from Phoenix. The rookie Castillo strikes out batters at a very good clip, but walks and home runs need work. Luckily for him, most of the home runs he allowed were solo shots, and opponents are just 2 for 22 against him with runners in scoring position.
Pittsburgh goes for a sweep of the first place Brewers and their fifth straight win. The Pirates scored no more than four runs in each of the four wins, won all games by one or two runs, and walked off twice. Jimmy Nelson takes on Jameson Taillon. Nelson pitched great since the start of May, 7-2 in 14 starts with a 2.59 ERA. He’s striking out over 10 batters per nine innings pitched, while walking just two per nine. Taillon allowed four of his five home runs with men on base this season.
Despite Detroit staring to sell, the Tigers are still in the AL Central race as they send Michael Fulmer against the Royals and Danny Duffy. In his second season, Fulmer is now 21-13 in his career, a .618 winning percentage, with a 3.06 ERA. He does not blow batters away, but he does a good job limiting walks and home runs. Duffy owns a 2.41 ERA at home this season, but is just 2-3 in six starts.
Enjoy!
Brad Peacock and J.A. Happ square off in Toronto as the Astros and Blue Jays prepare for the All-Star break. Peacock makes his ninth start of the season to go with 12 relief appearances. As a starter, he struck out 58 in in 39 1/3 innings, but walked 22. With only one home run allowed in those innings, the walks are not hurting him much. Happ is a bit of the opposite. He’s allowed nine home runs in 57 innings, but just 11 walks, so the home runs have not hurt him much.
David Price tries to help Boston to a split against Price’s old team, the Rays. Chris Archer takes the mound for Tampa Bay. Price pitched eight inning shutouts the last two times he faced the Rays, although his overall ERA against his old team is not that impressive. Price also appears to have turned a corner, getting his walks under control in his last three starts. Archer had little success against the Red Sox in his career, 2-11 in seventeen starts with a 5.14 ERA. He walked 50 Boston batters in 89 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers try to put the finishing touches on their best in the majors pre-break record as the Royals send Danny Duffy against Clayton Kershaw. Duffy is one of the few pitchers keeping the ball in the park this season, with just four home runs allowed in 74 1/3 innings. That’s a big turnaround from the 27 he allowed in 2016 in 179 2/3 innings. Kershaw already set a single season high for home runs allowed with 17. It’s only hurt a little, as his 2.19 ERA is his highest in a season since 2012.
Finally, the last game before the break features the last place Tigers and Michael Fulmer against the first place Indians and Corey Kluber. Fulmer’s ERA is a little higher than during his rookie year, but he improved both his walk and home run rates. Kluber dazzled at home this season with 81 K in just 55 1/3 innings, with just 14 walks.
Enjoy!
Danny Duffy made a good start for the Royals against the Twins, allowing one run in six innings while striking out eight. The Royal then went to their fire balling bullpen and Matt Strahm. Strahm was a a high walk, high strikeout pitcher in 2016, his first year. With the high strikeout rate, he allowed very few hits.
That did not happen today. He faced five batters, walked two, struck, out none, and allowed four runs. He left after walking in the go-ahead run. Peter Moylan struck out the only batter he faced, but former Cubs pitcher Travis Wood came in, walked the first two batters he faced, then game up two singles, and the Twins win 7-1.
On the Twins side, it was nice to see them so selective at the plate. Drawing walks was one of their strengths on offense last season, and today they gathered walks and hits.
The Yankees start a four-game series in Toronto as Bryan Mitchell takes on Francisco Liriano. The Yankees are in need of a sweep of the Friday-Monday four game series if they want to make the post-season. Mitchell shutout Toronto in his first start of the season on 9/7, but pitched poorly since. Liriano found his control after moving from the Pirates to the Blue Jays, but allowed seven home runs in 37 innings.
Danny Duffy and the Royals try to throw a road block in front of the Tigers playoff push against Michael Fulmer. Duffy owns a 4.15 ERA in September. He is allowing a ton of hits despite striking out 32 batters in 26 innings. Fulmer also hit a wall in September with a 5.50 ERA. He allowed three home runs in his last 18 innings.
A Rangers win or a Houston loss gives the Rangers the AL West title. Cole Hamels goes for his 15th win against the Athletics and Kendall Graveman. Hamels owns the road with a 9-3 record and 2.57 ERA. Graveman induces contact. He owns low walk and strike out rates. Unfortunately for him, that contact often leads to home runs.
Enjoy!
The Pirates have won four in a row after a double-header sweep on Saturday, and are on the fringes of the NL Wild Card race. They send Ivan Nova against the Reds and Dan Straily Sunday afternoon. Nova looks like the next pitcher to benefit from the coaching staff in Pittsburgh. He greatly reduced his walk and home run rates since he joined the Pirates, helping him to a 5-0 record and 2.41 ERA in eight starts. In about half the innings he threw for the Yankees this season, he allowed about 1/5 as many home runs and 1/8 as many walks. Straily owns a 3.12 ERA against the Pirates this season, but is just 1-2 on the season against them.
Good pitchers in a meaningless game square off as the White Sox send Jose Quintana against the Royals and Danny Duffy. Quintana showed great control against the Royals this season, walking one and striking out 20 in 21 2/3 innings. Finding a way to strike out the Royals is a usually a good way to beat them, but Quintana is 0-2 in three starts despite a 3.32 ERA. Duffy struck out 24 White Sox batters in 24 2/3 inning with three walks. His 2.19 ERA in those games was good for a 2-0 record.
Houston goes for a sweep of Seattle, both tied with Detroit three games back in the wild card race. Doug Fister takes on Ariel Miranda. Fister proved to be an effective innings eater this season, posting a 12-11 record while throwing 170 1/3 innings in 29 starts. Miranda, with a 4-1 record in his rookie year, appears to be prospering in the tempest of a division race.
Finally, CC Sabathia and David Ortiz square off the what is likely to be the last time at Fenway Park. Sabathia handled Ortiz well overall, holding the slugger to a .219/.284/.342 slash line in 81 plate appearances. At Fenway, however, that goes up to .353/.395/.618 in 38 PA. A Red Sox win pretty much puts the last nail in the coffin of the Yankees season.
Enjoy!
The Yankees take their second of three late season shots at the Orioles as they open a three-game series in Baltimore. The Yankee took two out of three last weekend from the O’s. Chad Green faces Dylan Bundy. Green’s control is awesome as he struck out 49 batters and walked just 13 in 44 innings. He allowed 11 home runs, however. Bundy allowed eight runs in 7 2/3 innings against the Yankees this season.
The Mets need a sweep of the Nationals to keep hope for an NL East title alive. A.J. Cole opens the series for Washington against Noah Syndergaard. Cole makes the third start of his season. While he has the strikeouts down, 12 in 12 2/3 innings, he walked five and allowed three home runs. Syndergaard has now pitched five more innings than his rookie season, with nine fewer home runs allowed. That’s a nice improvement given how HR increased across the majors this year.
Houston sends Doug Fister against the Rangers and A.J. Griffin. Both teams are hot, and the Astros may be the last team to prevent the Rangers from winning the AL West. Fister pitched his best on the road this season, 9-3 with 3.07 ERA, despite giving up 11 of his 18 home runs away. The Rangers scored seven or more runs in half of Griffin’s 18 starts. That’s why he owns a winning record despite a high ERA.
The Tigers and Royals fight for the AL Wild Card as Anibal Sanchez takes on Danny Duffy. Sanchez pitched well against the Royals this season, allowing one runs in 9 1/3 innings. He allowed five hits in a season where opponents are batting .287 against him. Duffy went 5-1 in August with a 2.51 ERA and is 11-2 since becoming a full time starter in May.
Enjoy!
The AL East/Wild Card race tightened up a bit on Friday as the Yankees won big against Baltimore, and gained on the Red Sox as well. The Orioles at the Yankees continues this afternoon with rookies Dylan Bundy and Chad Green. Bundy pitched five more innings as a starter than a reliever this season but gave up nine home runs in 43 stater innings, just three in his 38 relief innings. Green allowed all of his eight home runs as a starter, but his high strikeout rate keeps other hits very low. Seven of those eight homers came on the road.
The Cubs and Dodgers have a quick turnaround after playing extra innings Friday night and an afternoon game on Saturday. Jason Hammel takes on Julio Urias. Hammel goes for his 14th win, having already set a single season high for his career. He’s only 5-5 on the road, however, where his ERA balloons to 4.41. Urias is the third rookie featured today, and he struck out 62 in 57 innings since his promotion to the majors.
The Royals got back on the winning track Friday as they beat Boston. Today, the hot Danny Duffy faces the improving David Price. In his last seven starts, Duffy owns a 1.60 ERA with 46 K and 11 BB in 50 2/3 innings. Six of Price’s last ten starts qualify as quality, and he owns a 2.80 ERA in that stretch. He walked just 14 batter in that stretch.
Enjoy!
The White Sox are falling out of contention, but Jose Quintana continues to have an outstanding season, and he draws the opening game of the series against first-place Cleveland and Corey Kluber. Quintana goes for his tenth win; he won exactly nine game in each of his last three seasons. His ERA is slightly better on the road, as he allows fewer home runs away from Chicago. Kluber improved his ERA since the All-Star break, 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts.
The other all-AL Central game pits the Royals against the Tigers in Detroit with Danny Duffy facing Justin Verlander. Duffy is hot, walking nine batters during his last nine starts covering 65 2/3 innings. He also struck out 67. The only team to give him trouble in that stretch was the Tigers. Verlander is hot as well, allowing no more than two runs in each of his last eight starts. He struck out 63 batters in his last 55 2/3 innings.
Finally, Noah Syndergaard and the Mets battle the Diamondbacks and Braden Shipley. Syndergaard already matched his 9-7 record of his rookie 2015 season in one fewer game. He also needs four more strikeouts to surpass his 166 K from last year. He should do it in many fewer innings. Shipley makes his fifth MLB start, sporting a 2.96 ERA. His three-true outcomes are not that strong, especially his 12 walks and 4 home runs allowed in 24 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .143 against him with runners in scoring position, 3 for 21.
Enjoy!
Corey Kluber tries to right what so far has been a bad month for the Cleveland rotation as he faces the Yankees and CC Sabathia. Indians starters have a 15.58 ERA in five August starts, allowing 15 walks and seven home runs in 17 1/3 innings. Kluber did not pitch in that stretch. He is showing great control this year with 145 K and just 33 walks. Sabathia only won once at Yankee Stadium this season, 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA at home. He struck out just 27 in 46 2/3 innings, leading to 54 hits allowed.
Matt Cain tries to continue his comeback as the first Giants battle the first place Nationals. Stephen Strasburg takes the hill for Washington looking for his 16th win of the year. Cain held the Nationals scoreless for five innings on 7/31, his best performance since returning from his June injury. Strasburg is looking to climb in the NL Cy Young race. He has allowed 10 of his 13 home runs at home this season.
Toronto and Kansas City offers the best pitching match-up of the day as Aaron Sanchez faces Danny Duffy. Sanchez appears to be staying in the rotation, as the Blue Jays find it difficult to send a Cy Young candidate to the bullpen in the middle of a pennant race. He comes off a July in which he posted a 1.59 ERA in five starts. Duffy is coming off the best game of his career. He threw eight shutout innings against the Rays, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out 16.
Enjoy!
The Royals score two more runs in the top of the eighth inning to give them a 3-0 lead over the Rays. That gives Danny Duffy a little more room to maneuver as he tries to finish his no hitter. Desmond Jennings is set to lead off, followed by Kevin Kiermaier and Tim Beckham.
Update: Jennings falls behind 1-2. He then lines a double down the leftfield line to break up the no-hitter.
Danny Duffy owns a no-hitter through four innings. That’s not very far into the game, but he is blowing away the Rays. He walked one and struck out nine batters so far. He has throws 53 pitches, 36 for strikes. Both his velocity and movement are great.
The Royals and Rays are scoreless going to the top of the fifth inning.
Update: Duffy strikes out two more in the fifth and keeps the no-hitter intact. Eleven Ks are a new high for Duffy in a game.
Update: Duffy gets the Rays 1-2-3 in the sixth, with one more K. Still no score.
Update: Kendrys Morales homers in the top of the seventh to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. The Rays are coming up in the bottom of the seventh.
Update: Duffy strikes out two more as he retires the side in order for sixth time in seven innings. He is six outs away from a very high strikeout no-hitter.
Playoff contenders Cleveland and Baltimore meet with Trevor Bauer facing Dylan Bundy. Bauer greatly reduced his home runs allowed this season by inducing more ground balls. He’s throwing more two-seam fastballs, which makes sense. Bundy proved easy to hit this season, with a .307 BA allowed as he makes just the second start of his career after 24 relief appearances.
The Giants continue their swing through the AL East, stopping in the Bronx as Madison Bumgarner takes on Masahiro Tanaka. Bumgarner makes his fourth start of the season against an AL team. The junior circuit makes more contact against Bumgarner than NL teams, with just 14 K in 19 innings. Tanaka and Yankee Stadium don’t mix well, as 10 of his 11 home runs allowed came in New York.
The Mets and Marlins battle for the second wild card slot as Logan Verrett battles Adam Conley. Verrett’s success as a reliever has not carried over to his time as a starter. He walked eight batters in 25 2/3 innings as a reliever this season, and 20 batters in 36 1/3 inning as a starter. Conley is off to a good start in July, 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts. He struck out 18 and walked five in his last 17 innings.
Finally, Yu Darvish faces Danny Duffy as the Rangers play the Royals. Despite his injuries, Darvish struck out 28 batters in his 20 innings of work this season. Duffy struck out 80 batters in 70 innings as a starter, 21 in 18 innings as a reliever, so it doesn’t matter what role he plays.
Enjoy!
The Rockies send Jon Gray against the Yankees and CC Sabathia as the teams finish their short series. Gray pitches better than his ERA, with 72 strikeout and just 19 walks in 65 1/3 innings. He allowed a .446 slugging percentage with men on base, however, and power in that situation does a lot of damage. Sabathia owns a 2.20 ERA. He allows fewer line drives, but overall his LD/GB/FB percentages are in line with his career. What changed is Sabathia getting many more of those fly balls becoming pop ups, and very few leaving the park. Somehow, he is getting batters to swing under the ball. He might be releasing the ball from a higher arm angle to get more backspin in the vertical direction.
At the same time, across town, Danny Duffy faces Noah Syndergaard as the Royal play the Mets. Duffy allowed nine home runs in 54 innings, but with just 12 walks, seven of those were solo shots. Syndergaard also walked just 12 batters, but he did that in 85 innings, with just four home runs allowed. That’s a good way to keep an ERA under 2.00.
Finally, the Cardinals go for a sweep of the Cubs with Michael Wacha and Jake Arrieta on the mound. Wacha’s last four regular season starts against the Cubs were awful, 0-3 with a 10.89 ERA. He allowed 27 hits, 12 walks, and five home runs in 19 innings. The Cardinals managed to hurt Arrieta, too, tagging him with a 4.12 ERA in Jake’s last four regular season starts against St. Louis. Arrieta’s three-true outcomes in those games are very good, however.
Enjoy!
The Mariners send James Paxton against the Rays and Blake Snell in an early afternoon game on Thursday. Paxton lost two of his three starts despite striking out 24 batters in 16 innings and sporting a 2.25 ERA. While he allowed just 4 earned runs, he allowed 7 unearned runs. In addition, in two of his three starts, the Mariners scored just one run. The aptly named Snell has a 94 MPH fastball, and struck out six during five innings in his first major league start.
Colby Lewis leads the Rangers against the Athletics and Daniel Mengden. Lewis is undefeated at 5-0 in 13 starts, making him a Mr. No Decision. In six of those ND, he allowed three runs or fewer. Like Snell, Mengden makes his second MLB start. He allowed just two runs in his first start despite walking four batters and giving up a home run in 5 2/3 innings.
J.A. Happ faces Aaron Nola as the Blue Jays finish their series with the Phillies. Happ gets better results on the road due to a .207 BA, versus .287 at home. The Big Easy sports a 2.98 ERA, with 88 K and just 16 walks in 81 2/3 innings.
Finally, the Tigers take on the Royals with Justin Verlander battling Danny Duffy. Verlander’s strikeout rate is back to his 2013 level, but his been hurt late in games. In his prime, Verlander seemed to have something extra for the last three innings, but from the seventh inning on, opponents are hitting well over .300 against him. Duffy struck out 59 and walked just ten in 49 innings. He has allowed a high BA and slugging percentage with men on base.
Enjoy!
Saturday presents slim pickings for pitching match-ups. The Royals try to gain another game on the White Sox as Danny Duffy takes on Miguel Gonzalez. Duffy pitched mostly out of the bullpen this season, and makes his second start. He owns 26 strikeouts in 21 innings, with just one home run allowed. Gonzalez does not go deep in games, with just 15 2/3 innings in three starts. With ten walks and 11 hits allowed, it’s not surprising his ERA is over 5.00.
The red hot Indians continue their series with the Red Sox. Trevor Bauer takes the mound for Cleveland against Joe Kelly. Bauer makes his fifth start after six relief appearances. As a starter he owns a 3.47 ERA this season, with 23 K in 23 1/3 innings. The big story for the Red Sox continues to be Jackie Bradley, Jr., whose hitting streak stands at 25 games. Bradley is hitting way above his career averages for the season, and in the streak owns a .409/.471/.806 slash line with eight home runs and 29 RBI. His teammate, Xander Bogaerts is the current runner up at with a 14 games streak. Along with Mookie Betts, this trio is turning into a group of Killer Bees.
Finally, the only good pitching match-up of the day takes place in Miami, where Joe Ross battles Jose Fernandez. The Nationals offense came to life in the last few games, and Ross hopes to get support for his 2.63 ERA so he can improve on his 3-3 record. He’s allowed just two home runs in 41 innings. Fernandez put a rough April behind him. In may, his high strikeout rate finally started reducing hits allowed, and he’s 3-0 this month with a 1.89 ERA.
Enjoy!
The Pirates try to bounce back from Friday’s embarrassing defeat as they send Gerrit Cole against the Cubs and Jon Lester. Cole stands as one of the top pitchers in the NL. His 2.32 ERA is very good, based on very strong three-true outcome numbers. He allowed just 12 walks and two home runs in 42 2/3 innings, striking out 45. Lester owns similar three-true outcome numbers, but he allowed four home runs. A lot of hits have dropped in against Lester in Chicago where his ERA stands at 4.71 this season.
The battle of first place teams continues in Kansas City as CC Sabathia leads the Yankees against Danny Duffy and the Royals. Sabathia walks and strikes outs batters at decent rates, but allowed 53 hits in 45 innings, eight of them home runs. His mistakes are getting hammered. Duffy’s high ERA comes from being a bit wild, with 15 walks in 33 1/3 innings.
Danny Salazar and Colby Lewis are pitching well for bad teams as the Indians continue their series with the Rangers. Salazar’s only weakness this season is his five home runs allowed. Eight of the twelve runs he allowed were driven in by homers. Lewis has been particularly good at home, with a 2.21 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 20 innings.
Finally, Max Scherzer and Washington face the Padres and Andrew Cashner. Both pitchers own record that do not reflect their ERAs. Scherezer stands 3-3 with 1.99 ERA, six walks and 55 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings. Three unearned runs have hurt him. Cashner comes into the game with a 1-6 record and a 3.07 ERA. In his last four starts, the Padres scored just three runs total
Enjoy!
The Angels and Athletics finish up their series with Garrett Richards facing Jesse Chavez. Richards looks wild since his return from injury, walking seven batters in his first 12 innings. Chavez makes his second start to go with four relief appearances. He’s struck out 13 in 12 2/3 innings.
The Nationals travel to New York to play the Mets and try to close the gap in the NL East. Stephen Strasburg faces Jason deGrom. Strasburg posted good three-true outcome numbers so far, but allowed a .317 BA, .444 with runners in scoring position. deGrom now has 164 2/3 innings in the majors under his belt. He’s held batters to a .237/.292/.343 slash line.
The Tigers and Royals battle for first place in the AL Central as Alfredo Simon takes on Danny Duffy. Simon is off to a great start, winning each of his first four games with a 1.65 ERA. He allowed just one home run and four total extra base hits in 27 1/3 innings. Duffy has been hit hard at home this season, giving up 12 hits and five walks in 10 innings.
Enjoy!
Pitches hit Royals batters 12 times this season, one of them sending Alex Rios to the disabled list. Interestingly, the Royals don’t seem to think they are being head hunted:
Gordon and third baseman Mike Moustakas led the club with four hit-by-pitches heading into Wednesday night. Both are left-handed pitchers who can wield power if pitches are out over the plate. General manager Dayton Moore also speculated the proliferation of plunkings stemmed from pitchers trying to combat the bevy of Kansas City base runners.
“I think team’s are trying to pitch us inside,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of slide-stepping going on. A lot of guys are using the slide-step to try to control the running game. When that happens, pitchers tend to miss arm side.
“I don’t think anybody is necessarily throwing at us intentionally. They’re just trying to make pitches. It’s just one of those deals right now.”
Royals pitcher Danny Duffy gives us his take on missing inside:
“It’s something that’s hard to speak on, because it’s got to be policed,” Duffy said. “In the same breath, I’ve had my fair share of misses up and in, too, that I didn’t mean to throw up and in. You want to go in off the plate, you want to utilize that part of the plate, and if a ball takes off on you, it’s hard to sit there and defend it. Because you want to act like you meant to throw it there, regardless of where it went.”
So if players believe a pitcher is throwing at them, it may be because the pitcher doesn’t want the batter to think a spot was missed!
At the game between the Nationals and Red Sox, I saw five hit batters. Two of them were so low that they would have hit the dirt if they had not hit the batter. On top of that, all seemed to occur in situations where it was ludicrous to try to hit a batter. All of them just looked like pitches that got away.
The first full slate of games features two afternoon contests, and the Blue Jays and Yankees continuing their series at 7 PM EDT. R.A. Dickey takes on Michael Pineda. Neither pitcher quite lived up to the hype surrounding them when acquired. Dickey showed durability with Toronto, making 34 starts in each of his first two years north of border. He hasn’t shown the control he did during his final year with the Mets, nor is his knuckle ball missing as many bats. Pineda missed two full season recovering from injury, and 2014 was injury filled as well. He’s one of three Yankees pitchers trying to comeback from serious problems. That said, he pitched extremely well in 2014 when healthy.
Two 26-year-olds match-up in Kansas City as the White Sox send Jose Quintana against the Royals and Danny Duffy. Quintana comes off a year in which he improved each of his three-true outcomes, striking out more, walking fewer, and cutting his home run rate in half. His BABIP went up about 35 points, so his drop in ERA wasn’t as much as it could have been. Duffy tends to be wild at home, averaging five walks per nine innings for his career at Kauffman Stadium.
Finally, Andrew Cashner and Brandon McCarthy collide in Los Angeles as the Padres and the Dodgers play the rubber game of their series. Cashner comes off an injury filled season, but struck out three times as many as he walked when he managed to take the mound. McCarthy turned around his 2014 season after leaving the Diamondbacks to join the Yankees. His walk, strikeout, and home run rates were all slightly better with New York but his ERA fell over two runs. That got him a new deal with the Dodgers.
Enjoy!
A win today keeps the Pirates hopes of an NL Central title alive as Francisco Liriano takes on the Reds and Alfredo Simon. The two starter have nearly identical ERAs, 3.32 for Liriano, 3.34 for Simon, and both lost 10 games. Simon, however, won 15 games while Liriano won just seven. It’s just another example of how the team context can effect won-lost records of pitchers. It’s also an important game in the race for the NL Batting championship, as Justin Morneau, Josh Harrison, and Andrew McCutchen are separated by five points.
The Royals also need a win to guarantee that Sunday matters in the AL Central race. Danny Duffy faces the White Sox and John Danks. Duffy appears to have avoided a serious injury, as the time off after feeling tightness in his shoulder worked. Duffy came back to throw six shutout innings against the Indians his last time out, and gives the Royals an excellent ace going into the playoffs. Danks allowed just three runs in 13 innings against the Royals this season despite walking eight batters. Since the Royals are last in the AL in walks, that’s no mean feat.
Oakland will see if one of their big trades pays off as Jeff Samardzija takes on Derek Holland and the Rangers, a win putting Oakland in the playoffs. Samardzija allowed fewer walks and more home runs since joining the Athletics, the result being an ERA in line with his Cubs numbers. He still can’t win as much as he should, however, as he is only 5-5 with Oakland despite a 2.92 ERA. Holland allowed zero home runs and just four walks in 34 1/3 innings since returning from the disable list.
The Cardinals send Lance Lynn against Wade Miley as they try to wrap up the NL Central title. A win would guarantee at least a tie for the division. Lynn owns a 2.14 ERA since the All-Star break, but just a 5-4 record to go with that impressive run prevention. He has allowed five unearned runs in that time, 20% of his total. Miley owns a 5.72 ERA at home versus 3.17 on the road. He might want to depart the team like Brandon McCarthy did.
Finally, C.J. Wilson battles James Paxton as the Angels try to eliminate the Mariners from the playoff picture. There will be scoreboard watching in that game as the Oakland game starts an hour earlier. Wilson owns a 5.62 ERA on the road, while Paxton comes in at 2.25 at home.
I like the pitching match-ups to extend the wild card race into Sunday.
Enjoy!
Danny Duffy throws one pitch, grimaces, then is taken out of the game. Duffy did undergo Tommy John surgery in 2012. Stay tuned.
There’s no score in the Royals game against the Yankees.
Update: The Royals just reported Duffy suffered shoulder soreness.