Tag Archives: JP France

July 14, 2023

Games of the Day

The post-break season begins with the Padres sending Yu Darvish against the Phillies and Cristopher Sanchez. Darvish needs to be more Darv as he brings a 4.87 ERA into the game. His walks are up a bit, but it looks like Darvish might have really been hurt by limiting shifts, as his BA allowed is up from .207 in 2022 to .252 this season. Sanchez moved into the full time starter role this season. In five games, he owns a 2.84 ERA, but has yet to put a decision in the win column.

The Guardians visit the Rangers with Aaron Civale taking on Jon Gray. Civale limited walks, hits, and home runs this season, helping him to a 2.56 ERA in nine starts. He does not go deep in games, however. Like Civale, Gray limits hits without huge strikeout numbers.

Brayan Bello and Kyle Hendricks come into a rare Friday night game in Chicago with identical 3.04 ERAs. They both stick to today’s theme of limiting hits without many strikeouts. Part of that comes from not walking batters, but not allowing good contact.

Finally, the Astros make their way to Anaheim to take on the Angels. JP France battles Shohei Ohtani. France is off to a solid start in his rookie season, owning a 3.26 ERA without a lot of strikeouts. Ohtani breaks away from today’s theme with 132 K in 100 1/3 innings. Note that with both his walk and home runs rates up, his ERA has risen a full run from 2022.

Enjoy!

June 23, 2023

Games of the Day

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Second place teams battle in Cleveland as Wade Miley leads the Brewers against Shane Bieber and the Guardians. Miley came back from an injury on 6/17 and allowed two hits and no runs against the Pirates in five innings. Overall, he showed excellent control this season. Bieber’s strikeout rate is way down this season, with just 69 in 95 innings. Still, he manages to prevent hits for a 3.51 ERA.

JP France of the Astros takes on Emmet Sheehan of the Dodgers as the two perennial division winners clash in Los Angeles. Both pitchers found success in their first MLB season. France allowed eight home runs in his first 47 1/3 innings, but with a low OBP allowed six of them went for solo shots. Sheehan makes his second start after pitching six shutout inning in his MLB debut. It seems the Dodgers always have a great starter in the wings.

I do want to mention the Reds at the Braves as well. The pitching match-up is not that compelling, but both teams are hot. The Braves are 15-3 in June, best in the majors, while the Reds won eleven games in a row to move into first place in the NL Central.

May 29, 2023

Games of the Day

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The Guardians at the Orioles gets the holiday off to a good start at 1 PM EDT as Logan Allen takes on Tyler Wells. The rookie Allen owns a 3.31 ERA in his brief MLB career. His three-true outcomes are solid, but he has allowed 38 hits in 32 2/3 innings. Wells’s 3.47 ERA represents the best season of his career so far. He allowed just 36 hits in 57 innings, but 13 of those went for home runs.

The Twins visit the Astros with Sonny Gray facing JP France. Gray is the only pitcher this season with at least 45 IP and no home runs allowed. (At the other end of the list is another Gray, Grayson Rodriguez.) The rookie France owns a 3.43 ERA in 21 innings. He walked just five, but also allowed five home runs.

Finally, Domingo German returns to the hill after his tacky suspension to face Bryce Miller of the Mariners. (Not be confused with Bobby Miller of the Dodgers, also a rookie, also pitching tonight, and also with a sub-two ERA.) German is another pitcher who limits hits but not home runs, as he allowed 28 hits in 48 innings, seven of them long balls. The rookie Miller is more Gray, as he has yet to allow a home run in 31 1/3 MLB innings. As he only walked three and allowed 13 hits, his ERA stands at an impressive 1.15.

Enjoy!

May 17, 2023

Games of the Day

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I hope it’s overcast in Los Angeles for the Gray-May match-up. Sonny Gray takes the hill for the Twins against Dustin May for the Dodgers. Gray remains undefeated, 4-0 in eight starts with a 1.39 ERA. Gray is the only pitcher in the majors with zero home runs allowed and at least 40 innings pitched. Batters hit .176/.222/.294 against May in the month of May for his career, although it is a small sample size.

The Yankees try to win game three of the four game series in Toronto. Gerrit Cole faces Chris Bassitt. After giving up a career high 33 homers in 2022, Cole allowed just four dingers in his first 56 2/3 innings. Bassitt continues his consistent performance from year to year. From 2018 through 2022 he produced a 3.29 ERA and a .657 winning percentage. This season his ERA stands at 3.49 and his winning percentage at .714.

Spencer Strider battles the Rangers (which would never happen in Middle Earth) as Nathan Eovaldi takes on the Braves. Strider continues to blow away batters, striking out 79 batters in 46 2/3 innings this season and 281 batters in 180 2/3 innings for his career. Eovaldi brings a 2.70 ERA into the game having allowed just one home run in 53 1/3 innings (see Sonny Gray, above).

Finally, the Cubs visit the Astros with Drew Smyly meeting J.P. France. Smyly owns a strange home/road split this season. He struck out 26 batters in 21 innings at home, but just 12 batters in 23 1/3 innings on the road. France makes his third career start after allowing just one run in his first 11 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!