The 4:00 PM EDT hour sees two pitchers trying to be the first to ten wins this season. Chris Sale puts his 9-1 record on the line against Detroit and Mike Pelfrey. Sale’s high strikeout rate and low walk rate results in opponents hitting .187 against him with a .238 OBP. Only 14 of the 53 hits against him have gone for extra bases, indicating that when opponents do get hits, they are not able to loft them into gaps. Pelfrey, at the other end of the spectrum, seeks his first win. His 0-5 record is a result of a low strikeout rate allowing batters a .338 BA.
At the same time, Stephen Strasburg takes his 9-0 record into Cincinnati as the Nationals face the Reds and Dan Straily. Strasburg, like Sale, is shutting batters down with a .221/.276/.324 opponents slash line. LHB are hitting just .177 against the right-hander, 22 for 124 with 11 walks. Straily pitches well for the Reds, 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA as a starter. Like Strasburg, he is a right-handed pitcher better against LHB, who hit .187 against him.
The Royals and Indians play for first place in the AL Central as Ian Kennedy and Josh Tomlin battle in Cleveland. The Tribe trails by 1/2 game. Kennedy has trouble with home runs on the road this season, as seven of the eight dingers he allowed came in away games. Tomlin stands 7-1 with a 3.79 ERA, walking just six batters in 54 2/3 innings. That’s good for a .269 OBP from his opponents.
Seattle tries to regain a tie for first place with Texas in the AL West as Nate Karns takes on Martin Perez. Karns owns solid three-true outcome numbers; nothing outstanding but nothing bad, helping him to a respectable 3.43 ERA, great for a middle of the rotation starter. Perez’s 31 walks and 40 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings lead me to believe his 3.12 ERA won’t hold up. I suspect batters won’t continue to hit .188 against him with runners in scoring position.
Enjoy!
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1XYDeXF
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