Two first place teams kick off the post All-Star Break run as the Rangers and Cubs battle in Chicago Friday afternoon. Martin Perez takes on Kyle Hendricks. A world series between these two clubs would end one of two long championship droughts (that’s why I’m rooting for any combination of Cubs-Nationals vs. Indians-Rangers-Astros). Perez comes into the game with a 3.85 ERA, pretty good for a pitcher who walked 46 and struck out just 52 in 107 2/3 innings. Sometimes pitchers can get away with those stats in parity, but usually one when one of them is very good. That’s not the case here. Hendricks does the walks and strikeouts just right, with 86 K and 27 BB in 98 2/3 innings. Eight of his 36 runs allowed were unearned.
The Pirates visit the Nationals as Francisco Liriano faces Stephen Strasburg. Lirano’s ERA is up over 1.8 runs versus 2015 to 5.15. He doubled his home run rate and is walking two more batters per nine innings. In five career starts versus the Pirates, Strasburg struck out 54 batters in 35 innings, walking just six.
Seattle tries to gain back some ground on Houston as the Mariners host the Astros with Doug Fister against James Paxton. Fister’s three true outcomes aren’t much different than his 2015 season, but his ERA is lower due to many fewer hits allowed. His opposition BABIP dropped from .310 to .254, and his ERA dropped despite a rise in his FIP. He looks to me like the same pitcher with better defense behind him. Paxton could use some help from his defense, as he allowed a .390 BABIP. His FIP and xFIP show a huge split, 2.99 and 3.71 respectively. Both are lower than his 3.91 ERA.
Enjoy!
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/29D2kpO
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