The Boston Red Sox travel to Toronto to begin the first of two three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays as the AL East stretch battle begins. Boston sends Rick Porcello to the mound against Marco Estrada, the Red Sox leading the division by one game over the Blue Jays. Porcello tries to become the first 20-game winner in the major leagues this season. His 3.23 ERA is by far the best of his career, and he should accumulate the most innings pitched in a season by the end of the year. He improved his control greatly in 2016, walking just 28 batters in 186 2/3 innings. Estrada pitched well against the Red Sox this season, 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts. He walked just six batters in 21 innings.
Clayton Kershaw returns from the disabled list to lead the Dodgers against the Marlins and Jose Fernandez. Despite not pitching since the end of June, Kershaw still ranks 8th in the NL in Tom Tango Cy Young Tracker points, 0.4 points ahead of Jose Fernandez. That speaks to the greatness of Kershaw’s first half. While many thought the Dodgers would be finished without their ace, the Dodgers depth took hold, and they went 38-24, a .614 WPCT while Kershaw was out. That was second in the majors to the Cubs. Fernandez pitched into some bad luck this season. He excels at all three-true outcomes, but his ERA is about half a run higher than various FIPs predict.
Finally, the Orioles travel to Detroit, Baltimore leading the Tigers by one game for the second wild card slot. Kevin Gausman takes on Michael Fulmer. Gausman brings very good strikeout and walk numbers to the game, but he tends to allows lots of long balls. Given his home park, it’s surprising that 15 of his 23 home runs allowed came in road games, making him 1-9 on the road. Tigers fans have not seen Fulmer much, as 15 of his 22 games came on the road. His opposition batting stats are almost identical home and away, however.
Enjoy!
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2bZ9LO1
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