The 2017 season opens with a triple header. The Yankees and Rays get things started at 1 PM EDT in Tampa Bay as Masahiro Tanaka takes on Chris Archer. Tanaka owns a 39-16 record with the Yankees, a .709 winning percentage. The Yankees are a .525 team in that time. Tanaka does have a tendency to allow home runs, 65 in his 490 MLB innings. With a .267 OBP allowed, however, 46 of those came with the bases empty. Archer saw his ERA just by 0.8 runs in 2016 versus 2015, mostly due to 11 more home runs allowed. Batters hit fly balls against him at the same rate, but they left the park more frequently.
The Giants and the Diamondbacks follow at 4 PM EDT (1 PM PDT) with Madison Bumgarner taking on Zack Greinke in Phoenix. Bumgarner posted ERAs under three each of the last four seasons. He ranks fourth in the majors in ERA in that time, with Greinke ranking second. Bumgarner’s ERA is a bit more impressive than Greinke’s as Madison posted over 100 more innings. Both post very similar walk, home run, and strike out rates.
Greinke comes off a poor season for the Diamondbacks. He started slowly but seemed to find his groove at the end of April. An oblique strain interrupted his season, and he pitched poorly the rest of the year. Arizona needs the Greike that shone in this stretch.
Finally, the World Champion Cubs start the defense of their title in St. Louis against their long-time rival, the Cardinals. Jon Lester takes the hill against Carlos Martinez. Lester posted his best single season ERA in his second season with the Cubs, 2.44. He allowed 29 fewer hits despite his strikeout rate staying about the same. The Cubs played great defense, and Lester was the beneficiary. Over the last two seasons, Martinez kept extra base hits to a minimum, allowing a .349 slugging percentage. That drops to .327 with men on base, when long hits can do the most damage.
Enjoy!
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2optZWd
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