Playoffs Today

The Cubs try to dig the Nationals into a deeper hole as they send Jon Lester against Gio Gonzalez. Both teams did well when a left-handed pitcher started against them. The Cubs went 21-14, .600, the third best winning percentage in the majors. The Nationals 22-15, .595, fifth best, about the same as their overall .599 win percentage.

Lester pitched poorly over the last three months of the regular season, posting a 5.17 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates were okay, but he allowed 14 home runs in 78 1/3 innings. Despite the high ERA he did go 8-4. He allowed just one run in 11 innings during his last two starts, so whatever problem hurt him, it might be fixed.

Gonzalez finished 5th in the NL in ERA at 2.96. He was a Cy Young candidate, but he appeared to run out of gas in the last month-plus of the season. He was wild, walking 16 batters in 32 1/3 innings during that stretch.

We could see the bullpens in early in this game.

On the west coast, the Diamondbacks send Robbie Ray against the Dodgers and Rich Hill. Ray pitched 2 1/3 innings on Wednesday in the wild card game, throwing 34 pitches. He will be going on short rest, although Wednesday’s relief appearance will be looked at as a bullpen session. You can see why the Diamondbacks want Ray pitching, however. He dominated the Dodgers in five starts, with one bad game and four great ones. He struck out 52 Dodgers in 31 2/3 innings, posting a 2.27 ERA.

Hill goes in game two likely due to his great pitching at Dodger Stadium in 2017. He posted a 2.77 ERA there versus a 4.06 ERA on the road. He allowed eight home runs in 78 innings in LA, 10 home runs in 57 2/3 innings on the road.

Hill had a strange season against the Diamondbacks. The good is that he struck out 24 and walked four in 19 2/3 innings. The bad is that he only pitched 19 2/3 innings in four starts, allowing 11 runs, all earned. The Diamondbacks didn’t get men on base very often against Hill, but when they did they creamed the ball.

Enjoy!

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2hUP4GL