Games of the Day

The first great match-up of opening day takes place in Queens as Carlos Martinez leads the Cardinals against the Mets and Noah Syndergaard. Martinez broke the 200 inning barrier for the first time in 2017, upping his strikeout rate compared to 2016. He nearly doubled his home runs allowed, however, raising his ERA from 3.04 to 3.64. Syndergaard only pitched 30 1/3 innings in 2017, but they were solid. He was one of only two pitchers to go at least 30 innings without allowing a home run.

Justin Verlander gets the opening day nod for the Astros. Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Texas keeps opening day in state as the Astros visit the Rangers with Justin Verlander battling Cole Hamels. Verlander put the Astros over the top in 2017. In his five regular season starts for them he posted 1.06 ERA in 34 innings, all four runs allowed coming on four solo homers. In the post-season, he went 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA, striking out 38 in 36 2/3 innings. In 2017, Hamels missed 200 innings for the first time since 2009. That was also the last time his ERA was over 4.00. As he heads into his age 34 season, he has yet to experience a big velocity decrease. Maybe that will let him bounce back.

Chrises face off in Tampa Bay as Chris Sale and the Red Sox face Chris Archer. Sale posted a career year in 2017, winning 17 games, pitching 214 1/3 innings, striking out 308 batters, and posting a 2.90 ERA. He did allow 24 home runs, but 15 were solo shots. His 12.93 K per 9 IP was the third highest of the low mound/division era (1969 on), minimum 200 IP. He trails only Randy Johnson‘s 2001 season and Pedro Martinez‘s 1999 season. Archer struck out 11.15 per nine innings in 2017, that ranks 23rd on the list. In fact, four of the top 23 seasons came in 2017. Archer’s high K rate did not translate into a low ERA, however. It’s not clear why. He pitched decently well with runners in scoring position and men on base.

Finally, Corey Kluber and the Indians take on the Mariners and Felix Hernandez. Kluber led the American League with a 2.25 ERA in 2017, 0.65 runs better than runner up Sale. Over the last four seasons, Kluber owns the best ERA in the American League and the third best in baseball (minimum 600 innings). Hernandez owns a 3.20 career ERA, but the last three seasons came in at 3.79. This is his age 32 season, so we will see if he can stay healthy and make the adjustments to his decreased velocity to continue to thrive in the game.

Enjoy!

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