Games of the Day

The Red Sox can clinch the AL East with a win in a rare Tuesday afternoon game in the Bronx against the Yankees. Trade pickups Nathan Eovaldi and J.A. Happ square off. Eovaldi owns a 4.17 ERA since joining the Red Sox. He does not give up many walks nor home runs. He does give up good number of the hits, and a high average with runners in scoring position. Happ owns a 2.70 ERA with the Yankees, despite allowing eight home runs in 46 2/3 innings. Six of those eight home runs were solo shots.

Three other games have important Cy Young Award considerations. The White Sox send their ace, Carlos Rodon against Indians Cy Young candidate Corey Kluber. Kluber tries to to break the 18 win barrier after finish with that total in three earlier seasons. The wins are Kluber’s strong suit in his quest for the Cy. His ERA is good at 2.91, and his strikeouts are good but not outstanding for this season. He’s 10-3 with a 2.05 ERA at home, so his 4.02 road ERA held him back.

The Rays send Blake Snell against the Rangers and Yovani Gallardo. Snell goes for his twentieth win, and with a 2.03 ERA he may wind up leading the league in that category if Chris Sale doesn’t pitch much. Leading in both wins and ERA should get Snell a lot of votes. Snell is nearly even with Justin Verlander in Tom Tango Cy Young points.

Finally, Kyle Freeland takes on Clayton Kershaw as the Rockies and Dodgers continue their quests for the NL West title. Most pundits I’ve heard seem to debate Max Scherzer versus Jacob deGrom versus Aaron Nola for the Cy Young Award, but Freeland owns a 2.96 ERA pitching for the Rockies. Many years ago I suggested that any Rockies pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 should automatically earn the Cy. Freeland has a 2.36 ERA in Denver, 3.51 on the road. He doesn’t have eye popping K, BB, or HR numbers, but pitching like he does in his home park should count for a lot.

Enjoy!

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