Games of the Day

The Mets and Nationals play the first game on the NL Season at 1 PM EDT with Jacob deGrom battling Max Scherzer. deGrom comes off a career year in which he posted a 1.70 ERA. Compared to 2017, deGrom increased his innings by 15 2/3, his strikeouts by 30, and lowered his hits allowed by 28. The Mets ace comes out of his peak years with not that much MLB wear and tear on his arm. He’s likely to regress a bit back to his career 2.67 ERA, but that would still put him in Cy Young contention. Scherzer posted ERAs below three in each of the last four seasons (all with Washington) and if five of the last six seasons. Only Clayton Kershaw and deGrom own lower ERAs in that time (800 IP), but no one pitched more innings.

At 3 PM EDT, the Braves visit the Phillies as the home town fans get introduced to Bryce Harper. Julio Teheran and Aaron Nola take the hill. Harper crushed Teheran in their careers, with eight home runs and three doubles to go along with 18 hits. Nola is the third great ace of the NL East, breaking out with a 2.37 ERA in the first season of his prime. Unlike the older deGrom and Scherzer, Nola should still be getting better.

The powerhouse Astros take on the upstart Rays at 4 PM, with Justin Verlander facing Blake Snell. (The season opener for the Rays is not an opener. ) Verlander posted an amazing 2018, setting a career single-season high with 290 strikeouts. He also cut his walks from 72 to 37 compared to 2017, all at seasonal age 35. Snell, ten years younger, became a 20-game winner for the first time, improving all three of his true outcomes while increasing his workload by about 50 innings.

Finally, the evening game features the World Champion Red Sox against the undefeated Mariners. Chris Sale battles Marco Gonzales. Sale missed qualifying for the ERA leader board by four innings in 2018, and would have finished second in the AL. Batters on the road hit .188/.238/.311 against Sale since he joined the Red Sox. Gonzales makes batters hit the ball, walking just 1.9 batters per 9 IP since joining the Mariners.

Enjoy!

from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2OtgtM9