MLB on Sling TV: Angels at Indians on TBS, Cardinals at Cubs on ESPN; All the Action on Fox Sports Regional Networks
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Los Angeles Angels (Weaver 8-9, 5.19) vs. Cleveland Indians (Bauer 8-5, 3.88)
1:10pm ET on TBS
Once among the game’s better pitchers, Jered Weaver is now among the worst. Of the 90 guys qualified for the ERA title, he’s got the fifth-fewest WAR, sixth-highest ERA, third-fewest strikeouts per 9, the fourth-most home runs… You get the idea. But the Angels are so bad this year, that he’s their third-best starting pitcher. His last start, against the Cubs, was typical of his season: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR in a 5-1 loss. The Halos headed into the weekend at 49-65, in 5th place in the AL West, 18 games behind the Rangers.
In sharp contrast to the Angels and Weaver are Trevor Bauer and the Cleveland Indians. Bauer is probably the Tribe’s worst starter, as he has the highest ERA and WHIP, to go along with the lowest SO/BB, and yet he’d be the ace of the Angels’ staff. That said, Bauer was brutal in his August 3 start against the Twins, giving up 7 runs on 8 hits and 5 walks in just 2 ⅔ innings of a 13-5 loss, but he bounced back on Tuesday against the Nats, holding them scoreless for 6 ⅓ en route to a 3-1 win. Since enjoying a 7-game lead in the AL Central back on July 20, the Indians have gone 7-9, but are still 64-48 as of Friday, 4 games up on the Tigers.
St. Louis Cardinals (Leake 8-9, 4.79) vs. Chicago Cubs (Lackey 9-7, 3.56)
8pm ET on ESPN
Mike Leake was signed by the Cardinals to replace John Lackey, who’d departed the team via free agency to join the Cubs – Koyaanisqatsi.
Leake has been awful of late, allowing 23 runs on 33 hits and 5 walks in just 22 innings, while striking out just 9 – NINE! Even more worrisome is that in his last start Leake issued a season-high 4 walks in 6 innings after having walked just 18 in 133 innings. If Leake starts walking guys that often, he’s cooked.
Lackey, meanwhile, has been his usual workhorse self, averaging 6.6 innings per start, with a 1.055 WHIP and a 3.60 SO/BB ratio, and he’s been surging of late. In his last 4 starts he’s gone a total of 27 innings, with a 2.67 ERA 23 strikeouts and just 4 walks, thanks in past to a .217 BABIP over that span. He does, however, still have a bad habit of expending too much energy express his disgust rather than focusing on the the game at hand, as seen below.
The Cubs headed into the weekend at 72-41, with a 13 lead over the Cards in the NL Central, while the Cards, at 60-55, are just a half-game back of the Marlins in the race for the second Wild Card spot.
Watch the Los Angeles Angels vs. Cleveland Indians at 1:10pm ET on TBS by subscribing to Sling Orange or Sling Blue, and the watch St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs at 8pm ET on ESPN by subscribing to Sling Orange..
Here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land:
Tampa Bay Rays (Odorizzi 6-5, 3.69) at New York Yankees (TBD)
1:05pm ET on Fox Sports Sun & YES
Chicago White Sox (Sale 14-5, 3.16) at Miami Marlins (Koehler 9-8, 3.83)
1:10pm ET on FOX Sports Florida
Los Angeles Angels (Weaver 8-9, 5.19) at Cleveland Indians (Bauer 8-5, 3.88)
1:10pm ET on FOX Sports West & SportsTime Ohio
San Diego Padres (Richard 0-1, 6.46) at New York Mets (Matz 8-8, 3.60)
1:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego
Arizona Diamondbacks (Greinke 11-3, 3.67) at Boston Red Sox (Porcello 15-3, 3.40)
1:35pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona
Atlanta Braves (Jenkins 2-2, 3.92) at Washington Nationals (Roark 12-6, 288)
1:35pm ET on FOX Sports South
Cincinnati Reds (Reed 3-2, 1.88) at Milwaukee Brewers (Peralta 4-8, 6.38)
2:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati & FOX Sports Wisconsin
Kansas City Royals (Volquez 8-10, 5.03) at Minnesota Twins (Santiago 10-6, 4.47)
2:10pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City & FOX Sports North
Detroit Tigers (Fulmer 9-3, 2.43) at Texas Rangers (Griffin 5-1, 4.38)
3:05pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit & FOX Sports Southwest
Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to Sling Blue.
All stats courtesy of ESPN, Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.