MLB on Sling TV: Astros at Angels on ESPN; regional action on Fox Sports Networks
(all times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Houston Astros (McHugh 5-5, 4.70) at Los Angeles Angels (Shoemaker 3-8, 4.43)
10pm ET on ESPN & FOX Sports West
Collin McHugh has made a fairly nice recovery from his disastrous Opening Day start, when he faced seven Yankees, retiring just one of them, while giving up 6 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and a catcher’s interference, culminating in a 135.00 ERA. Since then, he’s pitched 84 innings over 14 starts with a 4.18 ERA, and 4.16 SO/BB, and though his record is just 5-5, the Astros have been 9-6 in his starts. Considering that his BABIP is up 46 points over his career norm, he has in reality been about as good as in years past, when he finished 4th in RoY balloting, and then 8th in Cy Young voting.
Matt Shoemaker’s renaissance continues: Following a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers, Shoemaker’s ERA was a beefy 8.49, his SO/BB ratio was 1.7, and he was surrendering 2.12 home runs per 9 innings. Since then, he’s made 7 starts, going 51 ⅓ innings with an ERA 2.09, a SO/BB of 15.5, and just .7 home runs per 9. What happened? It appears he adjusted the height of his release point on all of his pitches, bumping up his velocity, and creating greater separation between his fastball and his curveball. And for all his improvements, the Angels have gone just 2-5 in these starts, as they’ve averaged just 2.57 runs. Thanks for nothing, guys.
And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…
Texas Rangers (Gonzalez NA) at New York Yankees (Nova 5-5, 5.18) 7:05pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest & YES
Boston Red Sox (Rodriguez 1-2, 6.41) at Tampa Bay Rays (Snell 0-2, 2.40) 7:10pm ET on Fox Sports Sun
Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 11-2, 1.74) at Cincinnati Reds (Straily 4-4, 3.83) 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
Cleveland Indians (Bauer 5-2, 3.20) at Atlanta Braves (Gant 1-2, 4.45) 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Southeast & SportsTime Ohio
St. Louis Cardinals (Wainwright 6-4, 4.73) at Kansas City Royals (Duffy 2-1, 3.38) 8:15pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City & FOX Sports Midwest
Philadelphia Phillies (Velasquez 5-2, 3.65) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Ray 4-6, 4.59) 9:40pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona
All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference