MLB on Sling TV: Diamondbacks at Cardinals on FS1; Cubs at Giants, Nationals at Marlins, Rangers at Astros on FOX
Arizona Diamondbacks (Ray 2-2, 4.46) at St. Louis Cardinals (Leake 2-3, 4.66) 4:05pm ET on FS1
Robbie Ray was the most promising 5-12 starter of 2016, as he posted a 3.52 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and a 2.43 SO/BB ratio. This season, his performance has been maddeningly hot-and-cold. In his good starts, he’s averaged 6+ innings with a 2.35 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 0 home runs, in his other 3 starts he lasted a total of 11 ⅔, with a 10.00 ERA, 2.66 WHIP, and 5 home runs. Weirdly, his SO/BB rate has been better in the bad starts, 2.7 vs. 2.2. His last start was among his best of the year, as he held the Yankees to 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk while whiffing 6 in a 12-2 win. Which Robbie Ray will take the hill Saturday? Tune in!
On Monday, Mike Leake earned his second win of 2016, as he limited the Dodgers to 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 3, in a 5-2 Cardinals win. It was his second consecutive solid outing after a brutal start to the season, during which he posted a 6.03 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings, thanks to 37 hits and 6 homers. Leake’s true talent lies somewhere in the middle, though a look at his career stats shows that every other year he’s a slightly below-average, and last year he was above-average. Fingers crossed, St. Louis!
Chicago Cubs (Lester 4-2, 1.88) at San Francisco Giants (Cain 0-5, 5.87) or Washington Nationals (Ross 3-3, 2.63) Miami Marlins (Fernandez 5-2, 3.21) or Texas Rangers (Ramos 0-2, 4.32) at Houston Astros (Fiers 3-1, 4.63) 7:15pm ET on FOX
And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…
Kansas City Royals (Duffy 0-0, 2.57) at Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 0-0, 5.17) 2:10pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Toronto Blue Jays (Happ 5-1, 3.40) at Minnesota Twins (Dean 0-1, 4.50) 2:10pm ET on FOX Sports North
Atlanta Braves (Perez 1-1, 4.78) at Philadelphia Phillies (Morgan 1-1, 6.41) 3:05pm ET on FOX Sports South
Cleveland Indians (Anderson 1-5, 6.11) at Boston Red Sox (Kelly 1-0, 9.35) 4:05pm ET on SportsTime Ohio
New York Yankees (Tanaka 1-0, 3.51) at Oakland Athletics (Manaea 1-1, 7.91) 4:05pm ET on YES
Milwaukee Brewers (Davies 1-3, 5.58) at New York Mets (deGrom 3-1, 2.50) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Wisconsin
Seattle Mariners (Hernandez 3-3, 2.47) at Cincinnati Reds (Lamb 0-1, 5.79) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
Tampa Bay Rays (Smyly 2-4, 3.44) at Detroit Tigers (Fulmer 2-1, 6.52) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit & Fox Sports Sun
Baltimore Orioles (Gausman 0-1, 3.00) at Los Angeles Angels (Shoemaker 2-5, 8.49) 10:05pm ET on FOX Sports West
Los Angeles Dodgers (Wood 1-3, 4.17) at San Diego Padres (Vargas 0-2, 3.55) 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego