MLB on Sling TV: Diamondbacks at Giants on ESPN, Nationals at Mets on TBS; Regional Action on Fox Sports Networks
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Washington Nationals (Gonzalez 4-8, 4.79) New York Mets (Matz 7-4, 3.34) 1:10PM ET on TBS
Gio Gonzalez was about as good as anyone at the start of the year, posting a 1.42 ERA over four starts in April, with a WHIP below 1 and a SO/BB north of 3. In May, however, he had an ERA of 5.23, and June was even worse, 6.95. The steep climb in ERA has been driven largely by a steep climb in his BABIP, which has gone from .254 in April to .327 in May to .419 in June. His last start, Tuesday against the Brewers was marginally better, as he went 6, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, while K’ing 4.
Despite a shaky month of June that saw him go 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA, Steven Matz remains a great story of hometown boy makes good. And while he did get the loss in his last start, Tuesday against the Marlins, he appears to have gotten back on track, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk, and striking out 6 over 7 innings.
Arizona Diamondbacks (Bradley 3-4, 4.81) at San Francisco Giants (Bumgarner 9-4, 2.09) 8pm ET on ESPN
Fourteen months removed from being knocked unconscious by a line drive off his face, Archie Bradley is still struggling find the form that made him the Diamondbacks’ future ace. Though he’s shown flashes of his old self, his 4.81 ERA is well deserved, given the number of homers (1.6/9IP) and walks (4.3/9IP) he’s been giving away. The 9.3 SO/9IP are nice, but they’re not enough on nights like the 4th of July, when the Padres struck out 7 times in 6 innings against Bradley, but scored 5 runs thanks largely to 3 walks and 2 homers – that’s about Bradley’s season in microcosm.
Despite being told by his union that he wasn;t allowed to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, Madison Bumgarner has to be happy wit hthe way things are going this year. He’s among the league leaders in WAR, ERA, Wins, WHIP, SO… All the good stuff. On top of all that, he’s top 10 in among pitchers in Hits, Runs, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, RBI, Walks and OPS, and that the Giants headed into the weekend with a 6-game lead over the Dodgers. Bumgarner’s record should be better than 9-4, given that in his 5 no-decisions he’s averaged 6+ innings with an ERA of 1.17, and even in his 4 losses he’s averaged 6+ with a perfectly respectable 3.42 ERA. His last start, against Colorado, saw him get a no-decision despite throw 6 scoreless with 6 K’s, but the Giants’ bullpen coughed it up for a 7-3 loss.
Here’s the action from the FOX Sports Regional Networks across the land:
Detroit Tigers (Sanchez 5-9, 6.52) at Toronto Blue Jays (Dickey 6-9, 3.94) 1:07PM ET on FOX Sports Detroit
Cincinnati Reds (Reed 0-3, 9.00) at Miami Marlins (Koehler 6-7, 4.40) 1:10PM ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati & FOX Sports Florida
New York Yankees (Tanaka 6-2, 3.12) at Cleveland Indians (Carrasco 5-2, 2.47) 1:10PM ET on SportsTime Ohio & YES
Los Angeles Angels (Lincecum 1-2, 7.50) at Baltimore Orioles (Tillman 11-2, 3.55) 1:35PM ET on FOX Sports West
Tampa Bay Rays (Odorizzi 3-4, 4.33) at Boston Red Sox (Price 8-6, 4.64) 1:35PM ET on Fox Sports Sun
Atlanta Braves (Foltynewicz 2-3, 4.29) at Chicago White Sox (Shields 4-9, 5.67) 2:10PM ET on FOX Sports South
St. Louis Cardinals (Leake 5-7, 4.33) at Milwaukee Brewers (Guerra 6-1, 2.93) 2:10PM ET on FOX Sports Midwest & FOX Sports Wisconsin
Seattle Mariners (Walker 4-7, 3.66) at Kansas City Royals (Young 2-8, 6.90) 2:15PM ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Minnesota Twins (Milone 1-2, 5.45) at Texas Rangers (Griffin 3-0, 3.06) 3:05PM ET on FOX Sports North & FOX Sports Southwest
San Diego Padres (Friedrich 4-4, 4.42) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Maeda 7-6, 3.07) 4:10PM ET on FOX Sports San Diego
Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to Sling Blue.
All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference