MLB on Sling TV: Rangers at Red Sox on ESPN; Regional Action on Fox Sports Networks
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Texas Rangers (Perez 7-4, 3.39) at Boston Red Sox (Wright 9-5, 2.42) 7pm ET on ESPN
Martin Perez has been extremely lucky thus far in 2016, managing to post an ERA of just 3.39, despite walking 3.8/9 IP versus just 4.4 SO/9 IP. Perez’s Fielding-Independent Pitching (FIP), a calculation of how many runs you should be giving up based on your home runs, walks, HBP, and strikeouts, is 4.76. What’s his secret? Well it starts with inducing a Major League-leading 21 double plays, which will go a long way toward killing rallies and preventing runs. His previous high for DPs was just 13, and that was in 20 2/3 more innings. Case in point, in his last start, Friday against the Twins, he gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out just 4, taking a no-decision in the Rangers’ 3-2 win, thanks largely to inning-ending DPs in the 4th, 5th, and 6th.
Newly-minted All Star Steven Wright’s luck has been a very different variety, that of the knuckleballer who has captured lightning in a bottle – who knows how long it will last, all you can do is enjoy the ride. That said, Wright is also among the league leaders in DPs with 13. The magic may already be wearing off for Wright – and the 2016 Boston Red Sox, for that matter – as over his last two starts, against the Rangers and the Angels, he has lasted 9 ⅔ innings, giving up 12 runs (7 earned, but still, runs is runs…) on 15 hits (2 HRs), and 5 walks, while striking out 7.
Here’s the action from the FOX Sports Regional Networks across the land:
Detroit Tigers (Fulmer 8-2, 2.17) at Cleveland Indians (Tomlin 9-1, 3.21) 12:10PM ET on FOX Sports Detroit & SportsTime Ohio
Atlanta Braves (Jenkins 0-1, 5.79) at Philadelphia Phillies (Hellickson 6-6, 4.06) 1:05PM ET on FOX Sports Southeast
Milwaukee Brewers (Garza 1-1, 3.74) at Washington Nationals (Roark 7-5, 2.93) 4:05PM ET on FOX Sports Wisconsin
Kansas City Royals (Kennedy 6-7, 4.04) at Toronto Blue Jays (Stroman 6-4, 5.08) 7:07PM ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Los Angeles Angels (Weaver 6-7, 5.51) at Tampa Bay Rays (Smyly 2-9, 5.33) 7:10PM ET on Fox Sports Sun & FOX Sports West
New York Yankees (Pineda 3-7, 5.24) at Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 1-4, 4.88) 8:10PM ET on YES
Pittsburgh Pirates (Locke 8-5, 5.13) at St. Louis Cardinals (Garcia 6-6, 3.84) 8:15PM ET on FOX Sports Midwest
San Diego Padres (Rea 5-3, 4.79) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Miller 2-8, 6.85) 9:40PM ET on FOX Sports Arizona & 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