MLB on Sling TV: Regional action with the Dodgers at Giants, Cardinals at Pirates, or Tigers at Yankees on FOX; then Indians at Angels on FS1
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Kazmir 5-3, 4.46) at San Francisco Giants (Samardzija 7-4, 3.33) or St. Louis Cardinals (Martinez 6-5, 3.76) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Liriano 4-5, 5.25) or Detroit Tigers (Verlander 5-5, 3.97) at New York Yankees (Tanaka 3-1, 2.76) 7:15pm ET on FOX
Cleveland Indians (Bauer 4-2, 3.88) at Los Angeles Angels (Shoemaker 3-7, 5.40) 10:05pm ET on FS1
After being a serviceable #5 starter for the Indians last year – despite leading the AL in walks – Trevor Bauer got bumped from the rotation in spring training, the odd man out following the promotions of Josh Tomlin and Cody Anderson. While Tomlin’s been great, Anderson has not, and so, after a few weeks in the pen, Bauer moved back to the rotation, and since then has been pretty good, making 7 starts, going 45 innings, and giving up 17 runs on 37 hits and 15 walks, while striking out 39, for an ERA of 3.40. Yes, the walks are still a bit much, but they’re down, as is his home run rate, from 1.2/9IP last year to .9 this year. His last start, against the Marines was among the best of his career, as he went 7 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 SO.
Two seasons removed from a strong freshman year that saw him finish second in the Rookie of the Year balloting, Matt Shoemaker is struggling to get his groove back. Part of his problem this year is that batted balls are falling in all over the place, as his BABIP has gone from .288 over the previous two seasons to .341 this year. After seeing his home run, walk, and strikeout rates all move in the wrong direction last season, Shoemaker at least has those numbers moving back toward their 2014 levels, and he’s been lights out over his last four starts, pitching 30 ⅓ innings, and giving up just 8 runs on 27 hits, for a 2.37 ERA (despite a still-too-high BABIP of .338), and most impressively striking out 37 while walking none.
And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…
Boston Red Sox (Rodriguez 1-1, 5.40) at Minnesota Twins (Gibson 0-3, 6.10), 2:10pm ET on FOX Sports North
Kansas City Royals (Young 2-6, 6.37) at Chicago White Sox (Quintana 5-6, 2.58), 2:10pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 9-1, 1.80) at Atlanta Braves (Wisler 2-6, 3.98), 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports South
Houston Astros (Fiers 3-3, 5.00) at Tampa Bay Rays (Archer 4-7, 4.73), 4:10pm ET on Fox Sports Sun
New York Mets (Verrett 3-3, 3.22) at Milwaukee Brewers (Peralta 1-1, 5.40), 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Wisconsin
Oakland Athletics (Graveman 2-6, 5.49) at Cincinnati Reds (Straily 3-2, 3.34), 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
San Diego Padres (Johnson 0-2, 6.94) at Colorado Rockies (Chatwood 7-4, 2.79), 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego
Miami Marlins (Fernandez 9-2, 2.29) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Godley NA), 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona & FOX Sports Florida
Texas Rangers (Lewis 5-0, 3.20) at Seattle Mariners (Paxton 0-2, 3.72), 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest
All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference