MLB on Sling TV: Rockies vs. Giants, Tigers vs. Indians on ESPN; Regional Action on Fox Sports Networks
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Colorado Rockies (Anderson 0-2, 2.66) at San Francisco Giants (Peavy 4-7, 5.33) 4pm ET on ESPN
Tyler Anderson made his big league debut on June 12 against the Padres, and in each of his four starts he has pitched at least 5 ⅔ innings (23 ⅔ total), surrendered a total of one homer, and struck out 24 while walking only 5. But in his first two starts, the offense failed him, scoring just 2 runs total, and in the other two games, the bullpen coughed up 10 runs. In his last start, Wednesday against the Blue Jays, he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walk in 6 innings, while striking out 6, en route to a 5-3 loss.
After three solid starts in a row, during which he posted a 1.42 ERA over 19 innings, Jake Peavy lost the plot on Wednesday, giving up 7 runs (to be fair, only 3 earned, but runs are runs…) 5 hits – 2 homers – and 2 walks, while K’ing no one over 3 and a third. It marked the 8th time this year that Peavy’s given up 4 or more runs in a start.
Detroit Tigers (Norris 1-0, 4.09) at Cleveland Indians (Salazar 10-3, 2.22) 7pm ET on ESPN, FOX Sports Detroit & SportsTime Ohio
This will be Daniel Norris’ third start of the year, and 16th of his career. In his first start of the year, gave up 3 solo shots in 5 innings, while striking out 5 and walking none. Incredibly, the homers were the only damage, and he left the game with a 1-run lead, but settled for a no-decision in a 5-4 victory. In his second start, Wednesday against the Marlins he kept the ball in the park, but gave up 8 hits in just 5 innings, but somehow managed to give up just 2 runs, thanks largely to 8 strikeouts.
Danny Salazar leads the AL in wins, OPS allowed, and WAR, has won his last nine decisions, including three times as the winning pitcher during the Indians’ recent 14-game winning streak. His last start, against the admittedly hapless Braves, may have been his best of the year: 7 IP 5 H 0 R 0 BB 8 SO. And he’s getting all this done despite a jump in his walk rate from 2.7 per 9 for his career to 4.1 this season.
And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…
Los Angeles Angels (Tropeano 3-2, 3.25) at Tampa Bay Rays (Moore 4-5, 4.67) 1:10pm ET on Fox Sports Sun & FOX Sports West
Texas Rangers (Martinez 1-1, 5.00) at Boston Red Sox (Porcello 9-2, 3.78) 1:35pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest
New York Yankees (Sabathia 5-5, 3.17) at Chicago White Sox (Shields 3-9, 5.85) 2:10pm ET on YES
Pittsburgh Pirates (Niese 6-6, 5.07) at St. Louis Cardinals (Martinez 7-5, 2.83) 2:15pm ET on FOX Sports Midwest
Cincinnati Reds (Reed 0-2, 9.00) at Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 6-6, 2.76) 2:20pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
Atlanta Braves (De La Cruz 0-1, 4.50) at Philadelphia Phillies (Eickhoff 5-9, 3.38) 4:05pm ET on FOX Sports Southeast
Miami Marlins (Koehler 6-7, 4.45) at New York Mets (Harvey 4-10, 4.55) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Florida
Kansas City Royals (Volquez 7-7, 4.80) at Toronto Blue Jays (Sanchez 8-1, 3.08) 7:07pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
San Diego Padres (Perdomo 2-3, 8.49) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Bradley 3-3, 4.50) 9:10pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona & FOX Sports San Diego
Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to the Sling Blue.
All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference