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MLB on Sling TV: White Sox at Mets, and Twins at A’s on ESPN; regional action on Fox Sports Networks

May 30, 2016 by Alex Castle

(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)

Chicago White Sox (Quintana 5-4, 2.22) at New York Mets (Harvey 3-7, 6.08), 1pm ET on ESPN
Despite what his record suggests, Jose Quintana has been among the very best pitchers in the AL this year. He’s gone at least 6 innings in 9 of 10 starts, given up more than 3 runs just once, has surrendered just 1 home run in 65 innings, has a SO/BB ratio of 5… Dude’s just getting it done. Problem is, though the White Sox are averaging 4.2 runs per game this year, that number drops to 3.3 when Quintana pitches, “contributing” to losses of 4-3, 3-2 and 2-1. Following last night’s 5-4 loss to the Royals, the White Sox are 27-24, and in 3rd place in the AL Central, a game behind KC.

Just three years ago, Matt Harvey’s star shone so bright that he was being compared to NYC sports legends like Derek Jeter and Joe Namath. Today, he leads the National League in losses, just got his backside torn anew by the New York press for having the gall not to talk to them, and there’ve been whispers about sending him to the minors to get his head right. His strikeout rate has continued to drift downward, his walks have jumped by more than 1 per 9 innings, and his home runs per 9 have popped from .9 last year to 1.4 this year. Stir in 4 unearned runs and you’ve got a man staring into the abyss. The Mets lost 4-2 to the Dodgers last night, bringing their record to 28-21, as they sit in second place, just a game back of the Nationals in the NL East.

Minnesota Twins (Santana 1-3, 4.17) at Oakland Athletics (Graveman 1-6, 5.36), 4pm ET on ESPN
Ervin Santana had been having himself an OK season, sporting an ERA of 3.13 over 37 ⅓ innings with a SO/BB ratio of 3 and having giving up just 3 homers. Then he faced the Royals on Tuesday, and took a beating: 3 ⅔ IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR. A day like that can really put the whammy on your season’s stats. But Santana’s been pulling this routine for years, looking like a solid #2 before self-immolating in front of 30,000 fans. The Twins last night beat the Mariners 5-4, and now find themselves 15-34, and in last place, 12 games behind the Royals in the AL Central.

Things were going nicely for Kendall Graveman back in April. He was 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA, even pitching well in a loss, as he went 5 ⅓ giving up just 2 runs. But there was a ticking timebomb nestled beneath Kendall’s success, an unsustainably low BABIP of .174. Over his next 4 starts, his BABIP popped like a weasel to .354, as balls that has once landed in gloves were now landing on outfield grass, and his SO/BB dropped from 2.5 to 1.65. In his two starts since then, his BABIP’s climbed higher still, but his ERA has started to come down, as he’s benefited from pickoffs, double plays and bad baserunning. Has there been mention yet of the 10 homers in just 47 innings? A 4-2 win over the Tigers last night brought the A’s record to 22-2, good for fourth place in the AL West, 7 ½ games behind the Rangers..

Watch the Chicago White Sox vs. the New York Mets at 1pm ET, & the Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics at 4pm ET Monday on ESPN by subscribing to the Best of Live TV package..

And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…

San Francisco Giants (Samardzija 7-2, 2.54) at Atlanta Braves (Foltynewicz 1-2, 3.95) 1:10pm ET on FOX Sports Southeast

St. Louis Cardinals (Martinez 4-5, 4.25) at Milwaukee Brewers (Guerra 3-0, 3.30) 2:10pm ET on FOX Sports Midwest & FOX Sports Wisconsin

Cincinnati Reds (Straily 2-2, 2.98) at Colorado Rockies (Bettis 4-3, 4.90) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati

Houston Astros (McHugh 4-4, 5.13) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Escobar NA) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona

San Diego Padres (Cashner 2-4, 4.87) at Seattle Mariners (Karns 4-1, 3.53) 4:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego

Texas Rangers (Lewis 4-0, 3.38) at Cleveland Indians (Tomlin 7-0, 3.35) 6:10pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest & SportsTime Ohio

New York Yankees (Nova 3-2, 3.65) at Toronto Blue Jays (Estrada 2-2, 2.76) 7:07pm ET on YES

Pittsburgh Pirates (Locke 3-3, 5.08) at Miami Marlins (Nicolino 2-2, 4.37) 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Florida

Tampa Bay Rays (Andriese 3-0, 2.63) at Kansas City Royals (Kennedy 4-3, 3.38) 8:15pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City & Fox Sports Sun

Detroit Tigers (Verlander 4-4, 4.02) at Los Angeles Angels (Chacin 1-3, 5.11) 9:05pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit & FOX Sports West

Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to the Best of Live TV Beta Multi-Stream package..

All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference

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