MLB on Sling TV: Yankees at Rangers on ESPN and regional action on Fox Sports Networks
All times Eastern.
New York Yankees (Eovaldi 0-2, 6.11) at Texas Rangers (Hamels 3-0, 2.52),
8pm ET on ESPN
Nathan Eovaldi enjoyed a breakout season of sorts in 2015, his first in the American League, going 14-3 despite an ERA of 4.20. This year he has, by some measures, been far better, with his K/9 rate up from 7.1 per 9 to 11.2, and his walk rate nearly cut in half, down to 1.5 per 9 – however, he’s already given 4 homers in just 17 ⅔ innings, triple his rate from last year. The homers have been painful, leading to 7 of the 9 runs he surrendered in his first two starts. In his most recent start he kept the ball in the yard, striking out 7 over 6 innings, while giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk. He took the loss just the same, but lowered his ERA from 6.94 to 6.11.
Cole Hamels came over to Texas as part of a deadline deal to help the Rangers’ 2015 playoff push, a trade that continues to pay dividends, even if Hamels has largely been getting it done with smoke and mirrors: Where Eovaldi’s parlayed a 7.33 K/BB ratio into a 6.11 ERA, Hamels has somehow spun a 2.03 K/BB ratio into a 2.52 ERA. Despite the high walk rate of 4 per 9, and a home run rate (4 in 25 innings) well above his career norm, he’s kept his ERA down thanks to a double play rate of 21% – nearly twice his career average, and a BABIP of just .262, 27 points off his career average. Regardless, the Rangers have yet to lose one of his starts, the most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Astros, in which Hamels went 6 ⅔, giving up just 5 hits and 3 walks (all HBPs) – the only damage coming on a solo home run – while striking out 7.
The Yankees come into the game as the cellar dwellers of the AL East at 7-10, after having lost on Sunday 8-1 to Tampa, as the Rays’ Steven Souza Jr. celebrated his 27th birthday by hitting a pair of home runs. The Rangers, meanwhile, are tied with Oakland atop the AL West at 10-9, following a 3-game sweep at the hands of the White Sox, who held Texas to just 4 runs over the weekend.
And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…
Baltimore Orioles (Gausman 0-0, 0.00) at Tampa Bay Rays (Archer 0-4, 7.32), 7:10pm ET on Fox Sports Sun
Boston Red Sox (Porcello 3-0, 4.66) at Atlanta Braves (Teheran 0-2, 5.64), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports South
Cincinnati Reds (Iglesias 1-1, 3.09) at New York Mets (Syndergaard 2-0, 0.90), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
Oakland Athletics (Graveman 1-1, 2.04) at Detroit Tigers (Zimmerman 3-0, 0.00), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit
Cleveland Indians (Salazar 2-1, 1.47) at Minnesota Twins (Milone 0-1, 5.87), 8:10pm ET on FOX Sports North & SportsTime Ohio
St. Louis Cardinals (Garcia 1-1, 2.70) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Greinke 1-2, 5.25), 9:40pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona & FOX Sports Midwest
Kansas City Royals (Kennedy 2-1, 1.35) at Los Angeles Angels (Richards 0-3, 3.00), 10:05pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City & FOX Sports West
Miami Marlins (Chen 0-1, 4.91) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Stripling 0-0, 2.65), 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports Florida
San Diego Padres (Pomeranz 2-1, 2.04) at San Francisco Giants (Bumgarner 1-2, 3.91), 10:15pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego