Houston Astros (McHugh 5-5, 4.70) at Los Angeles Angels (Shoemaker 3-8, 4.43) 10pm ET on ESPN & FOX Sports West
Collin McHugh has made a fairly nice recovery from his disastrous Opening Day start, when he faced seven Yankees, retiring just one of them, while giving up 6 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and a catcher’s interference, culminating in a 135.00 ERA. Since then, he’s pitched 84 innings over 14 starts with a 4.18 ERA, and 4.16 SO/BB, and though his record is just 5-5, the Astros have been 9-6 in his starts. Considering that his BABIP is up 46 points over his career norm, he has in reality been about as good as in years past, when he finished 4th in... Read More
Texas Rangers (Ramos 1-3, 4.88) at St. Louis Cardinals (Martinez 7-5, 3.46) 4:15pm ET on FS1
It should tell you something about the health of the Rangers’ rotation that spot starter Cesar Ramos is already making his fifth start of the season, just two short of his career high. But regardless of the role, Ramos has been bad this year, as his home run rate of 1.7/9IP has been more than double his career norm of .7 coming into the season, his strikeouts have fallen, his walks have spiked… His last start was his worst of 2016, as he lasted just 3 ⅔ innings against the A’s, giving up 8 runs on 8 hits and 5 walks, while fanning just 1.
In baseball last night, Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBI as the Braves beat the Reds 7-2; Dae-Ho Lee had 2 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBI to lead the Mariners past the Rays 6-4; Edwin Encarnacion hit 2 of the Blue Jays’ 5 home runs in a 13-2 route of the Phillies; Tyler Wilson contained the best offense in baseball by pitching 8 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball, while striking out 6 against the Red Sox in a 5-1 Orioles victory; Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon pitched 7 ⅔, struck out 8, surrendered just 2 runs, had a hit and a run scored to lead the Mets past the Pirates 6-4; CC Sabathia’s renaissance continued, as the lefty gave up just 1 run in... Read More
It went down to the wire for the Houston Astros, but they made it. In the midst of losing their final game of the season, the Astros got word that the Angels had lost to the Rangers, thereby sending Houston on to the Wild Card game in the Bronx.
The Astros will have presumptive AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel on the hill. Keuchel came into his own this year, leading the league in wins, shutouts, ERA+, and innings pitched, making him exactly the horse you want taking the ball in a must-win game.
Keuchel’s been lights out in two starts – one home, one away – against the Yankees, pitching 16 innings of scoreless ball, with 21 strikeouts and only 1... Read More
The Boston Red Sox were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention seemingly months ago, but have rolled into the Bronx determined to play spoiler, doing their best to stave off the Yankees’ all-but-inevitable clinching of a Wild Card berth. The Yankees have dropped three straight to the Sox and are eager to see them leave, but there’s one more game to be played.
It’s been another tough year for Yankee starter CC Sabathia, who has missed a handful of starts, conjured only occasional flashes of his former greatness and now finds himself needing a brace for his right knee, which is cranky after a couple decades of heavy-duty use.
On September 20 he managed to find that old magic, pitching 6 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball in leading the Bombers... Read More
Red Sox at Yankees (7pm ET Tuesday, ESPN) The passion still burns hot in the Boston-New York rivalry, but with the Sox headed toward a third last-place finish in four years, the stakes are decidedly lower. While Boston circles the drain, the Yankees appear destined for a one-game Wild Card playoff.
More important than a W for the Yankees are signs that starter Michael Pineda is ready to contribute in October. Over his last two starts, he’s only given up one run in 11 and 1/3 innings, while striking out 10 and walking just one. But his previous two starts he also lasted 11 and 1/3, yet saw him give up eight earned runs. Which Pineda will show up?
The Yankees as a team have been scuffling along for... Read More
With just over two weeks left in the 2015 Major League Baseball season, the playoff picture is largely settled, except where it’s not, and where it’s not, OH MAN is it not.
The intrigue begins in the AL East, where the Toronto Blue Jays hold a slim 3.5 game lead over the New York Yankees. A series sweep for the Yankees, whose recent surge includes taking two of three from the first-place Mets in last weekend’s interleague series, would put them back at the top of the division, and a sweep for the Jays would likely put the division out of reach for the Bombers.
There are four MLB games on Sling TV this weekm and all four of them have playoff implications.
There’s no tighter divisional race in baseball right now than the AL West, where the Houston Astros hold a slim 1.5 game lead over their intrastate rival Texas Rangers. With less than a month to go in the regular season, that’s close enough to make the Astros nervous even if the two teams weren’t scheduled to meet seven more times in 2015, but they are, including Tuesday’s game at 8pm ET on ESPN.
The Rangers are surging, coming off a 12-4 spanking of the Oakland A’s Sunday, where offensive leader... Read More
