How was Cinco de Mayo for you? Did you stay out all night drinking your sorrows away (yes, that was me in the corner). No matter what happened Monday night we're on to Tuesday, so hungover or not, we're launching in to the matchups for Tuesday the 6th.
DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
Scott Hairston was activated from the DL Monday. He hits lefties well. He gets to face Clayton Kershaw Tuesday. Surprisingly, Hairston has eight hits in 22 at-bats (.364) against the usually dominating lefty.
Derek Jeter has nine hits in 23 at-bats against C.J. Wilson. Will it matter?
Evan Longoria meets the ball with fiendish ferocity against Chris Tillman. In 25 plate appearances he owns a 1.481 OPS that includes four home runs.
Angel Pagan is 9-for-12 off Charlie Morton. Wow.
Martin Prado has five hits in 13 at-bats versus Marco Estrada (.385). Still, he's hitting .230 versus righties this season so he's hard to trust at the moment.
Jhonny Peralta has lifted his batting average .050 points the past week and he's racked up 10 hits in his last six games. He could keep the good times rolling against Gavin Floyd who is making his first start of the year. Peralta is batting .306 with two homers and seven RBIs against Floyd in 36 at-bats.
Holy Jose Reyes, Batman! In 60 plate appearances against Cole Hamels Reyes is batting .393 with 10 steals. Maybe he'll finally get going.
Alfonso Soriano has a .455 average, a homer and four RBIs in 11 at-bats against GQ model C.J. Wilson. He's killing lefties this year as well to the tune of a .341/.362/.636 slash line.
Did you see my article Monday about the lumber titled Bullet Points: Batters?
Ian Stewart crushes Hiroki Kuroda, an I can honestly say I never thought I would type that sentence. Ever. In 16 at-bats Ian has an even eight hits which include a homer and six ribbies.
Josh Tomlin isn't good. Joe Mauer is. If his back cooperates you're all about activating Mauer who is 6-for-13 in the matchup (.462).
DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day
Carlos Gomez has seen his batting average dip the last 10 days (shocker). He face a Diamondback's club that has long held him in check as 24 games of matchups has led to a .203 average, two homers and two steals. Josh Collmenter can give some batters fits too at times with his funky motion.
Curtis Granderson last had a hit in... 2013? He's actually been better of late, that that isn't hard given how awful he was early on. He faces Henderson Alvarez who has done a really good job keeping him down allowing just three hits in 15 at-bats. Granderson has also whiffed four times. Lucas Duda has also produced just one hit in nine at-bats while Daniel Murphy has just two in 12 trips to the dish.
Raul Ibanez is batting .176 in 17 at-bats against Hiroki Kuroda. He's not even hitting that well against the league this season.
Adam LaRoche is batting .211 in 19 at-bats against Clayton Kershaw. Even worse – he's struck out 11 times. Ownage.
I relayed this on my SiriusXM show Sunday nigh t (7-10 PM EDT), but to review my Saturday. (1) Date, well meet up with a gal who I went on a few dates with a ways back, in San Francisco. Had chai tea. (2) Smuggler's Cove in SF. I wrote about the tiki bar yesterday in Daily Trends. (3) Sugar Lounge. (4) BART back to Millbrae. Off to Fiddler's Green. (5) Walked to Burlingame. The American Bull Bar and Grill to watch 4th quarter of the Warriors loss. (6) Cab ride to another part of Burlingame. Vinyl Room to drink a few in the “club.” Wasn't popping. (7) Paddy Flynn’s. I'm on an Irish pub kick. (8) The Alibi. Now the question. If I'm drinking at seven bars, in three cities, in one night, do I have a problem? No. I'm simply the coolest person you've never met yet, right? I'm giving tours starting in June if you want to sign up.
Pirates to be avoided in the matchup with spot on Tim Hudson: Ike Davis (.222 in 18 ABs), Gaby Sanchez (.182 in 22 ABs), Andrew McCutchen (.167 in 12 ABs). OK, I'm still starting McCutchen in roto leagues, but in daily's I'll probably not pay the price.
Alexei Ramirez has been terrific this season, but he's also got what appears to be a losing matchup Tuesday. Ramirez has not one, not a single bingo, in 17 at-bats against Edwin Jackson.
Mark Teixeira has two hits in 18 at-bats against C.J. Wilson. That's a .111 average. Almost as shocking is the fact that Wilson has held Ichiro Suzuki to a .196 mark over 46 at-bats. He's even struck him out 12 times.
Bookmark the following three sources to check daily after you read this piece.
Fantasy Alarm Lineups
Batter Versus Pitcher
Daily Projections – For every single day of the season.
MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target
Henderson Alvarez has made three starts at home. He's the owner of a 3.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP there. He faces the Mets, far from an imposing offense, and just about a week an a half ago he limited the Metropolitans to two runs over six innings.
Marco Estrada hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start this season. However, he's also been taken deep five times in his last three starts, and that's a concern. Still, he's got nearly a K per inning, has only walked five batters in his last four starts and is pitching at home against the D'backs.
I have no words other than... spread the word - you don't want to do this. It could hurt.
Tim Hudson faves the Pirates. The current roster of the Pirates is batting .232 off him with one homer in 112 at-bats. Given that he's currently sporting a 2.17 ERA and 0.74 WHIP on the season that sure sounds like a pretty tasty little matchup does it not for the Giants' hurler? In a related note I cheer for Tim. He's even balder than me.
Drew Huthison has made four starts on the road this season with strong results: 2.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 23 Ks in 23.2 innings. He's also walked a mere three batters over his last three outings while striking out an impressive 23 batters. It's not like the Phillies are a scary offense.
MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Chris Archer has allowed nine runs over his last two outings, and he was totally out of sorts last time out walking five batters (he walked five over his first five outings). Back on April 14th he was also hit extremely hard by the Orioles who produced 12 hits and seven runs in five innings.
Bartolo Colon is impossible to figure out, we all know that. He's also allowed seven or more runs in two of his last four outings (one of those was his last trip the hill). He pitches in Miami Tuesday. I'm not saying the Marlins are stealing signs at home, that idea has been prominently tossed about, but I will say this: the Marlins team is batting over .300 at home. The team. They also have the 2nd best OPS in baseball at home behind only the Rockies. Something to think about.
For a quick review or hurlers, starters and relievers, see Bullet Points: Pitchers.
Gavin Floyd is making his first start of the season. I know the Cardinals have struggled for the most part this season, but I just can't push Floyd as a favorable start.
Chris Tillman has a 5.21 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in three starts on the road this season. He has a 5.01 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in four night starts this season. He's the owner of a 4.90 Era and 1.25 WHIP over 11 starts against the Rays. He's also allowed 20 base runners and 10 runs over his last two starts (10.1 innings). Any of that sound good to you?
Make sure you tune in to the Fantasy Alarm's Daily Game Show at 6 PM EDT, Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius210, XM87) as Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster will help you to set your daily lineups.