I'm sick. Got some coughing and a sore throat that's holding me back. Apologize if today's article isn't my normal stellar work. I'm just battling to get through it. Hopefully there will still be a nugget or two of interest from last nights work as well as some help for setting lineups for game action Thursday.
Mookie Betts is finishing on a high note. Betts has hit .310 over his last 87 at-bats. He'll be a player next season with that speed and contact ability. Can say the same about Xander Bogaerts who has also finished strong batting .317 over his last 21 games.
Carl Crawford had two more hits, and a steal, Wednesday. Have you seen the blazing numbers he's posted in September? They're obnoxiously good: .433-316-13-2 with a .463 OBP over 19 games. Disappointing season? Yes. But a .295 average and 23 steals... not that bad an effort.
Clayton Kershaw is about to wrap up a 4th straight ERA title (1.77). He will become the first pitcher since 1901 to lead the majors in ERA in 4-straight seasons. Is he the #1 draft pick in fantasy next year? It's worth considering.
Kyle Lohse finished another year with a 3.54 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Dude just knows how to pitch. Boring but seemingly always effective.
Soda really isn't good for you. Sorry, it ain't.
Jake McGee has been stupendous this season with a 1.92 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 87 Ks in 70.1 innings. Apparently that isn't good enough for his team to have confidence in him as their closer. "I kind of like the closer-less bullpen, where you really can match up," manager Joe Maddon told reporters. Nothing like clarity looking forward six months from now.
Justin Upton is in a slump in September. A big one. Still, the guy deserves plenty of credit, even though no one wants to give it to him. He's appeared in 151 games, the 4th straight season of at least 149 games played, and he's been extremely productive yet against. Upton is only batting .271 with eight steals, very boring, but 28 homers, 99 RBIs and 75 runs scored is yet another productive season. He's not an MVP candidate or a fantasy superstar, but there's always a spot on my fantasy squad for him.
Juan Uribe had three RBIs Wednesday as the Dodgers clinched the NL West. He's been limited to 102 games due to injury, but man has be been productive batting .311 with nine homers and 52 RBIs. Don't expect the 35 year old to repeat this effort next year, but man it's been an impressive season.
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* NOTE: Players are listed in alphabetical order for the sake of making them easily sortable/findable. The matchups are also generated based on Batter vs. Pitcher data.
DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
Coco Crisp has only hit .240 against Colby Lewis. However, he's gotten on base at a .367 clip and stolen five bases over 30 plate appearances.
Alejandro De Aza is batting .389 with a homer and steal over 18 at-bats. Adam Jones is batting .333 over 30 at-bats.
Brian Dozier is batting .133 with seven strikeouts over 15 at-bats when Max Scherzer is on the bump.
Curtis Granderson is batting .136 over 22 at-bats against Gio Gonzalez.
Mike Moustakas has hit .333 with two homers in 24 at-bats. Salvador Perez has hit .333 with two homers in 27 at-bats. The opponent is Jose Quintana.
David Ortiz has crushed Jeremy Hellickson. He has three homers, seven walks and the following line: .385/.515/.885 in 33 plate appearances.
Brandon Phillips has hit .355 with two homers and nine RBIs over 62 at-bats against Yovani Gallardo. Jay Bruce has hit .313-2-11 in 48 at-bats while Todd Frazier is at .319-1-2 in 29 at-bats.
Buster Posey hammers Andrew Cashner: .467-2-3 in 15 at-bats.
Alexei Ramirez has hit .418 with two homers, two steals and six RBIs in 55 at-bats against James Shields.
Justin Upton is in a slump, but he's also batting .571 in 14 at-bats against Edinson Volquez. Ryan Doumit has gone 7-for-15.
DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day
Billy Butler has hit .208 with 10 strikeouts in 24 at-bats against Jose Quintana. Alex Gordon is batting .241 in 29 at-bats. Eric Hosmer is way, way worse. He's hitting .107 over 28 at-bats.
Nelson Cruz has a meager .305 OPS over 27 plate appearances when Hiroki Kuroda is on the bump. J.J. Hardy has a .179 batting average and one RBI over 28 at-bats.
Hunter Pence has two hits in 16 at-bats against Andrew Cashner.
Paul Konerko has hit .158 in 38 at-bats against James Shields. Tyler Flowers has hit .214 in 14 at-bats.
Daniel Nava is batting .133 in 15 at-bats against Jeremy Hellickson. Will Middlebrooks is 1-for-12 with eight strikeouts.
Wilson Ramos has hit .227 in 22 at-bats against Dillon Gee. Ryan Zimmerman is 7-for-32 (.219) while Anthony Rendon also stinks (.217). Denard Span joins the pity party too batting .214 over 28 at-bats. By the way, Zimmerman has no runs batted in.
MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target
Andrew Cashner faces the Giants in San Francisco. He's won each of his last three starts. He's also allowed two or fewer earned runs over his last seven outings. Think about that consistency. He's totally locked in for the month of September allowed just six earned runs, while walking four, while completing at least seven innings in each outing.
Kevin Gausman has had success against the Yankees with a 1.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 21 Ks in 22 career innings. He's posted a solid 3.13 ERA in eight road start this season. Oh yeah, he's also allowed just four earned runs his last three starts.
Tom Koehler has a 2.83 ERA and 1.12 WHIP at home this year. He pitches in Florida against the Phillies. Koehler has also allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last eight starts. Not much upside, but a solid matchup.
Hiroki Kuroda has a 2.88 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 10 outings against the Orioles. He held the club to one run in seven innings on September 14th. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven outings.
Yusmeiro Petit pitches at home against the Padres. He's been stupendous at home this year with a 2.54 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 70 Ks in 63.2 innings and better than a 6:1 K/BB ratio. The Padres have a pathetic slash line of .226/.292/.342. He held the Padres to three runs, two earned, over 5.1 innings in his last outing.
Edinson Volquez has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last 10 starts as he's lowered his ERA down to 3.15. Did I mention he has allowed four earned runs over four starts. He's also has a 3.28 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 13 road starts this season.
MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Yovani Gallardo gets mashed by the Reds: .291/.353/.437 over 359 plate appearances. He has a solid .3.12 ERA against them this year, but he's also gone 0-2 with only 16 strikeouts in 26 innings.
Dillon Gee has had some success against the Nationals holding their roster to a .240 batting average and .316 OBP. In three starts in September he has a 4.26 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Even with some past success, it's hard to trust him given that he has a 4.95 ERA over his last 12 starts.
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