Hitters

Play of the Day: Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo faces James Shields on the South side tonight after reaching base five times in the two games at Wrigley.  Shields is just 1-2 with a 8.10 ERA in his six starts since returning from the DL, allowing 16 runs and five homers over his last three starts.

Top Play: Willson Contreras – Contreras went deep for the fourth time in six games last night, and is batting .341 with five homers, 15 rbi’s, and a stolen base over his past ten games. 

Value Play: Bradley Zimmer – Zimmer continues to produce in the leadoff spot for the Indians, and came through with a grand slam last night.  Zimmer’s two stolen bases last night gives him the team lead, even though he has only played 60 games this year.

Value Play: Paul DeJong – DeJong has two hits in each of his last three games, and a homer in three of his last four games.  DeJong now has 13 homers in just 175 AB’s this year, and at least one rbi in each of his last five games.

Pitchers

Play of the Day: Mike Fiers – Fiers is 6-2 with a 2.36 ERA, holding opponents to a .195 avg over his last ten starts.  Fiers has 69 K’s over  61 innings just this stretch, including 20:1 K:BB ratio over his past two starts.

Top Play: Yu Darvish – Darvish has struggled recently, going 0-4 with a 4.26 ERA over his past seven starts.  Yu is coming off a 12 strikeout game, his 32nd of his career, which is only behind Nolan Ryan for the franchise lead.  Yu pitched his first career shutout in 2014 vs the Marlins.

Top Play: Carlos Carrasco – Carrasco’s 1.80 ERA in eight career appearances vs the Angels is his best vs any team he has started against over his career.  Carlos is sixth in the A.L. with 130 strikeouts, while holding opponents to just a .230 avg.

GPP Play: Aaron Nola – Nola has the tough matchup vs the best offense in baseball tonight, but has been pitching his best lately.  Nola is 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA over his past six starts, striking out 50 over 42 ? innings.  He’s allowed two runs or less over his last six starts.