I've run out of things to say. OK, never true, but after my weekend of fun with Howard Bender it was hard to get back on track. Never fear, I'm a pro, so I battled through it. With that little digression out of the way, let's get down to the matchup for Monday, June 2nd.
DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
Norichika Aoki enjoys seeing Shelby Miller on the hill (everyone is enjoying seeing the righty at the moment). He's hit a homer, stolen a bag and hit .500 in 14 at-bats.
Adam Dunn has lit up, torched, annihilated, wrecked Clayton Kershaw. I know, right? Still, it's true. Dunn has 13 at-bats against the lefty and has, amazingly, gone deep four times, hit two doubles, produced eight hits (.615) and has driven in nine runs.
Curtis Granderson has lit up, torched, annihilated, wrecked Roberto Hernandez. In 43 at-bats he's hit .419 with a 1.370 OPS. He has three homers, four doubles, three triples and has driven in seven runs while walking eight times.
A.J. Pierzynski has hit .389 with four RBIs over 36 at-bats against Justin Masterson.
Brian Roberts is hitting .364 with two steals an a .462 OBP in 39 plate appearances against Felix Hernandez. Impressive. Brett Gardner has hit .375 with three steals in his 26 plate appearances. Jacoby Ellsbury has hit two big flies, stolen a bag, and hit .320 over 25 at-bats.
The Yeti is a killer? I'm not buying it.
DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day
Asdrubal Cabrera has hit .174 with seven Ks against John Lackey. Wish Nick Swisher was playing so I could mention his 24 Ks in 64 at-bats. Oh wait, I just did even though he's not.
Dustin Pedroia escaped serious injury to his hand. He shouldn't be in there for you Monday though, not with a .211 average and sub .465 OPS against Justin Masterson (20 plate appearances).
White Sox to avoid against Clayton Kershaw. We'll just cause of course, but also cause they aren't hitting lefties well this year: Alejandro De Aza (.049 in 41 ABs – what the hell happened to him?) and Paul Konerko (.205 in 39 ABs).
The following is a list of players who all have home games. What follows are their batting marks at home this season.
Domonic Brown is batting.152 in 27 home games.
Matt Carpenter has hit .265 in home games.
Carlos Gomez is batting just .255 at home. Of course, that really shouldn't be a shock given that his career batting average is .259.
Ryan Howard has an impressive six homers in 29 home games but he's also struck out 39 times with a .192 batting average over 104 at-bats.
Mark Reynolds is batting .122 with two homers in 90 at-bats.
Jean Segura has been warming the past two weeks, but he's still hit only .235 in 26 home games.
Will Venable is batting .213 with 27 Ks in 94 at-bats.
The following is a list of players who will be facing right handers Monday. What follows are their batting marks against righties.
Jacoby Ellsbury has hit .240 with one homer in 125 at-bats.
Danny Espinosa .195 with 44 Ks in 113 at-bats.
Anthony Rendon is batting just .239 in 163 at-bats.
Alfonso Soriano is batting .200 with three homers in 120 at-bats.
Christian Yelich is batting .233 over 185 plate appearances.
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MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target
Alex Cobb is one of my favorites. Yes he gave up six runs in his last outing but do you know how many runs he's given up over his last four starts? Try six runs. He goes to Miami where the Marlins have hit very well this season, but look for Cobb to get back on track in this one.
John Lackey has toss two shutout efforts in a row and he's allowed two or fewer runs in five of his last six outings. He's pitching on the road in Cleveland, a decent spot to throw a game, and he's got a 3.51 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in four road starts this season.
The Mariners have the 7th worst OPS in baseball against right handed pitching. I bring that up because they will be opposed by David Phelps. The game will take place at Yankee Stadium, and though this if far from a 100 percent endorsement for Phelps, he has allowed just five earned runs over his last three starts.
Jose Quintana faces the Dodgers, the team with the worst OPS in baseball against lefties (.639). Quintana hasn't been great this season but he's allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 11 starts. He's also coming off a nice month of May that included a 3.16 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in five starts.
MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid
Bartolo Colon goes to Philly to take on the Phillies. He's only allowed two runs over his last two starts, both wins, but how can you trust this guy? His 4.73 ERA is two runs higher than last season, and he's looked pretty terrible when twirling on the road this year with a 6.51 ERA and 1.47 WHIP over six starts.
Danny Duffy has lost his last two starts and four of his last five. His last 10 innings: 16 hits, seven walks, 11 runs (10 earned). He faces the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Matt Garza faces his former team, the Twins. He's also holding an unsightly 4.84 ERA and has given up three or more earned runs in each of his last six outings.
Kyle Gibson versus the Brewers in Milwaukee. He has 29 Ks in 56 innings and has a 1.45 K:BB ratio. Just not interested in the up and down performer.
Justin Masterson faces a Red Sox club that has, in 132 at-bats, hit .303 with an .825 OPS against him. He's lost three of his last four games, and over the time frame he's allowed, swallow hard, 20 runs (18 earned) over just 18.1 innings. Good luck with that.
Randy Wolf versus the Rays. All you need to know. Wolf has made one start since the end of the 2012 season. He's washed up.
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