I'm changing this up a bit today. After months upon months of solely looking at batter vs. pitcher data, the Daily Trends piece is evolving. There will be a bit of the BVP stuff sprinkled in of course, but Ray Flowers will branch out and offer some other insights to try and inform you as you push for the finish line in your fantasy baseball leagues.

BULLPENS

Josh Fields is closing for the Astros as Chad Qualls is dealing with a hip issue. Fields has a poor 4.45 ERA and blah 1.23 WHIP, but he has an 11.52 K/9 mark and strong 4.12 K/BB ratio. He can dominate batters with the best of them. 

Edward Mujica lowered his ERA to 4.03 and he has a WHIP of 1.37 with a scoreless inning Sunday. He's also recorded three saves in his last five outings and he doesn't appear likely to give back the closing role to Koji Uehara down the stretch.

Jonathan Papelbon got three outs Sunday but he also picked up a blown save, a loss and allowed four runs before being ejected. Can't think he will lose his job at this point but Ken Giles lies in wait with a 1.08 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 12.96 K/9 over 41.2 innings. 

Drew Storen picked up his fifth save of the season Sunday for the Nationals. He's not giving the job back to Rafael Soriano

STARTING PITCHERS

Jon Lester has 15-straight quality starts. He has a 2.45 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 206 Ks with 15 starts.  He's going to get a gazillion dollars as a free agent.

Colby Lewis can be added if you're desperate. Seriously. He allowed one run over seven innings Sunday to pick up his 10th win. That's 4-straight outings of at least seven innings and during that time he's only allowed three walks. The negative? The homer. He allowed one Sunday the 6th straight game in which he has been taken deep (nine total allowed).

Yusmeiro Petit had another solid outing for the Giants Sunday allowing four runs, three earned, over seven innings. That's three quality starts in four outings for Petit and he has a 9.99 K/9 mark and has walked 18 batters through 113.1 innings (1.43 per nine). If he's still out there on waivers he shouldn't be. 

HITTERS

Carl Crawford his last six games has eight RBIs and is batting .524 with a steal. White hot. Finally. 

Howie Kendrick the last eight games has two homers, a steal, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. He's also batting .469.

That's 22 homers and counting for J.D. Martinez. He's also hitting .305. No one saw this coming. I did draft him in the reserve rounds in AL LABR... too bad I traded him. He just won't stop hitting though. Impressive season fueled by a nearly .360 BBAIP and 20 percent HR/F ratio.

Trevor Plouffe had a homer and two hits Sunday. He's up to .251-14-67 on the year. Solid for a third sacker, and that pushes him up to 4-straight games with an RBI and he also has a homer in back-to-back outings. .  

Ben Revere stole two bags, he now has 45, and he had two more hits to push his average up to .309 Sunday. He's been exactly as advertised, and then some.

This is just awesome. Period. Spam Mochi Waffles. Is that the most amazing thing you have ever heard of? If it isn't, try reading this again next Saturday at 3 AM. You will change your tune.

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DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
 
Freddie Freeman has a .440-3-9 line against Stephen Strasburg in 25 at-bats. Jason Heyward is batting .419 with a homer in 31 at-bats.

Aaron Hill has a cool .464-2-6 line in 28 at-bats against Ryan Vogelsong

Eric Hosmer is batting .500 in 14 at-bats against John Danks

Brian McCann has five hits, including two homers, and four RBIs in seven at-bats against Jake Odorizzi.

Buster Posey has nine hits in 22 at-bats (.409) against Wade Miley

Alexei Ramirez is batting .412 with two homers and six RBIs in 51 at-bats against James Shields

Denard Span .394 in 33 at-bats against Ervin Santana

DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day

Billy Butler is slumping overall and he's hit .206 in 34 at-bats against John Danks

Victor Martinez has two hits in 14 at-bats against Anthony Swarzak. That's a .143 average. 

Joe Mauer has hit a mere .258 in 31 at-bats against Max Scherzer. Trevor Plouffe, remember him, is 1-for-15 with seven strikeouts. 

Hunter Pence has a .105 average and no RBIs in 19 at-bats against Wade Miley

Brandon Phillips is a .231 hitter in 26 at-bats against Travis Wood.

Albert Pujols has a .364 OPS and no RBIs in 22 plate appearances against Hisashi Iwakuma


MOUND MAVENS – Starting Pitchers to Target

Andrew Cashner at home against the Phillies. He has a 1.54 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in nine home starts. 

James Shields has allowed three runs over his last two starts and has worked 15.1 scoreless innings his last two outings. He faces the White Sox, a club whom he held to one run over seven innings back on July 23rd. 

Matt Shoemaker has a 2.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 15 outings at home. He faces the Mariners who he has a 0.65 WHIP, no walks and eight Ks against in 7.2 innings this season. 

MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid

Alfredo Simon, over his last 11 outings, has a 2-7 record, 4.96 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and less than 2:1 K/BB. That holds sway over the 1.40 ERA he has in three outings against the Cubs this year. 

Stephen Strasburg has a 3-7 record with a 4.61 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 16 starts against the Braves. He also has a 4.45 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 14 road starts this year. Oh, an a 3-8 record. 

Marcus Stroman goes to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. In nine road outings this season he has a 5.73 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. 


Make sure you tune in to the Drive at 7 PM EDT, Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius210, XM87), to hear Ray Flowers pontificate about the world of sports.