Godzilla. Beer goggles. Old animals. Oh yeah, there will also be discussion of batter versus pitcher data. That's why we're here right? Sometimes I get carried away with the fun stuff and forget about why I'm really here.

DISH DIAMONDS – The Best Hitting Matchups of the Day
 
Yonder Alonso stinks, but he's hitting .500 with a homer in 12 at-bats against Edwin Jackson. Maybe Jedd Gyorko gets things going Friday given that he's produced four hits and five RBIs off EJax (six AB). One of the hits was a homer.

Marlon Byrd continues to have a strong season and that could keep going Friday even thought Clayton Kershaw is on the bound. Byrd is 6-for-11 against the lefty.

Melky Cabrera keeps on hitting. Don't look for that to stop Friday when he takes on Scott Kazmir as the slap hitting has hit .409 with a homer in 22 at-bats in the matchup.

Miguel Cabrera will look to tee off on Scott Baker Friday. He has hit three homers, driven in 11 runs and batted .343 in 35 at-bats. Insanely hot Victor Martinez is batting .308 with a homer over 39 at-bats.

Matt Carpenter flat out gets it done when he faces Homer Bailey, and that’s actually an understatement. Carpenter has hit .591 thanks to 13 hits in 22 at-bats. He ain't the only Cardinal to have success in the matchup as Yadier Molina (.333-3-4 in 30 ABs) and Matt Holliday (.333-2-8 in 39 Abs) also get off versus Bailey. If you don't mind a small sample size – Matt Adams is hitting .714 with a homer in seven at-bats.

Michael Cuddyer is back off the DL and he should pick up the offensive production in the matchup with Gavin Floyd. He's posted a .333 average, a homer, six RBIs and – surprisingly – four steals over the course of 38 plate appearances. Justin Morneau has only hit .212 in 33 at-bats but he's also gone deep three times while driving in 10 runners.

Adam Dunn is hitting .313 with a .522 OBP off Hiroki Kuroda over the course of 23 plate appearances. Alexei Ramirez, like Dunn, also has one homer and Ramirez has driven in six runners while hitting .333 over 18 at-bats.

What do you know, Yunel Escobar owns a .444 average in 18 at-bats against John Lackey. Matt Joyce is batting .318 with two homers and six RBIs in 22 at-bats against Lackey.

The following batters face lefties and have done very well against portsiders this year.

Emilio Bonifacio (Robbie Erlin): .400 in 45 at-bats.
Ben Revere (Kershaw): .372 in 43 at-bats.
Alcides Escobar (C.J. Wilson): .385 in 39 at-bats.

DISH DISASTERS – Worst Hitting Matchups of the Day

Allen Craig has five Ks in 15 at-bats against Homer Bailey. He's also hitting .133.

This is why I try not to drink too much.

Ike Davis has been a very effective performer since he moved to the Pirates. Unfortunately he has had little success against Jordan Zimmerman with  a .208 batting average and six Ks in 24 at-bats. At least he has two homers and four RBIs.

Desmond Jennings (2-for-15) and David DeJesus (.231 in 26 ABs) haven't hit so well against John Lackey.

I laid out the other day to work on my tan. I'm working on getting a base for my trip to Hawaii in a few months. I look good.

Garrett Jones doesn't like to see Marco Estrada on the hill. He's got three hits and four Ks in 19 at-bats.

Jimmy Rollins, like so many others, cannot hit Clayton Kershaw. In 28 at-bats he has only six hits (.216). At least he's only struck out four times.

I saw Godzilla Wednesday night. It was a solid movie. I'd recommend it. Not great, not a “classic” and not something I'm going to rush to get the DVD for my home collection as soon as it comes out, but decent. I think they could of done a better job with Godzilla, introducing him etc. The Asian scientist – Dr. Ichiro Serizawa – gave a couple of good lines about Godzilla being nature's balancing act, but they could have gone for a more epic scale if you ask me. “The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around.”

The following players are on the road and have struggled to produce away from home this season.

Jonathan Villar: .418 OPS in 74 plate appearances
Billy Butler : .448 OPS in 86 plate appearances
Norichika Aoki: .465 OPS in 100 plate appearances
Ian Desmond: .552 OPS in 100 plate appearances
Chris Owings: .173 with one homer, one steal in 21 games
Anthony Rizzo: .215 though he does have four homers in 21 games

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

Edwin Jackson had 11 Ks in his last outing and he's allowed a total of four runs over his last three outings – all quality starts. He pitches in Petco against the middling Padres lineup. Actually, he's a fair start Friday. I know, who knew?

Hiroki Kuroda has walked nine batters all year including just three in his last five starts. He's also thrown a quality start up there three of his last four outings. He's been taken deep four times the last two outings though, and that's a concern, but he's been locked in on the road this year (2.79 ERA, .093 WHIP in three outings) and pitches in Chicago against the White Sox.

Tim Lincecum has thrown three quality stats in his last four outings and he's permitted only one long ball in his last five trips to the bump. He faces the Twins, a team that has an OPS of .688 on the road, a little worse than the midpoint in the league. They've also struck out the 4th most time in baseball in road games with all the teams above them on the list having played more times on the road.

Is it the oldest bird, or a dinosaur?

Tom Koehler has a 0.64 ERA and 0.79 WHIP at home. He's allowed zero runs in three of his last four starts overall. He's not that talented, his 1.54 K/BB ratio is awful, but at home against the Brewers the numbers say to start him, not to mention that the Brewers might also be without Braun, Gomez and Ramirez Friday.

C.J. Wilson has a 2.91 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 46.1 innings against the Royals. He's also 3-1 at home this year with a 2.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. Four quality starts in his last five trips to the hill make him a solid option Friday.

MOUND MESSES – Starting Pitchers to Avoid

Chris Archer pitches at home against the Red Sox. He's faced the Sox once this year and didn't make it out of the fifth innings allowing five runs while walking five. That effort ran his career four starts numbers versus the Red Sox to 6.38 ERA and 1.91 WHIP with a 1.17 K/BB ratio.

Scott Baker versus the Tigers just doesn't have a good sound to it. Baker will be making his 5th start since the start of last season, his first with the Rangers, and though I've always liked the skills this just isn't the right time to trust him in your lineup.

Wonder if this is inside my gnomes?

Danny Duffy tossed seven innings of shutout ball in his last start against the Orioles, but he takes to the road to face the Angels Friday. I'm a bit nervous by the fact that he's only sporting a 1.90 K/BB ratio, and that he's not been taken deep over his last 49.2 innings. The Angels also hit well against lefties this season with a top-10 OPS against lefties and they have hit the third most homers in baseball off lefties.
 
Marco Estrada has failed to get 19 outs in 4-straight starts. He's also allowed at least one homer in each of his last six outings including two homers in four of his last five outings. That's scary bad. The Marlins are also second in baseball with a .825 OPS at home this season.

Scott Kazmir was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in his last outing lasting only 1.1 innings. A harbinger of negative vibes coming? Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera are hot, and Adam Lind has at least two hits in three of his last six games. The Jays club also has a .807 OPS at home this year, the third best in baseball.

Charlie Morton is 0-6 with a 5.84 K/9 and 2.06 K/BB ratio this season. None of that is any good. Decent skills, but the results just aren't there. Period. He faces the Nationals Friday.


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.