Cue up the whistling theme song from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” when Max Scherzer toes the mound opposite of Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles Friday night. Both pitchers possess three Cy Young Awards each and own some of the best statistics since 2015 in the National League. Don’t believe me, check out these numbers, with their ranks, courtesy of STATS LLC.:

  • Max Scherzer - 53 wins, second; 866 strikeouts, first; 2.71 ERA, third; .194 opponents batting average against, first; eight complete games, tied for second.

  • Clayton Kershaw - 47 wins, fourth; 706 strikeouts, second; 2.05 ERA, first; .198 opponents batting average against, second; eight complete games, tied for second.

Beneath the statistics, Kershaw’s won nine straight decisions against the Nationals in the regular season and hopes to outduel Scherzer in a tough match-up. Not to be lost in the sauce, Bryce Harper ’s usual monster start to the season. He’s walked twice as many times (24) than he’s struck out (12) and leads the majors in home runs (eight). Harper’s also first in the National League in slugging percentage (.712), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.183), tied for first in RBI (18), second in both runs (18) and on-base percentage (.471).

 

That Just Happened

With only day Friday afternoon, not much transpired on the fantasy front. However, those in deep formats may want to check out JaCoby Jones . He gained popularity late in preseason drafts last year but did not fulfill hopes for owners who speculated on him. After a slow start going hitless in his first 11 at-bats, Jones seems to be heating up for the Tigers. He stole his third base in only 13 games, recorded his third straight multiple-hit game and hit a walk-off home run. It’s a small sample, but Jones upped his average to .300 and owns an intriguing blend of power with speed.

Whit Merrifield finished 3-for-5 in Game 1 of the doubleheader. He curiously did not attempt a stolen base in the top of the 10th inning. Of course, he’s only 1-for-3 in steals attempts this year and needs to run more to justify his draft day price tag. Through 17 games Merrifield’s hitting .277/.365/.369 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI. Hope lies in his walk percentage increase to 10 percent, chase rate down and in zone swing rate up for the season.

 

We’re Going Streaking

Mike Moustakas increased his hit streak to 11 games hitting his fifth home run within it during Game 1 on Friday. During his streak, he’s hitting .417 with 12 RBI.

As hot as Moustakas has been, his streak ranks second to Brian Dozier ’s 13-game hit streak to start the season. Dozier’s launched four home runs with seen RBI and takes his streak to Tampa Bay.

Segue alert, in Tampa Bay awaits C.J. Cron ’s who’s in the midst of an eight game hit streak in which he’s slashing .387/.429/.516 with three straight multiple hit contests. Cron will hit second on Friday night.

 

Archer Past or Present?

It remains to be seen which Chris Archer will show up. He’s only reached six innings once this year and owns the highest ERA of qualified starters of 7.84 to open the season. Dating back to last September, only Matt Harvey ’s recorded a higher ERA in this time frame.

However, Archer’s career numbers against the Twins hint at a bounce back on Friday night. He’s won six games against them with a 1.84 ERA over seven starts with 47 strikeouts and six quality starts. Feeling lucky?

 

Night Moves

Toronto did not demote Teoscar Hernandez in order to activate Kendrys Morales . In fact, they dipped into their farm system and called up Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who will make his debut in Yankee Stadium. Gurriel’s the younger brother of Yuli and through 12 games at Double-A slashed .347/.382/.510 with one home run, one stolen base and 11 RBI. Scouts report the ball jumps off his bat and the Blue Jays will take a look at him at second base with Devon Travis off to a horrendous start.

Both Jeff Samardzija and Drew Pomeranz will make their season debuts on Friday. A.J. Pollock will not play due to a sore hand resulting from his collision with Chris Owings on Thursday.

San Diego activated Wil Myers from the disabled list and Manuel Margot’s eligible to return on Saturday. Adjust accordingly.

 

Burning Questions

Will Justin Verlander win his 10th straight regular season start? Could Marco Estrada help Giancarlo Stanton break out of his hitting slump in Yankee Stadium? Who gets the next Astros save? How much more can the Marlins bullpen do being so overworked and trying to survive a weekend in Miller Park?

Be sure to stay ahead of your competition by checking out all the great work on Fantasy Alarm this weekend.

 

Statistical Credits:

STATS LLC.

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com