The Angels and Red Sox played a wild game. The Mets got a fantastic performance from a rookie starting pitcher. Jon Jay continued to perform. Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:
- C.J. Wilson – Los Angeles Angels – Starting Pitcher – The Red Sox rocked him for 7 R (6 earned) on 8 H and 0 BB, striking out 6, over 5.0 innings. He’s now allowed 13 ER over his past 9.2 innings and has allowed 6+ ER in four of his past eight outings. It is concerning, though overall he has posted a 3.83 ERA and 1.32 WHIP and has a below average 68.8% strand rate. With no other number jumping out as concerning, there is no reason to think that he won’t get things turned back around. Stick with him at this point.
- Collin McHugh – New York Mets – Starting Pitcher – He looked fantastic in his Major League debut for the Mets, tossing 7.0 shutout innings allowing 2 H and 1 BB, striking out 9. Yes, it did come against a Rockies lineup that was without Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Cuddyer, Todd Helton, Dexter Fowler, Eric Young and Josh Rutledge (who did at least appear as a pinch hitter)… That said, he did have a 3.39 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 67 K over 69.0 innings at Triple-A this season and for his minor league career he has a 3.32 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 8.98 K/9. I’ve heard him draw comparisons to Dillon Gee, which wouldn’t get you too excited, but this outing and the minor league numbers make you think he’s better than that. In deeper formats I would monitor him, but he’s definitely worth adding in NL-only formats.
More Quick Thoughts:
- Justin Verlander allowed 2 ER on 4 H and 2 BB, striking out 12, over 9.0 innings but ended up with a no decision. It’s a shame, but do we really need a line like this to tell us he’s good?
- Taking on the Detroit Tigers most people wouldn’t have expected much from J.A. Happ. He excelled, however, allowing 1 ER on 4 H and 3 BB, striking out 7, over 7.1 innings. In his past two starts (against Texas and Detroit), he has allowed just 2 ER with 15 K over 13.1 innings. Does anyone really expect him to be able to maintain this type of production given how much he struggled in the NL? It’s really hard to imagine, especially in the AL East, even though we have long heard about his potential. If you have a deep bench and want to stash him, then I could see it. However, there’s no way I would trust him down the stretch.
- Jon Jay continues to streak, going 2-4 with 3 R scored. He now has four straight multi-hit games, going 10-22 with 2 RBI, 5 R and 1 SB. Hitting atop the Cardinals order helps him bring value, as he has now scored 50 runs in just 285 AB. Couple that with a little speed (14 SB) and a .300+ average and there’s a lot to like. Of course, he entered the day with a .357 BABIP (off of a 20.4% line drive rate), so there’s a good chance the average falls. When that happens his value is going to dry up, so make sure to keep a close eye on him. It’s not going to be a surprise if he struggles.
- Alex Cobb tossed a gem against the Oakland A’s, throwing a complete game shutout allowing just 4 H and 2 BB, striking out 8. He had been on a roll prior to his last start (8 ER over 2.2 IP against the Angels), so it appears that it was just a small bump in the road. He entered play with a .323 BABIP (courtesy of a 20.5% line drive rate) and 64.2% strand rate, so there definitely is room for a continued improvement. He pitches in a tough division, so I wouldn’t consider him a must start option, but he has the potential to be a viable option the rest of the way.
- Wasn’t the matchup between Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto supposed to be the one of the night? Neither pitched particularly well, however. Hamels allowed 3 ER on 6 H and 3 BB, striking out 4, over 6.0 IP. Cueto allowed 2 ER on 5 H and 3 BB, striking out 4, over 5.0 IP. Obviously no one is going to get upset and I would expect both to rebound in their next outings.
- When two teams combine for 27 runs and 38 hits there are going to be plenty of hitting stars. Then again, between the Angels and Red Sox is anyone surprised? The bigger story for the Red Sox may have been the implosion of Alfredo Aceves, who allowed 5 ER on 6 H and 1 BB, striking out 1, in an inning of work. He also got burned for 2 home runs. He had gone six consecutive innings without allowing a run, so I wouldn’t say a move to Andrew Bailey (who allowed 1 ER on 3 H over 0.2 innings last night) is imminent. However, I also wouldn’t consider Aceves’ job safe either. Stashing Bailey would make sense
- Roy Oswalt stepped in for Yu Darvish and allowed 4 R (3 earned) on 7 H and 1 BB, striking out 4, over 5.1 innings of work. Oswalt definitely has not lived up to the hope of fantasy owners and obviously may not get another start (considering on the status of Darvish). At this point you have to wonder how much is left in the tank. I could see stashing him in deeper formats, but it’s hard to trust him right now.
- After leaving Wednesday’s game early it was nice to see Pablo Sandoval back in the starting lineup. He was hitting third and went 1-4 with 1 RBI. There’s nothing to be concerned about at this point.
- Interesting to see Brandon Belt bumped up to the fifth spot in the order with Buster Posey again out of the lineup. He went 1-3 with 1 R and 1 SB and clearly has started to entrench himself in the Giants lineup. Time will tell if he can finally live up to the hype, but he’s clearly with owning in deeper formats. He’s not guaranteed playing time, with Posey possibly playing first base at times, but it appears he’ll be in the lineup on most nights at this point.
