Just pitchers today as I'm a little sore from an afternoon softball game. Here's a tip: it's not a very good idea to slide on a hard field when you're wearing shorts. At Rotowire, the advice doesn't stop with fantasy sports. We impart life lessons.
Look for batter and lineup notes in the MLB updates.
DET @ BAL
Justin Verlander v Jeremy Guthrie
We have hammered Verlander's recent dominance to death on this site, but I'll throw out some stats anyway.... He has a 60:10 K:BB ratio over his past six starts... Opposing batters get on base at .220 clip during those starts... High pitch counts should be expected from power pitchers, and Verlander averages 16.96 pitches per inning and just over six innings per game... Verlander has not allowed a home run since April 22... Guthrie may be coming off his finest start of the season, granted it came against the slumping Jays... He allowed one run in the game, the second time all season he allowed one run or less in a start... He has allowed nearly as many home runs (six) as walks this month (nine)... Note rookie Matt Wieters will likely be catching Guthrie for the first time ever
HOU @ PIT
Wandy Rodriguez v Jeff Karstens
Johan Santana may be the only NL pitcher hotter than Rodriguez, who leads the league with a 253 ERA+... He lasted just four innings in his last start due to six unearned runs on 10 hits.... He has thrown 56 K's in 63 innings and allowed just one home run (to Mike Cameron)... Rodriguez averaged 20 strikes looking per game before his last start (including 50 between the two previous starts), but he only picked up eight in the four-inning effort against the Reds.... It was his third start against Cincinnati's franchise, and the number of looking strikes decreased in each one... Karstens has yet to reach the seventh inning in eight starts… Unsurprisingly, he has only factored in three decisions… He has allowed a home run in four of five May starts… He averages less than two walks per game in May, but only averages two strikeouts…
NYY @ CLE
Sabathia has really settled down from those early-season jitters… He averages eight innings and eight strikeouts over his past four starts while holding opposing batters to a .183/.223/.243 line… Two of his three home runs allowed have come on the road, even with the home-run tendencies of Yankee Stadium… Even with all of his innings, he has kept his pitch counts low, averaging 109.4 pitches per start… Carmona, on the other hand, has not resolved his early-season troubles… He has only one win in his past seven starts, and he only lasted 1.1 innings in his last start… His K/BB ratio has declined from 1.13 in April to 0.79 in May, though the opposing slugging percentage has dropped nearly 200 points (.491, .293)… I haven't read it anywhere, but I wonder if the Indians have considered putting him in the 'pen
WAS @ PHI
Raise your hand if you knew Martis had a 5-0 record on the season… Raise your hand if you Martis existed…. He has ND'd the past two games despite allowing 10 total runs in 12 innings… Martis has a 19:21 K:BB ratio outside a 6-K, 0-BB performance against the D-Backs May 8… Hamels' ERA is just a smidgen better than Martis' (4.68 v 4.86)… He has pitched much better since returning from an ankle injury, going 2-0 with 28 K's in 25 innings… He has allowed four home runs in May, but three of those are split between the homer havens of the GABP and Yankee Stadium…. He did not walk a Yankee in his last start
CHI-A @ KC
Buehrle has left the game with the lead six times in nine starts… He has only walked three in five May starts… He allowed an uncharacteristic 12 hits in his last start… Only one of those hits scored, but he still got the no-decision following a B Jenks BS… Meche had the same number of strike outs as Zack Greinke last season (183), but he trails the likely AL Cy Young by 40 K's though 10 starts… Meche has lost five of his past six and lasted only 2.1 innings in his last start (against the Tigers)… Despite his struggles, he has only allowed one home run (to Aubrey Huff)… He has six walks to four strikeouts in his past three starts
CIN @ MIL
Aaron Harang v Dave Bush
In something of a bizarre move, Harang resumed pitching after a two-hour rain delay so he could get the final out and put himself in line for the win… He got the out and the win… He has allowed a home run in six consecutive starts… Even with all the home runs, he has only allowed 20 total runs in that streak (18 earned)… Take away that bizarre last start, and he has struck out at least six in every May start… Bush has left the game with the lead, the game tied or his team down by one five times but owns just three wins… Like Harang, Bush is working on a home run allowed streak, but his is only at five… Eight home runs allowed in these five starts, but he has struck out 24 to six walks…
OAK @ TEX
Brett Anderson v Brandon McCarthy
Right after I let go of Anderson on one of my teams, he reels off his first two wins of the season… All five runs allowed in those starts have come via the home run… He has exceeded a pitch count of 100 just twice this season, and we have to assume the A's won't push him far beyond the 90s unless he coasts… McCarthy is coming off the start of his career, a complete game shutout against the Astros… McCarthy has 17 strikeouts (to five walks) in the three starts since allowing seven runs to the A's, and he has allowed just seven earned runs in those games… He also averages 115.7 pitches in those three games
SD @ COL
Josh Geer v Jason Hammel
Geer picked up his first win of the season in his last start, limiting the Cubs to one run on five hits in 6.2 innings… He also struck out a career-high seven… Seven home runs allowed in his past five starts, and he has allowed at least one in each start… He got the Cubs to swing at a lot of stuff… His 11 swinging strikes was his first time in double digits… Hamel also comes off his first win of the season… He held the Tigers to one run on six hits in six innings, but he walked three to four strikeouts… He has not adjusted to Coors yet, allowing opposing hitters to hit .375/.420/.639 in Denver (compare that to a .282/.330/.329 line on the road)… All four home runs allowed have come in Coors… It's a small sample size (82 plate appearances), but it's a split worth noting
SEA @ ANA
Hernandez's last start was something of a rebounds… He struck out 10 Giants in eight innings and allowed one run… He has gone over 100 pitches in six of 10 games… His 9.2 K/9 is a career high, but he has eclipsed the seven-K mark just twice in May… Palmer is also an unlikely 5-0 candidate and he has ND'd his last start… He threw an inning of relief, allowing two runs, against the White Sox on May 26… That outing will probably not affect him here, though he did throw 31 pitches in that one inning
STL @ SF
Carpenter has been as good, if not better than before, since returning from an oblique injury… In the two starts since, he has 14 K's in 13 innings, two walks allowed and five hits allowed… He has yet to allow a run this year and has allowed only two doubles…. Zito has endured three straight losses after earning his first win of the season May 8… He has allowed four home runs and 12 walks in those three games… His 3.9 BB/9 this year is lower than last year's 5.1
There's a buffalo chicken wrap somewhere calling my name…
-DK out