In an MLB debut that no one was paying attention to, the Diamondbacks went with Zack Godley to take the hill against the visiting Brewers. There were very few expectations for the converted starter, but he went a dazzling 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. I took a moment to watch some of his start and here’s the lowdown: He throws a ton of Cutters that he was effectively locating off the plate for batters to chase, while tossing a solid Curveball as well. He’s the kind of guy that can excel like last night if he’s spotting up and nibbling effectively, but the moment that crumbles, you’ll see a handful of walks with a bunch of runs scored. I don’t blame you for picking him up on a whim, but I’m thinking this is along the lines of Carlos Frias instead of Mike Bolsinger.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Clayton Kershaw – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 11 Ks. Wanna know his xFIP this season? It’s sitting at 1.88 – 20 points lower than last year as he holds a K-BB% of 28.9%. That’s nearly two points higher than Max Scherzer who carries a 2.84 xFIP. Just saying.
Ervin Santana – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. He was our call boy and boy did he get the job donezo. I’d start him against Pittsburgh next week, but he visits Toronto after that which he’ll be spending at Seat 4c on my bench.
Tom Koehler – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Even if you want to say that he has a 1.62 ERA across his last six starts, you have to do so mentioning his 3.72 FIP and 4.02 xFIP across that span. Oh, and his 6.00 K/9 as well. Womp womp.
Jeff Samardzija – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Even when Loose Lips doesn’t sink your ship, he still can only round up three strikeouts. Come on man, that K/9 is worse than Nick Martinez’s.
Bartolo Colon – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. He was outdueled by Kershaw, but who isn’t these days?
R.A. Dickey – 8.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Dickey told me that Pluto is a planet. Don’t trust a knuckleballer.
David Price – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Francisco Liriano – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 11 Ks. My oh my this is lovely. He went from missing a start with a neck injury to giving you a sub 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 11 Ks. He’s something else this season.
Masahiro Tanaka – 7.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. A trio of Baltimore solo shots are what held Tanaka back from having a fantatic evening. You’ll take this, but 1 ER would have been soooo much better.
Garrett Richards – 8.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Blegh. I was really hoping that Richards had turned the corner in his CGSHO where he only walked one batter. I wouldn’t be investing in him and I’d sell if he’s still going somewhat high.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. This was against Detroit. Freakin’ Detroit! Now will you start him with confidence?
John Lackey – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Meh, not bad. I guess you could say it was a little…a little…a lit— damn I had something for this.
Wade Miley – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Those five walks are more unwanted than my ex-wife. I don’t have an ex-wife.
Tyson Ross – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. So he has only his second start all year with walking a batter, and it comes when he gets Singled Out. So on top of that 4.18 BB/9 is a .340 BABIP which does his 1.39 WHIP no favors. This is stupid now, I know he has a 2.75 FIP and 3.08 xFIP, but seriously, how can we possibly believe it will all come together?
Drew Pomeranz – 1.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Because Scott Kazmir was traded to the Astros, someone had to step up and survive for two innings. Or five outs, whatever this doesn’t matter.
Lance McCullers – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Ehhhh, if you’re gonna give me a poor WHIP like that, at least show off that elite K rate. Get it together McCullers.
Trevor Bauer – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Awesome Ks, horrible everything else. Yep, that’s Bauer.
Mike Fiers – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Just look at those strikeouts…and look at that 2.00 WHIP / 7.20 ERA…
Doug Fister – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Whoa whoa whoa. Doug, don’t you know you’re not allowed to punchout so frequently? How else am I supposed to Fister?
Chris Young – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I feel like I’m in a Scooby Doo episode where we just pulled off the mask and it looks exactly the same as before. Gasp! It was Chris Young the entire time?!
Ubaldo Jimenez – 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. This is back-to-back 7 ER starts for Ubaldo. I’m going to shock you and say that it’s not time to move on. He faced both the Yankees and Tigers on the road, allowing 4 HRs total. He gets the Braves next which should be a solid bounce back.
Today’s Streamer
Chris Tillman vs. Tampa Bay Rays – It’s no secret I don’t like Tillman, but he has been pretty dang solid his past four outings, and he gets a great matchup against the Rays. It’s probably the only time all season I’ll be on the Tillman train for any amount of time so take a picture. It’ll last less time than saving a screenshot to your desktop.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Zach Lee vs. New York Mets – Sure, it’s a debut for Lee, but the Mets are struggling mightily at the plate, and Lee has been effective in the minors. Considering that other options aren’t so pretty you may as well go with Zach.
Game of the Day
Max Scherzer vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – Now that Kershaw has been super-fly, let’s see if Scherzer can keep up.