Coach Fletcher’s Scouting Edge
Friday, July 3
The much anticipated matchup between Matt Cain and Jose Fernandez came out according to plan as the Marlins took a close game 5-4. The reason I say ‘according to plan’ is that Miami was our 2* release yesterday and it was based in large part due to the more stringent rehab that Fernandez underwent. It showed as Fernandez improved to 13-0 at Marlins Park. He also hit a home run, but that wasn’t part of the plan.
11:20 am Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs
Marlins Hope to Keep Winning Without Stanton
The Marlins, fresh off of sweeping the San Francisco Giants in Miami, have won 4 of their last 5 games despite losing slugger Giancarlo Stanton for 4-6 weeks. Stanton still leads the majors with 27 home runs. The Marlins send Tom Koehler to the mound. He’s 6-4 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.28 whip. Koehler just beat the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw 3-2, allowing only 2 runs and 6 hits in 7 innings. In his previous start, Koehler beat the NYY giving up only 3 hits and 1 run in 7 frames. However, both of those wins were at home and Koehler hasn’t fared well on the road this year. He has an ERA of 6.45 as a visitor. He’s only tossed 10 1/3 innings against the Cubbies in the last 2 years allowing 6 runs. Koehler is 8-13 on the road lifetime.
4:05 pm Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
Top Pitchers Tanaka and Archer Tangle After Rough Outings in Last
All might not go as planned when two top pitchers with perfect records versus tonight’s opposition face off in Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer is 5-0 with a 2.02 ERA versus the Bronx Bombers. Masahiro Tanaka is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA against the Rays. Somebody will have to lose this one unless the pens come into play. One interesting element in this game is that both Tanaka and Archer had sub-par games in their last start. Tanaka, in fact, has a 6.88 ERA in his last 3 starts. In his last 10 innings he has given up 11 runs and 17 hits plus 6 bombs. In Archer’s last start against Boston, he was tagged for 3 round trippers in 6 innings giving up 5 runs and 5 hits. Two games back he gave up 3 runs in 5 innings with 8 hits. His ERA for his last 3 games is 4.26. The Yanks’ Jacoby Ellsbury could be activated for this game. Ellsbury is 12 for 18 against Archer. I’m guessing he’s in the lineup.
4:10 pm Houston Astros at Boston Red Sox
Who’s In – Who’s Out For Hot Houston Astros and Red Sox?
Red hot Houston just swept 3 from the KC Royals which should have put them in a good mood. Unfortunately, some injuries will force lineup changes for the 1st place Astros. Lead-off man and center fielder George Springer will be sidelined for an extended period with a broken right wrist. The Astros do get outfielder Colby Rasmus back from a 5 game absence after being bitten by a bug (no joke). The Astros also called up Alex Presley from Triple A Fresno. Dan Strailey will take the hill for the Astros replacing Brett Oberholtzer in the rotation. Strailey was 6-6 with a 4.04 in 14 Triple A starts. Justin Masterson makes a second start for Boston after a 5 week stint on the DL. Shane Victorino, Boston outfielder, is expected to return from the DL after missing 38 games with a calf injury. Dustin Pedroia missed Wednesday’s game and isn’t expected back Friday.
5:05 pm Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers
Angels Visit Texas and Josh Hamilton Amid Clubhouse Tension
It hasn’t been a bad season for the Angels, but it has been a tumultuous one. The worry now is that clubhouse tension that resulted in general manager Jerry Dipoto resigning will carry over to the field. On Wednesday when all hell broke loose, the Halos saw their 4 game win streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees. Hamilton’s departure from LA was not a popular move with either the fans or the players. The main reason for that is that Angel owner Arte Moreno basically gave Hamilton away and swallowed about $60 million in salary. Albert Pujols, who had one of the best Junes in his career, was caught up in the Dipoto commotion on Wednesday lashing out at reporters. Pujols was perturbed that a comment was attributed to him that he said was false. The Halos hope things will be calm as they take on Texas with Garrett Richards who is 6-1 lifetime versus the Rangers.
7:10 pm New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
Punchless Mets Coming at Right Time for Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw has not been Clayton Kershaw this season. In past seasons Kershaw has been virtually unhittable unless you wore a Cardinal uniform. This year he has shown signs of vulnerability. Clayton has lost 3 straight decisions. Kershaw is just 5-6 with a 3.20 ERA. That’s right – 5-6. LA hasn’t helped much, scoring just 2.6 runs per game of support. Kershaw is better at home with a 2.31 ERA and has logged a 3.15 ERA over his last 3 games. Every pitcher in baseball is hoping for a shot at the Mets. The Mets were swept by the Cubs and scored a grand total of 1 run and 15 hits in the 3 game set. Since June 14, NY has averaged only 1.6 runs per game, worst in MLB. Kershaw is 5-0 lifetime versus the Mets with a 1.62 ERA. But those starts came between 2011 and 2013.