Coach Fletcher's Monday Scouting Report
Monday, August 3
David Price is no doubt an excellent pitcher. He has found his way to Toronto from the depths of Detroit and I'm sure he's relishing the chance to pitch for a contender. His era while with the Tigers was a crisp 2.65 and his record 9-4. He goes into today's game as a huge favorite over the Twins and Ervin Santana. Santana is 2-1 with a 3.78 era after an 80 game suspension. His arm should be plenty fresh. Price ran into a few problems in his final start for the Tigers against Tampa Bay. He went 6 innings and gave up 5 runs on 7 hits, 2 of which went the distance. Santana sports a 0.76 era on the road. He too was blasted in his last start giving up 8 runs, 6 earned, against the Pirates. In 5 2/3 frames Santana gave up 8 hits including 2 four baggers. Price has been uber-successful against the Twins, who are 1 game ahead of Toronto in the Al Central. He's 8-3 with a 2.33 era overall. He's been 6-1 with a 1.87 era versus Minnesota in the last 2 seasons.
4:05 pm Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
Cubs Back on a Roll, But ...
The Chicago Cubs have had their ups and downs. They have been hovering in the area of 10 games behind the league leading Cardinals even after being swept at Wrigley by the suddenly hot Phillies. Now they've won 5 straight and Cub fans are happy again. The 5 game streak isn't all that impressive when you break it down. The first game in the streak started when they downed the Rockies and Eddie Butler 3-2 as -220 favorites. The next 4 wins were over the lowly Millwaukee Brewers who scored only 9 runs in the 4 game series. The Cubs only managed to score 13 runs and may have lost rookie Kris Bryant who injured himself Sunday. The Cubs were favored in the 1st 3 games in the series and were only slight dogs against the Brewers Kyle Lohse who is 5-13 on the year. Francisco Liriano and the Pirates may prove a little tougher for the Cubs today. We will see if they really are contenders or pretenders.
4:05 pm Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals
Zack Godley Tries for 3rd Straight Win as Dog
Zack Godley will try to win his 3rd game in as many starts as he takes on the Washington Nationals tonight. Godley has won his first two starts, both as dogs. The 25 year old Godley has spent 3 years in the minor leagues. He went 15-7 with a 2.73 era while there. He bypassed Triple-A coming directly to the D-backs from Double-A Mobile where he was 1-1 with a 5.14 era. In the big leagues, Godley has improved. In his first start against the Brewers, he went 6 innings without allowing a run and gave up only 4 hits and fanned 7. In his second start, this one against the Mariners, he went 6 innings once more and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits including 2 bombs. He will be facing the Nats Doug Fister who 1-2 with a 5.62 era in his last 3 starts.
5:10 pm San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers
Brewers Almost at Rock Bottom
The Milwaukee Brewers are now just 3 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies and tied wih the Colorado Rockies for baseball's worst team. The way they're going, it might not be long before they take over worst place. They take on the Padres at home sending a 2-5 Wily Peralta against a 7-8 Tyson Ross. The Brew Crew has lost 5 straight games including being swept 4 straight at home by the Cubs. They have only won 3 of their last 13 games. Ross is 2-1 versus Milwaukee holding them to only one run in 6 innings in 2 of his 3 starts in 2014. Peralta, however, may give the Brewers a shot at a win. He's 1-0 against the Friars with a 2014 victory to his credit and an era against SD of just 2.84. Peralta just came off a 2 month stay on the disabled list and brought his 96 mph fastball back with him. He went 6 innings against the Giants giving up 2 runs on 5 hits.