Coach Fletcher’s Tuesday Scouting Edge
Tuesday, August 4
4:05 pm Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
Happ Draws Tough Assignment in First Start for Pirates
J.A. Happ makes his first start for the Pirates after spending the first part of the season with the Mariners. He’s filling the shoes of A.J. Burnett who went on the disabled list. Happ started the season in good shape with a 3.31 era in his first 11 starts. Things have gone down-hill from there. In his last 15 games Happ has gone 1-5 with a 5.37 era. It’s been even worse in his last 7 starts where he is 1-2 with a 6.90 era. That’s not what the Pirates are hoping for from Happ. In his last start July 30 against the Twins he allowed 9 hits and 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings. He draws Jake Arrieta of the Cubs who is 11-6 with a 2.62 era.
4:05 pm Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals
Runs May Be Scarce in This One
It doesn’t look like there is much chance of an avalanche of runs in this one. Pat Corbin goes for the D-backs and Max Scherzer hits the hill for the Nats. We know quite a bit about Scherzer and it’s all good. He’s 11-8 with a 2.22 era. Scherzer is actually more vulnerable at home where he is 4-5 with a 2.70 era. He was brought up in the D-back organization and has a 1.29 era against them in 14 innings. Corbin was out of baseball for nearly a season and a half but has come on strong lately. This will be his 6th start since his Tommy John surgery. In his last 2 games Corbin has gone 13 innings allowing just 2 runs and fanning an impressive 16. He’s 2-3 with a 3.21 era on the season. He’s gone 1-2 with a 2.00 era since the All-Star break.
4:08 pm Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers
Verlander Now Tiger Ace Again?
No one has bashed Verlander more than me in the last few months. But I may have to eat my words now because Verlander may well be back. Verlander is 1-3 with a 4.86 era and that is surely nothing special nor Verlander-like. In his last 2 starts after being mauled by the Orioles, Verlander has been sharp. He’s gone 16 innings and allowed 11 hits and 2 runs while fanning 13. Boston and Tampa Bay were the victims. He’s struggled at home where he is 0-2 with an 8.24 era. His last 2 starts were on the road. As I pointed out in previous posts, Verlander’s era has gone up steadily every year for the past 5 years. He was 24-5 with a 2.40 era in 2011. In 2014 he went 15-12 with his era up to 4.54. He lost 24 games combined in 2013-14. Tomorrow should give us some idea where Justin is headed from here.
4:10 pm San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves
Poor Shelby Miller – He’s Starting To Fold His Tent
Poor Shelby Miller is right. He has been toiling all season for the Atlanta Braves and has very little to show for it. And now it appears he’s on a downward dive. Miller is 5-8 with a very strong era of 2.44. But the Braves lack of scoring has made an otherwise bright season one of darkness. His era of 3.13 over his last 13 starts is starting to show some wear and tear which in Miller’s case may be mental as well as physical. He’s allowed a season high 11 hits in half of his last 4 games. In his last 15 games Miller has gone 1-7 with a 2.75 era which is nothing to sneeze at. But in his last 7 games he is 0-5 with an era of 3.38. You can see the direction he is headed. In his last start he went 6 innings against the Phillies and gave up 4 runs and 11 hits. Miller faces the Giants’ Jake Peavey who doesn’t have the numbers Miller does, but he is trending upward.
5:05 pm Houston Astros at Texas Rangers
Astros Try to Add to Gallardo’s Woes
Yovani Gallardo is 7-9 with a 3.39 era but things appear to be headed in the wrong direction. After going 4 starts without giving up a run, Gallardo has been tagged for 5 runs in each of 3 brief appearances since then. In fact on 7/19, the Astros got to Gallardo for 7 hits and 5 runs in just 4 innings. That was unusual because Gallardo has had overall success versus Houston going 14-4 with a 2.99 era. After July 19, the Astros are now looking forward to seeing Gallardo again. After the Houston disaster Gallardo was racked for 5 runs and 8 hits by the Angels in only 4 innings. In his last start he was pounded by the Yankees for 5 runs in 6 innings on 8 hits. Gallardo has walked 8 and fanned 5 in the 3 contests. In his last 7 games Gallardo is 1-3 with a 4.31 era. He’s given up 15 runs in his last 14 innings.