Saturday's Diamond Notes
April 30, 2016
Hottest team: Mets (7-0 last seven)
New York banged out a 12-run third inning in last night’s 13-1 romp over San Francisco, scoring more runs in that one frame than it has plated in any single game all season. The dozen runs also doubled as the largest single-inning output in franchise history as they picked up eight hits and four walks, the biggest of which was Yoenis Cespedes’ grand slam.
The Mets have won 10 of 11 games and have now picked up five consecutive victories at Citi Field after losing four of their first five in Queens. Jacob deGrom takes the mound for New York, putting his perfect record and 1.54 ERA on the line. He’s never lost to San Francisco, dominating in both career starts, allowing two runs over 15.1 innings. The Giants are hitting .115 against him. deGrom won his first start since coming off paternity leave, but lasted just 5.2 innings in a 3-2 win at Atlanta.
Coldest team: Dodgers (0-5 last five)
The Reds have also lost five straight, but we’ll discuss them below. Following last night’s home loss to San Diego, the Dodgers have fallen five consecutive times – all at home. Miami came through town and outscored L.A. 16-8 over the course of a four-game sweep, handing Clayton Kershaw, Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda their first losses. The Padres broke open a 1-1 game in the top of the 8th and haven’t scored more than three runs in a single game in any game during this streak.
Stripling is back on the mound for the Dodgers and is still looking for his first major-league win. He’s coming off his worst start, giving up his first home run against the Fish. Over his last two outings, the rookie has pitched just nine innings and given up six runs, five of them earned. L.A. outscored the Padres 25-0 over the first three games of the season and faced San Diego starter Colin Rea for a single inning in their 15-0 loss on April 4, scoring a run in the rout.
Hottest pitcher: Rick Porcelllo (4-0, 3.51 ERA)
Despite the acquisition of David Price, Porcello has been the steadiest Red Sox pitcher, rebounding from an awful first season with the team that saw him go 9-15 with an ERA of 4.92. He’s won every time he’s taken the mound thus far this season, twice beating Toronto. He’s coming off his strongest outing of the season, shutting out Atlanta at Turner Field over 6.1 innings, giving up just four hits. He’s got 30 strike outs and walked only five over 25.2 frames and will look to join Chicago’s Chris Sale as the only five-game winners in April. Detroit’s Jordan Zimmerman, favored in an afternoon tilt at Minnesota, also has an opportunity to go 5-0 and carries an MLB-leading 0.35 ERA. Chicago's Mat Latos will try and go 5-for-5 in Baltimore, and hasn't allowed more than a single run in any of his starts thus far.
Coldest pitcher: Alfred Simon (0-2, 16.39 ERA)
Simon is making his third start of the season and has been utilized as a long reliever twice. He lasted just 2.2 innings at home against the Cubs in his last outing, surrendering eight runs on 10 hits. Prior to that, he worked a single inning of mop-up duty in St. Louis and compounded matters by giving up four runs, including two homers. The Reds haven’t won a single game he’s appeared in, his ERA is an eyesore and he’s given up 22 hits in 9.1 innings. Cincinnati has been outscored 38-10 in contests he’s pitched in.
Biggest UNDER run: Rangers (6-1 last seven)
Texas broke out a 10-spot on the Yankees on Tuesday, but has helped deliver nearly a full week's worth of unders the rest of the week. The 10-1 win over New York began a three-game winning streak the Rangers take into today's game against the Angels, but they had lost four in a row prior to breaking out and have scored three runs or fewer in six of their last nine.
Biggest OVER run: Giants (7-1 last eight)
San Francisco scored 13 runs to beat the Padres on Thursday and gave up 13 last night, continuing a run of high-scoring games that was only interrupted by Tuesday's 1-0 win. They'll send Matt Cain to the mound against deGrom and will likely need to score runs to avoid another loss considering Cain has been knocked around over his last three starts, giving up 13 runs in 15 innings.
Matchup to watch: White Sox at Orioles
This is the weekend's only battle between division leaders and is also the lone four-game series being played. Baltimore won its third consecutive game and second straight over the White Sox, breaking out of a rough patch that had seen them lose four of five before avoiding a sweep at Tampa Bay on Wednesday. The Birds have feasted on lefties John Danks and Carlos Rodon, so we'll see how they fare against righty Mat Latos, who has been virtually unhittable thus far, coming in 4-0 with an 0.74 ERA. Kevin Gausman will make his second start for Baltimore.
Betcha didn’t know:Colorado's Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado went back-to-back against Arizona's Robbie Ray last night, becoming the first hitters in baseball to reach the double-digit mark in home runs (10). Story has tied Chicago's Jose Abreu's rookie record for most home runs in an April and will look to break it against Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke, who he got twice on Opening Day as part of a 10-5 Rockies outburst in Denver.
Biggest public favorite: Mets (-190) at Giants
Biggest public underdog: Blue Jays (+120) at Rays
Biggest line move: Orioles (-115 to -150) vs. White Sox