[FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1][h=2]Larry Ness' 10* Run-Line Game of the Month-AL[/h]My 10* Run-Line Game of the Month (AL) is on the Sea Mariners at 10:10 ET.
Phil Hughes was a HUGE disappointment with the Yankees (56-50, 4.47 ERA in seven seasons) but shocked almost all by going 16-10 (3.52) in his first season with the Twins in 2014, as Minnesota went 20-12 in his starts, giving him MLB’s 4th-best moneyline mark (plus-$1,201). However, Hughes has opened 0-3 in 2015, allowing 24 hits in 18.2 innings for a 5.30 ERA and WHIP 1.39 WHIP (helped by allowing just TWO walks), while opponents are batting .308 against him (OBA was .268 in 2014). Slow starts are nothing new for the 28-year-old, as April is far and away his worst career month with a 6-15 record and 6.05 ERA in 31 starts. The Twins have opened 6-9 but 2-7 on the road, getting outscored on average, 5,1-to-2.44 RPG.
Minnesota opens a three-game weekend series in Seattle and while the Mariners are also just 6-9 (including 4-5 at home) PLUS own a 4.83 team ERA (ranking 28th out of 30 teams), the Twins will have to face “King Felix” in this one. Hernandez (2-0, 2.37 ERA) has made two home starts in 2015, sandwiching one in Oakland. He has allowed two runs and four hits in 14 innings at home. Dating to his last 2014 start at Safeco, he's 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and .082 opponent batting average while striking out 29 in 19.1 innings. The right-hander is 10-2 in his last 15 home starts dating to May 23 and among pitchers with at least 10 home starts in that time, he leads the majors with a 1.56 ERA and 0.77 WHIP.
Hernandez is a modest 7-5 in 16 career appearances against Minnesota (Mariners are only 9-7) but that 2.08 ERA is nothing to sneeze at. “King Felix” has DOMINATED Minnesota recently, going 3-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in four starts over the previous three seasons. The Twins haven't won a road series since taking two of three in Houston from August 11-13 of last season, going 0-7-1 in eight series, since (8-18 in games). Getting a series win here in Seattle will almost assuredly mean winning Saturday and Sunday, as Seattle wins tonight, “with room to spare!”
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Phil Hughes was a HUGE disappointment with the Yankees (56-50, 4.47 ERA in seven seasons) but shocked almost all by going 16-10 (3.52) in his first season with the Twins in 2014, as Minnesota went 20-12 in his starts, giving him MLB’s 4th-best moneyline mark (plus-$1,201). However, Hughes has opened 0-3 in 2015, allowing 24 hits in 18.2 innings for a 5.30 ERA and WHIP 1.39 WHIP (helped by allowing just TWO walks), while opponents are batting .308 against him (OBA was .268 in 2014). Slow starts are nothing new for the 28-year-old, as April is far and away his worst career month with a 6-15 record and 6.05 ERA in 31 starts. The Twins have opened 6-9 but 2-7 on the road, getting outscored on average, 5,1-to-2.44 RPG.
Minnesota opens a three-game weekend series in Seattle and while the Mariners are also just 6-9 (including 4-5 at home) PLUS own a 4.83 team ERA (ranking 28th out of 30 teams), the Twins will have to face “King Felix” in this one. Hernandez (2-0, 2.37 ERA) has made two home starts in 2015, sandwiching one in Oakland. He has allowed two runs and four hits in 14 innings at home. Dating to his last 2014 start at Safeco, he's 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and .082 opponent batting average while striking out 29 in 19.1 innings. The right-hander is 10-2 in his last 15 home starts dating to May 23 and among pitchers with at least 10 home starts in that time, he leads the majors with a 1.56 ERA and 0.77 WHIP.
Hernandez is a modest 7-5 in 16 career appearances against Minnesota (Mariners are only 9-7) but that 2.08 ERA is nothing to sneeze at. “King Felix” has DOMINATED Minnesota recently, going 3-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in four starts over the previous three seasons. The Twins haven't won a road series since taking two of three in Houston from August 11-13 of last season, going 0-7-1 in eight series, since (8-18 in games). Getting a series win here in Seattle will almost assuredly mean winning Saturday and Sunday, as Seattle wins tonight, “with room to spare!”
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