Game #122 Preview: Stroman vs Lynn

The Blue Jays head to the Bronx for a 3 game road series starting tonight. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Marcus Stroman goes for the Jays. He has continually chipped away at that unsightly ERA of his, which is now sitting at 5.03 with a 4-8 record. His FIP is also down to 3.79, still a bit higher than his career average. If you look at his post-injury return, those numbers vastly improve to a 3.34 ERA, a 4-3 record and a 3.26 FIP.

Stroman is coming off a good start against the Rays his last time out, a start that was cut short due to blister concerns. I haven’t really heard any updates over the last week on his blister, so I am going to hope that it wasn’t a huge deal and he’s over those struggles. Realistically, he’s probably going to be fighting that issue for a while still.

Yankees’ Starter

Recently acquired right hander Lance Lynn goes for the Yankees. His numbers have been pretty great since coming over from the Twins, as Lynn has an 0.54 ERA in 16.2 innings in Pinstripes. His FIP is 1.24 in that span too, so he has been more than just lucky, and he hasn’t allowed a home run yet.

The Jays faced Lynn once earlier this season when he was still with Minnesota. They touched him up for 6 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks over 5 innings. They struck out just 4 times, while Justin Smoak and Russell Martin took him deep in the April 30 Blue Jays’ win in Minnesota.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Martin is expected to be catching Stroman in this one.

That means that we will probably see Richard Ureña in the field again, probably at SS as Aledmys Díaz gets his second consecutive start at 3B.

Curtis Granderson sat yesterday’s game, but I would guess that it is Teoscar Hernandez that sits again today.

Yankees’ Lineup

They’re no longer on the record breaking home run pace they were a month ago, now sitting at 195 in 121 games. That’s a pace of 245 home runs, 20 short of beating the Ken Griffey Jr. led 1997 Mariners.

The lull is no doubt related to the absence of Aaron Judge, who has been on the DL with a chip fracture in his wrist since July 26. Also joining Judge on the DL is fellow masher Gary Sanchez, out with a strained groin since July 23.

Top prospect Clint Frazier is also out with a concussion he suffered over a month ago. This has led to seeing Neil Walker, he of the 70 wRC+ this year, to be the regular right fielder.

Yesterday’s Heroes

The Mets and Phillies played a pair of ugly games yesterday, the first perhaps setting the gold standard for ugliness. The Mets won 24-4, scoring 11 unearned runs in the opening game. The Phillies came back to win game 2 by a score of 9-6. A pair of Mets players ended up with 6 hits on the day, both hitting a home run a pair of doubles and 3 singles. Those players, Amed Rosario and Michael Conforto, are our co-winners of the Monster Bat award.

After Sergio Romo loaded the bases with none out in the top of the 9th against the Yankees, the Rays brought in Adam Kolarek to try and preserve the 3-1 lead. He got Greg Bird to pop out in foul territory before getting Brett Gardner and Austin Romine to go down swinging and earning the high pressure save. His work was worth a WPA King total of .510 WPA.

Clay Buchholz threw a complete game, allowing just a solo home run to Hunter Renfroe as the Diamondbacks won 5-1 over the Padres. Our Pitcher of the Day allowed 5 hits total while walking none to throw his first complete game since 2015.

Find the Link

Find the link between Lynn and Zack Cozart.