Game #50 Preview: Weber vs Richard

The Blue Jays will look to earn the four game split against the visiting Red Sox this afternoon. It’s an early one today, one of the earliest of the season, as the start time is set for 12:37 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

The Blue Jays will turn to veteran left hander Clayton Richard in this one, in what would have otherwise been Ryan Feierabend’s spot in the rotation. I’m not 100% sure what their plan with Feierabend is, but I think we’ll find out more shortly.

Richard is making his Blue Jays’ debut after just 1 rehab start and a few much talked about bullpen sessions. His start in Buffalo was pretty good all things considered, as he threw 3.1 shutout innings, striking out 4 against 2 walks. He had a similar time in Spring Training for the Jays, making it through 10.2 innings with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 9. He hit the Injured List shortly after the season started, missing his first opportunity of making a start then.

Richard came over to the Jays in an offseason trade that sent Minor League outfielder Connor Panas to San Diego. For the Padres last year, Richard went 7-11 with a 5.53 ERA, with an FIP a fair bit better at 4.68, but still not something to get excited about. If he makes it through today without getting shellacked, I will be very happy and kinda surprised considering who his opponent is.

Red Sox’ Starter

Right hander Ryan Weber will be making his 4th appearance and 1st start with the Red Sox. Hector Velazquez had been in the Red Sox rotation for the most part in this spot, but he has been relegated to the bullpen for the time being, and the Red Sox will see what Weber can do for them.

Weber has made 8 career starts and 19 relief appearances over parts of 5 seasons with the Braves, Mariners, Rays and Red Sox. He has thrown a total of 81.2 big league innings, compiling a 1-5 record with a 4.53 ERA. He has struck out just 50 batters, but his calling card appear to be the fact that he fills the strike zone, having walked a minuscule 14, although he has allowed 11 home runs. Journeyman spot starter seems like the best description of who he is.

Lineups

I really expected the lineups to be posted by now (3.5 hours to gametime), but I guess I’ll just throw them in the chat when they come up.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tweaked his ankle in yesterday’s game, but he played through it and the hope is that it’s nothing. It would suck for all the kids likely in attendance today to miss an opportunity to watch Vlad.

J.D. Martinez isn’t expected back in the lineup today either, which means he would have missed the entire series due to illness.

Yesterday’s Heroes

Eloy Jimenez hit a pair of home runs last night, which is good enough to earn the Monster Bat award. The rookie’s power output definitely helped, as his White Sox took down the loaded Astros 9-4.

Mookie Betts, with his 12th inning home run and 3 walks last night, earned the WPA King title with a .525 mark.

Eric Lauer made it through 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, walking none and striking out 7 to earn the Pitcher of the Day honours. His strong outing earned him the win in his Padres 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Find the Link

Find the link between Ryan Weber and Ryan Webb.

Stats are courtesy of Fangraphs