Game #39 Preview: Anderson vs Weber

The Blue Jays and Red Sox continue their series this evening in Fenway Park, as the Blue Jays try to hold on to their precious no.2 spot in the AL East. Today’s game is later than your typical Saturday game, set to start at 7:30 EDT, so enjoy your Saturday before you unwind with a ball game.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Chase Anderson will try once again to earn his first win as a Blue Jay, but he has certainly pitched well enough so far to have already warranted one. His biggest problem on the win front is that he has been slowly ramping up his arm during the season, and as a result has only crossed the necessary 5 inning threshold twice. Through 5 starts, he has thrown just 19.2 innings, but in that time he has allowed 9 runs (7 earned) on 20 hits, walking just 4 and striking out 18.

Anderson has faced the Red Sox twice already this season, and has had fairly mixed results. His first start of the year was against Boston, where he made it just 3 innings due to a low pitch count limit, and his second was his first delve into the 5th inning, although that one was the only start he has allowed more than 1 earned run this year. Over 8 total innings against the Red Sox, Anderson has allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks, striking out just 4 but managing to keep the ball in the yard.

Red Sox’ Starter

Veteran right hander Ryan Weber will be making his 10th appearance this season, and 5th start. Through 28 innings, he is 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA. He is really struggling missing bats, having struck out just 13, while allowing 30 hits, 11 walks and 7 home runs.

Weber has faced the Jays twice this year, once as a starter at the beginning of August and once as a reliever towards the end. Over 5.2 total innings, he has allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, managing the strike out 4 batters. He allowed 1 home run over that span, a leadoff home run in the first game he pitched against the Jays back on August 7.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

You really have to wonder how much longer the Jays are going to stick with Reese McGuire and Derek Fisher this season. Both are struggling at the plate while not showing anything encouraging on defense either. I’m sure the lack of playing time isn’t helping either of them, but at this point, the Jays are probably better off giving them a bit of a break off the roster and getting some better options on the bench.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. seems to have fallen off from his hot hitting that he was doing a week ago. Since the end of his 12 game hitting streak, he has just 3 singles and a walk in 20 plate appearances, striking out 6 times. He’ll for sure have his ups and downs, it’s just not fun when he’s in the down part.

In the more exciting “up” category, in that same date range referenced above for Vladdy, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .429/.500/.857 over 24 PA, knocking 3 doubles and a pair of home runs. Yesterday wasn’t as kind to him, as it put an end to his 4 game extra base hit streak.

Red Sox’ Lineup

Yairo Munoz and Michael Chavis had a great day for the Red Sox yesterday, and could very well see their bats moved up the lineup more frequently. Munoz went 6-7 with 2 doubles and a home run, driving in 4 runs over the 2 games, while Chavis went 3-6 with a double and pair of RBI.

On the flip side of those two, the Jays’ pitchers managed to keep Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts bats in check, something they’ll need to continue to do if they’re going to have success against the Red Sox. They went a combined 0-10 in the two games, drawing just a pair of walks.

Yesterday’s Heroes

Ronald Acuna Jr. launched 3 home runs over his double header, driving in 4 runs on the day to pick up the Monster Bat award. His Braves split their double header with the Nationals with a 7-1 win and 10-9 loss.

Ryan Mountcastle had a big day against the Yankees in their double header, picking up a .443 WPA in game 2, the one that the Orioles won 6-3 thanks to Mountcastle’s 3-3 with 3 RBI. Mountcastle only pinch hit in game 1, when he got credited with the free runner in extras, and moved him to 3B on a fly out. His WPA for that play was .230 as the Yankees eventually won 6-5. His WPA King total for the day was .673.

Zach Davies went 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and 4 walks, so that isn’t good enough for Pitcher of the Day. I’ll give it instead to Yu Darvish, who allowed 1 run in his 7 innings of work, with the only baserunner he allowed being a solo home run while striking out 11. He helped his Cubs to the 4-1 win over the Cardinals.

Find the Link

Find the link between Michael Chavis and Sandy Leon.