Games #89&90 Preview: Allard/Folty vs Ryu/Matz

After yesterday’s game was rained out, the Blue Jays and Rangers will wrap up their series this afternoon with a pair of 7 inning games. The first is set to get underway at 1:07 ET, while game 2 should get underway about 30 minutes or so after the end of the first.

Blue Jays’ Starters

Hyun Jin Ryu is still tabbed for the first game here. He’ll bring in his 8-5 record and 3.56 ERA into battle this afternoon. This will be Ryu’s second time facing the Rangers. In the first one, he pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walked none and struck out 7. Nick Solak hit a home run, and Ryu ended up taking the loss as the Jays lost 2-1.

Game 2 will be Steven Matz’ turn in the rotation, and he may be fighting to keep his spot, at least somewhat. With Thomas Hatch healthy, and the possibility of adding a starter on the trade market, Matz’ hold on the spot isn’t exceptionally tight. He has pitched fairly well for the most part, sitting with a 7-4 record and a 4.72 ERA. Both his xERA and FIP put him pretty much at 4.00, which is a lot better than the 4.72 ERA says he has been, and the overall record is helped by a strong offense and a strong start to his season.

Matz made a start against the Rangers to open his season, and it was probably his best outing of the year. He went 6.1 innings, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits and a walk, striking out 9.

Rangers’ Starters

The left handed Kolby Allard is still set to get the ball in game 1 of the double header. He will bring his 3.69 ERA into this afternoon’s action. In 63.1 total innings, he has 61 strikeouts against just 13 walks, with 11 home runs allowed and fewer hits than innings pitched.

Right handed veteran Mike Foltynewicz will make the start for the Rangers in game 2. Folty crossed the 100 inning plateau in his last start, and while he is giving the Rangers a consistent presence in the lineup that’ll eat some innings, they haven’t been quality innings. He is 2-8 on the season, posting an ERA of 5.11, and his FIP is even worse at 5.60. He isn’t able to get many strikeouts anymore (just 73), and he also leads the Majors in home runs allowed (24, next closest is teammate Jordan Lyles, who has allowed 21).

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Game 1 is like this. Game 2 will have Biggio and McGuire back in there.

Rangers’ Lineup

Yesterday’s Heroes

Max Muncy went 4-5 with a pair of home runs and 5 RBI to pick up the Monster Bat award. His Dodgers were a happy swinging group last night, beating the home town Rockies 9-2.

Jacob Stallings hit a 2-out, walk-off Grand Slam last night, giving his Pirates the 9-7 win over the Mets. The grand slam itself was worth .828 WPA, and Stallings’ WPA King total for the day was .764.

Lucas Giolito went the distance yesterday, allowing 1 run on 3 hits over 9 innings. He struck out 8 and picked up the win on his way to the Pitcher of the Day honours, shutting down the league’s top offense in the White Sox 10-1 win over the Astros.

Find the Link

Find the link between Mike Foltynewicz and Mike Kvasnicka.

Stats retrieved from Fangraphs and Baseball Savant