Game #52 Preview: Bundy vs Berríos

After last night’s loss ended their eight game winning streak, the Blue Jays will look start another winning streak this afternoon, playing game two of their three game set against the visiting Twins. First pitch today is set for 3:07 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

José Berríos will face his former team for what is already the third time since his trade last July. The Blue Jays and Berríos will be hoping to see that familiarity bring back some good results, as Berríos has undoubtedly had a rough year so far. In 10 starts, he has thrown just 49.2 innings, pitching to a 3-2 record with a 5.62 ERA. His FIP isn’t a whole lot better at 5.02, as he has surrendered a lot of home runs, and has seen his strikeout rate plummet nearly 2.5 per 9 innings below his career average. His velocity is roughly the same, but he’s just not missing bats and is getting hit hard.

Twins’ Starter

Veteran Dylan Bundy will get the ball for the Twins, making his ninth start of the season. Through 39.2 innings thus far, Bundy is 3-2 with a 4.76 ERA, but pitching much better than his results show, coming in with a 4.08 FIP, and a 3.27 xERA. He is doing a great job limiting free passe, with just 8 given up all year. His strikeout rate is down a bit, but he has replaced that with more popups, and has managed to lower his home run rate against him from his career numbers, although the career numbers are quite ugly. Overall, the results haven’t been great, but the Twins should be happy enough with their 1 year, $5m contract they gave him over the winter.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Twins’ Lineup

Yesterday’s Heroes

Former Blue Jays’ farmhand Lane Thomas, who entered the day with 15 career home runs, hit 3 yesterday, earning himself the Monster Bat award. In a day rife with home runs across the league, it was Thomas who stood out, helping his Nationals beat the Reds 8-5.

Eugenio Suárez hit a two run home run in the top of the 9th, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The bullpen would hold it, and the Mariners beat the Rangers by that 4-3 score. Suárez for his part gets the WPA King trophy with a .631 WPA.

Despite all of the home runs yesterday, there were three different pitchers who went 8 shutout innings. Joe Musgrove allowed just 1 hit, but walked 3 and beaned a batter against the Brewers. Zach Eflin allowed 5 hits and a walk to the Angels. But the Pitcher of the Day winner we’ll give to Max Fried, who allowed just 2 hits and a walk against the Rockies in Coors. Of the three pitchers, he was the only one who didn’t earn the win in the game, but the Braves held on long enough to win 3-1 in 10 innings.

Find the Link

Find the link between Jose Miranda and Kyle Cody.

Stats retrieved from Fangraphs and Baseball Savant