Game #113 Preview: Bieber vs Gausman

The Blue Jays wrap up their three game set with the Guardians, looking to win the series in what should be a very exciting series finale. The game is set to get underway at 1:37 ET, the perfect way to spend a glorious Sunday.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Kevin Gausman gets the ball for the Blue Jays, looking to get the hometown fans a win. Unfortunately for Jays’ fans, he hasn’t been able to get too many wins in front of them, going 3-5 with a 4.19 ERA at home. There’s a lot of discussion surrounding shifting when it comes to Gausman, and his .418 BABIP at home vs his .319 BABIP at home (the difference made up entirely by lefties on the road) is a huge reason why there is such a big difference in his home/road splits.

Gausman faced the Guardians back on May 7, and had one his typical early season dominating outings. That game will be remembered for the time that he issued his first walk of the season, but he still made it through 6.1 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts. He earned the win, as the Jays got to Bieber early, and ultimately won 8-3.

Guardians’ Starter

Shane Bieber gets the ball for the Guardians, and he is having his typical Bieber year. He is 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA. His FIP is even better, coming in to play at the 4th best mark in the AL at 2.87. His 1.98 BB/9 rate is excellent and his 0.75 HR/9 is a career low. But it’s his 9.18 K/9, a career low and over 1.5 below his career mark that is a bit concerning. He is facing a velocity dip of nearly 2 mph this year, but has still managed to work around it and be a front of the rotation starter that he has been for the last 5 years.

As mentioned before, Bieber faced off against Gausman and the Blue Jays earlier this year, and in that one Bieber had the worst start of his season and one of the worst of his career. He made it through just 3.1 innings, where he allowed 7 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. The Blue Jays didn’t hit a home run off him. But the biggest shock in that game was the fact that he never struck anyone out. It was the only time in 103 career games that he did not register a strikeout.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Bo gets the day off.

Guardians’ Lineup

Yesterday’s Heroes

Max Muncy went 4-5 with a home run, double and pair of singles, driving in 4 runs and walking home with the Monster Bat award. He was just one cog in the Dodgers massive wheel, as they walked all over the Royals 13-3.

Logan Webb threw 8 shutout innings, and his Giants put up a run early, giving him plenty of time to rack up the WPA points. He gets the WPA King trophy with a .461 mark, as the Giants beat the Pirates 2-0.

Webb doesn’t get the Pitcher of the Day award though. That goes to Adam Wainwright, who took a no-hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a hit to Andrew McCutchen with 2 outs. Wainwright stuck around though, pitching 9 complete, while allowing 1 run on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 8. Unfortunately for him, the Brewers’ pitchers kept the Cardinals off the board just as much, and this game went into extras where the Brewers were the eventual champions by a score of 3-2.

Find the Link

Find the link between Amed Rosario and Whit Merrifield.

Stats retrieved from Fangraphs and Baseball Savant