Max Scherzer- ARI- Caution- With the Rangers coming to town starting tonight, it’s time to take a quick look at Scherzer’s home/road splits. They are not pretty for someone facing the Texas lineup in his home park, if you have Scherzer’s splits. On the road he has an outstanding 1.80 ERA, although his control has been suspect with 20 walks in 40 IP resulting in a 1.35 WHIP. At Chase Field the numbers are worse, a 5.73 ERA and 1.42 ERA. The big discrepancy mainly comes from the long ball. Scherzer has allowed only 1 homer on the road in 40 IP, but 7 a home in 33 IP. With the way the Rangers swing the bat, this is not a good trend for him.
Jamie Moyer- PHI- Cold- After a string of 3 consecutive quality starts, Moyer got pounded for 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks in 6 IP the last time out. It was at home, but Moyer cannot blame his poor stats solely on a hitter friendly home venue. Sure, his 7.15 ERA at Citizens Bank Park is atrocious, but his 5.40 road ERA is not something to be proud of. Facing Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg tonight will not be an easy task for Moyer, who looks like he may finally be wearing down, despite his recent hot streak.
Andrew Miller- FLA- FYI- Miller’s inconsistent feel for the strike zone is his biggest problem right now. In 7 starts since returning from the DL he has issued 4 walks 4 times. Only one of those was a quality start, and he gave up a total of 4 runs in 6 IP in that one (2 were unearned). In Miller’s other 3 starts he allowed fewer than 4 walks in each and had 2 quality starts in those. He only needed one more out in the other to get a quality start as he allowed 1 ER in 5-2/3 IP. There are flashes of the potential that made him a highly regarded prospect. He just needs to consistently be able to control his stuff.
Carlos Gonzalez- COL- Cold- Gonzalez’s time above the Mendoza line was brief. He went 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts yesterday to drop back to .196 in about the worst fashion possible. No style points were given for that performance. Gonzalez has potential, but might not quite be ready for the big league level.
Rick Ankiel- STL- Cold- Ankiel snapped a 5-game hitting streak, but even the streak was not that good, since he had gone 6-for-23. His average has dropped from .261 to .244 over his last 9 games. At the time this stretch started he was batting a .214 BHIPx and it is probably lower now. If you want to bet on regression to the mean happening, then Ankiel could be in line to help you in the second half.
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