MLB Daily Grind Down April 18th Night Games
The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the MLB schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit.
While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy baseball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, weather, and salaries. The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. No sport has more variance than baseball. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.
Alright seven games on the schedule for tonight. I hope your day games are going well. Alex Rios gets my nod for the play of the day tonight. With so many low OU you have to look around for guys that can produce even when their team is not. Alex Rios is 3-10 versus Dickey with 2 HRs. He will be followed by Paul Konerko who is 4-10 with 2 HRs. I smell another R.A. Dickey break down.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore
| Tampa Bay | Baltimore | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden Yards | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| David Price (0-1 REC, 5.82 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | Miguel Gonzalez (1-1 REC, 2.92 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 52-209 (0.249) H/AB, 0.675 OPS, 1 HR, 57 Ks | PvB | 17-84 (0.202) H/AB, 0.619 OPS, 2 HR, 20 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 116.2 IP, 3.16 ERA, 0.253 BAA, 8.6 K/9 | HOME | 39.2 IP, 4.08 ERA, 0.27 BAA, 5 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
TBR BvP  | TBR vs R | BAL BvP | BAL vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored TB -122
Pitchers
- Home Miguel Gonzalez first two starts were almost identical. He draws a tough matchup today vs. Price and TB team loaded with left-handed hitter. TB is batting just .212 on the season but Matt Gonzalez was a pretty bad pitcher at home last year. He is walking to many and not striking enough people out for me but the fact that TB is batting so poorly and has 102 Ks on the season makes him a factor In Play
- Away If you take out the 8 R pounding that CLE hung on him then David Price has actually pitched well. He had 8 Ks in his last start and faces a BAL team known for its free swinging ways. He is hittable on the road but a 3.16 ERA is not all that bad. He pitched well last year in BAL. He has held the current Orioles to only 1 HR in 209 AB. Target
Batters
- Home Matt Wieters is the guy with that one HR. He has a .310 BAA vs. Price. Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and Nick Markakis remain hot if you think that Price will stumble.
- Away Another day, another great set of BvPs for Evan Longoria. This guy was one hell of a hitter in his hay day. Gonzalez’s home ERA is high so odds are TB puts up some runs. Might be a good idea to sprinkle in some left-handed bats with the big 3B and the hot Ben Zobrist.
Boston at Cleveland
| Boston | Cleveland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Field | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Jon Lester (2-0 REC, 1.42 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | Zach McAllister (1-1 REC, 2.19 ERA, 5.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 34-119 (0.286) H/AB, 0.84 OPS, 3 HR, 38 Ks | PvB | 9-38 (0.237) H/AB, 0.763 OPS, 1 HR, 13 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 98.1 IP, 3.2 ERA, 0.238 BAA, 7.3 K/9 | HOME | 73.2 IP, 4.64 ERA, 0.281 BAA, 7.8 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| BOS BvP | BOS vs R | CLE BvP | CLE vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8
- Favored BOS -130
Pitchers
- Home Zack McAllister got hit hard at home last year. He has held most of the BOS hitters to limited success versus him and the team has seen their batting average drop over the last 7 days but they have been great versus right-handers hitting for .286. Their struggles have come with left-handers on the mound. He is only a slight dog in this one and the OU is low. In Play
- Away Jon Lester has been on fire to start the season. He runs into a CLE team that is batting only .196 over the last 7 days but that has had some success vs. him with a nice BAA. The Lefty has been nasty to righties holding them to a .196 BAA. Left-handers are batting .300 vs. him to start the season. He has 18 Ks on the season and CLE has struck out 115 times as a team. Target
Batters
- Home Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds have great numbers versus Lester. Carlos Santana looks to be in a good spot around them also since he hits lefties well. If you chose to fade Lester then taking a couple of these guys might not be a bad idea.
- Away Dustin Pedroia is batting just .250 vs. Left-handers on the season. I like the hot bat of Nava and Victorino in this one Jacoby Elisbury has been picking it up lately also.
Arizona at NY Yankees
| Arizona | NY Yankees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankee Stadium | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Patrick Corbin (2-0 REC, 1.50 ERA, 5.1 Avg IP) | Phil Hughes (0-2 REC, 10.29 ERA, 5.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 0-3 (0) H/AB, 0 OPS, 0 HR, 0 Ks | PvB | 16-50 (0.32) H/AB, 1.06 OPS, 3 HR, 5 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 54.2 IP, 6.09 ERA, 0.303 BAA, 7.1 K/9 | HOME | 98.2 IP, 3.74 ERA, 0.238 BAA, 7.8 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| ARI BvP | ARI vs R | NYY BvP | NYY vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored NYY -120
Pitchers
- Home Phil Hughes is slated to get the win in this but like his last two starts it will not be pretty if he does. In 50 AB, ARI has a combined .320 BAA vs. Hughes with only 5 Ks. They have a .262 average on the season and they got to CC yesterday so a struggling Hughes does not look too tasty. Avoid
- Away What Patrick Corbin has working for him is that he is a lefty and the NYY have only batted .211 on the season versus southpaws. I do not think that he will come in here and shut this offense completely down. He looked good in his first two starts but why risk it versus a team batting .276 on the season with 20 HRs when the pitcher is slated to lose,.
Batters
- Home I like the righties Kevin Youkilis and Vernon Wells in this one as well as Brennan Boesch who should get the start. Vegas likes them to win so they should put up some runs.
- Away I think everyone is in play in this game. I especially like the value plays of Pollock and Jack Wilson.