MLB Daily Grind Down April 20th Night Games

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-05-02 23:37:19

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.

Hopefully all your Saturday chores are done and now you can party. Saturdays give us an equal split between day and night games. When things are rolling well for me from the morning games, I like to party like a rock start with all my cheese on the late night action. Tim Lincecum gets my nod as the play of the day for the PM games because he draws the hapless San Diego Padre. Here is a picture to bring you back to the time when both he and you could hang all night with the best of them. Just look at all that hair!

LA Dodgers at Baltimore

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
LAD BvP		LAD vs L		BAL BvP		BAL vs R
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 8.5

• Favored BAL -125

Pitchers

• Home Wei-Yin Chen has pitched to his average in his first three starts. His average outing is not good. He is a slightly worse pitcher at home than he is on the road and he gets the ball against an LAD team batting .296 versus left-handers and .287 on the road. Avoid

• Away Josh Beckett last start in ARI was fantastic. If he can pitch well there then he can pitch well any where. He is a pitcher that sported a plus 4 ERA a year ago and he has not pitched well in BAL in the past. He runs into a BAL team that is batting .275 at home. Avoid

Batters

• Home Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and Chris Davis have positive BvPs versus Beckett. I also like the lefty/righty matchup of Nick Markakis. BAL is favored to win in a game slated to go for around 9 runs so they should be able to score at least 5 today.

• Away Is it too soon to give up on Matt Kemp. The splits look ideal again for him today but he has looked lost at the plate and has struck out in a third of his at bats. A.J. Ellis looks to be in a good spot to perform. He is batting .357 vs. Lefthanded pitching. Both Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford have positive BvPs versus Chen. They have been the Dodgers only two consistent hitters.

St. Louis at Philadelphia

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
STL BvP		STL vs L		PHI BvP		PHI vs R
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 7.5

• Favored PHI -133

Pitchers

• Home Cliff Lee ERA takes a hit home but it is still very good. He has been pitching fantastic in his first three starts. He goes on the mound against a STL team that has been batting deceptively poorly. They have been scoring runs but are batting just .207 over the last 7 days and .240 on the season. Their luck will most likely run out versus the hot left-hander. STL is batting just .211 versus left-handed pitching on the year. Target

• Away Lance Lynn two starts on the road have not gone well for him. That is a trend that is continuing from last year. His only start last year in this park was bad as well. He faces a PHI team that is batting .265 vs. right-handers and .282 at home. Avoid

Batters

• Home There is not much sample size but what is there is positive for the Phillies. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard look like solid plays. Michael Young is producing well and is not too expensive if you are looking for a midrange play at 3B. He is batting .370 vs. right-handers on the year and .433 at home.

• Away The one day I fade “Carlos Beltran(player-profile)”:/players/Carlos_Beltran-10560’s good splits is the one day he hits a HR yesterday. Do not worry, his numbers versus Lee are not good today. Matt Holliday has encouraging BvPs but I will be avoiding the Cardinals with my money until they start getting on base more.

Atlanta at Pittsburgh

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
ATL BvP		ATL vs R		PIT BvP		PIT vs L
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 7.5

• Favored ATL -133

Pitchers

• Home James McDonald was hit hard in his last start and his pitches lacked the same velocity. Yikes. He says he is not hurt and gets the nod at home where he was a 2.73 pitcher a year ago. ATL has hit Right-handed pitching for a .273 average and have heir power stroke is working. They have hit 14 HRs in the last 7 days. It too tough a matchup for a guy I am not convinced is 100% Avoid

• Away Paul Maholm has been perfect in his first 3 starts. He has yet to give up a run. He struggled on the road last year but has not struggled so far this year away from home. While the pirates have been hitting well over the last week, they are batting a mere .158 vs. Left-handed pitching and have 129 Ks on the season. Target

Batters

• Home Clint Barmes is 15-34 with 6 XBH and 2 HRs versus Maholm. Most of the Pirates starters have positive numbers as well. I would not over due it with the way Maholm has been pitching. I cannot see the black and yellow batting around on him.

• Away 4 of the ATL starters are batting under .200 for the season in Dan Uggla, Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton, and Andrelton Simmons. Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward have positive BvPs today, though. I do not need to tell you to start the hot Justin Upton.

Cleveland at Houston

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
CLE BvP		CLE vs R		HOU BvP		HOU vs L
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 8.5

• Favored CLE -107

Pitchers

• Home Philip Humber has looked very nice in his first 3 starts. His ERA sits at 2.89. His Ks are down but he posted a decent K/9 ratio a year ago. CLE is batting only .203 over the last few days and has 129 Ks on the season. He could be a sneaky play if he gets any runs support. In Play

• Away Scott Kazmir makes his return to the big leagues against HOU. HOU has led the league in Ks this year so he is playable simply off of that. The Astros are not as bad of hitting team as you might think. They are batting .249 with 18 HRs on the season. My money will be avoiding this man’s first start in over a year. In Play

Batters

• Home Jose Altuve and Marwin Gonzalez are the only two Astros producing. Marwin is cheap on most sites and makes an easy off. I like the Astros to score some runs today so I would look for value in their LU. Jason Castro could provide some nice stats or a super cheap guy like Brett Wallace.

• Away Carlos Santana is 5-8 vs. Humber with an HR. Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley have positive numbers as well. Jason Giambi has been the DH against righties. He has value since he is priced low on many sites.

Continue Reading Part Two of Today’s Day Games MLB Grind Down Article Here