MLB Daily Grind Down: April 7th
MLB Grind Down PART TWO: April 7th
Yesterday we had everyone’s fifth starters on the mound. Pitchers were hard to come by and great bats were available everywhere. Today we see an exact opposite of yesterday since everyone is sending an ace to the mound. The average OU for today dropped by nearly three points. Having more good options sometimes makes things even more difficult in the world of daily fantasy but do not worry the Grind Down is here to help you get on track.
Seattle at Chicago White Sox
| Seattle | Chicago White Sox | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Cellular Field | 2:10 PM | ||||||
| James Shields (0-1 REC, 1.50 ERA, 6.2 Avg IP) | Cole Hamels (0-1 REC, 9.00 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (15-67) H/AB, 6 XBHA, 3 HRA, 10 KA | PvB | (25-75) H/AB, 6 XBHA, 2 HRA, 15 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 105.2 IP, 3.83 ERA, 0.238 BAA, 8.1 K/9 | HOME | 96.2 IP, 2.98 ERA, 0.237 BAA, 9 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
SEA BvP  | SEA vs L | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- The OU line for this one is low again at 7 with the White Soxs favored at -159. Chris Sale pitched well in his opener and is facing a SEA team that is batting .224 to start the season. Sale had 2.27 home ERA a year ago. Hisashi Iwakuma pitched well in first start also but had a road ERA last year of 4.20. Smoke em if you got em.
Arizona at Milwaukee
| Arizona | Milwaukee | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Park | 2:10 PM | ||||||
| Justin Masterson (1-0 REC, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | David Price (0-0 REC, 3.00 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (36-107) H/AB, 9 XBHA, 3 HRA, 20 KA | PvB | (30-134) H/AB, 10 XBHA, 3 HRA, 35 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 97 IP, 6.4 ERA, 0.299 BAA, 5.7 K/9 | HOME | 94.1 IP, 1.81 ERA, 0.189 BAA, 8.9 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| ARI BvP | ARI vs R | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- The 8 OU line for this game is on the low side and MIL is only favored by -119. When a team is listed at -110 then that game is a pick’em for those of you new to the sports betting world. Ian Kennedy pitched well in his first outing and his K/9 ratio make him a viable play if you think he can get then win vs. a MIL team that might be without Ryan Braun. Yovani Gallardo had a rough first outing but Vegas thinks he will get the win today. He K/9 ratio is 9.08 so he gets enough strikeouts. I think there are easier plays for the price, though.
- Ryan Braun is the only Brewer that has had noticeably success ve. Kennedy and he might not play. Aoki is batting .667 vs. him but in only 3 at bats. Both Rickie Weeks and Aramis Ramirez have been hot to start the season.
- ARI is batting .226 vs. Gallardo but Jason Kubel and Aaron Hill are both batting over .500. If I am going to take a flyer on someone it would be them. The team as whole has been hot batting .286 with gerardo Parra being the hottest at ,458
Oakland at Houston
| Oakland | Houston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minute Maid Park | 2:10 PM | ||||||
| Jeff Samardzija (1-0 REC, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | Tim Hudson (0-0 REC, 6.23 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (10-54) H/AB, 4 XBHA, 2 HRA, 17 KA | PvB | (17-90) H/AB, 8 XBHA, 5 HRA, 18 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 96.1 IP, 4.3 ERA, 0.255 BAA, 8.3 K/9 | HOME | 94 IP, 3.93 ERA, 0.266 BAA, 6.1 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| OAK BvP | OAK vs R | HOU BvP | HOU vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- I predicted that Houston would lose a 120 games this year. So far, they are making me look good. The OU line for this game is 7.5 and OAK is favored at -119. It is going to be another boring game at Minute Made. Brett Anderson and hi 7.71 K/9 ratio get a huge bump today facing an Astros team that is striking out for almost half of their put outs. Lucas Harrell is a good young pitcher but he does not get enough Ks and will most likely not get then win.
- Jed Lowrie has .476 average and 1.512 OPS. He hit in this park a year ago. Harrell pitches well at home so do not think the A’s are a lock to score runs.
- Carlos Pena has a .375 BAA vs, Anderson. He also has a .167 average on the season
St. Louis at San Francisco
| St. Louis | San Francisco | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Park | 4:05 PM | ||||||
| Ian Kennedy (1-0 REC, 2.57 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | Yovani Gallardo (0-0 REC, 5.40 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (17-70) H/AB, 6 XBHA, 2 HRA, 8 KA | PvB | (19-84) H/AB, 4 XBHA, 1 HRA, 22 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 111 IP, 3.97 ERA, 0.267 BAA, 7.7 K/9 | HOME | 113.2 IP, 3.72 ERA, 0.231 BAA, 9.4 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| STL BvP | STL vs R | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- Another extremely low OU line here at 6.5. The giants are favored here at -148 so that leans you to think Matt Cain is a safe play. STL as a team has a .287 BAA vs. him so it might not be a safe as you think. Cain threw 6 IP with 0 ER and 8 Ks in his first outing and is certainly capable of a GPP winning day anytime he takes the mound. “Adam Wainwright(player-profile)”:/players/Adam_Wainwright-13385’s road ERA was 4.20. He did not pitch well in his first outing and he draws a Giants team whose bats seem to finally be coming to life. He get enough Ks to be a factor. He is too risky today.
- If you put any stock in BvPs then you have to like the Cardinals today. Carlos Beltran has the best numbers with a .389 BAA in 18 at bats. Matt Carpenter is also 4-4 vs. Cain and Jon Jay is 4-6 vs. him. Matt Holliday only has .200 BAA but he has hit 3 HR off of Cain. I like the Cards to get to him today.
- The giants as a team are batting .302 vs. Wainwright. Everyone has favorable numbers. Pagan, Pence and Sandoval have been swinging the bat well. Look for the Giants to score a few runs in this.
Pittsburgh at LA Dodgers
| Pittsburgh | LA Dodgers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodger Stadium | 4:10 PM | ||||||
| Brett Anderson (0-1 REC, 2.57 ERA, 5.2 Avg IP) | Lucas Harrell (0-1 REC, 1.50 ERA, 5.2 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (3-8) H/AB, 3 XBHA, 1 HRA, 1 KA | PvB | (2-5) H/AB, 0 XBHA, 0 HRA, 1 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 22 IP, 3.27 ERA, 0.235 BAA, 6.1 K/9 | HOME | 80.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 0.249 BAA, 6.5 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| PIT BvP | PIT vs L | LAD BvP | LAD vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- Vegas has the OU line set at 8 with the Dodgers favored at -146. I talked about how great a talent Hyun-Jin Ryu was and he had deceptively bad first outing. He only gave up 1 ER over 6.1 IP with 5 Ks. He gave up 10 hits though and think his price may have elevated a too much on some sites. Vegas thinks he will get then win and he is capable of a K per inning, though. The Pirates send out their 5th starter Jeff Locke and his high 5.82 ERA. No thanks. He managed a k/9 of 8.91 last year so if he gets the win he could be a decent number two option if you want to gamble.
- The current Dodgers have owned Locke in the past with a .385 BAA. Matt Kemp is batting .667 vs. him in 3 AB. Could be a good day for the West Coast Blue. Carl Crawford has been the dodgers hottest player. He batted exactly the same vs. lefties as he did righties a year ago so I think he is still in play today.
- The Pirates have open the season batting a mere .117. I think they right the ship today and pounce on a few balls that Ryu leaves over the plate. Do not forget about Pedro Alvarez who led the league in daytime HR a year ago. If Ryu gave up 10 hits to the Giants then the Pirates should have no problems spotting him for at least 7 or 8 themselves.
San Diego at Colorado
| San Diego | Colorado | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coors Field | 4:10 PM | ||||||
| Edinson Volquez (0-1 REC, 18.00 ERA, 5.1 Avg IP) | Jhoulys Chacin (0-0 REC, 1.35 ERA, 5.2 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (21-75) H/AB, 6 XBHA, 2 HRA, 24 KA | PvB | (8-50) H/AB, 1 XBHA, 1 HRA, 12 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 82 IP, 5.6 ERA, 0.266 BAA, 8.2 K/9 | HOME | 32.2 IP, 6.34 ERA, 0.321 BAA, 5.5 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| SDP BvP | SDP vs R | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- Finally some bats. The OU line for this game is a high 11 with COL favored at -139. There should be runs to have by both teams. There are to many solid options at pitcher today so I am not going to waste your time here.
- Tyler Colvin, Carlos Gonzalez and Willin Rosario are all batting over .400 vs. Volquez. This has the makings of a Lamb to the slaughter. Everyone in purples is in play. COL is your stack of the day.
- San Diego is batting just .191 on the season but they should score some runs today again in COL. Yonder Alonso has good splits today . You have to like Carlos Quentin in this park and maybe even Gyorko to hit his first major league dinger.
LA Angels at Texas
| LA Angels | Texas | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers Ballpark | 8:05 PM | ||||||
| Jeff Locke (0-0 REC, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 Avg IP) | Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-1 REC, 1.42 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | (4-11) H/AB, 0 XBHA, 0 HRA, 0 KA | PvB | (0-0) H/AB, 0 XBHA, 0 HRA, 0 KA | ||||
| ROAD | 13 IP, 9 ERA, 0.339 BAA, 10.4 K/9 | HOME | 0 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| LAA BvP | LAA vs R | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
- Another near perfect game for Yu Darvish? The OU line for this one suggest a low scoring game since it is set at 8 with the Rangers favored at -141. This is the lone night game so expect these two hurlers will be the ace in the hole for a few daily rosters today. Both guys put in stellar performances in their first appearance. I said it last week Darvish looked really good at the back end of last year and had a lights out spring. The angels LU is tougher than the Astros but I like him to get the win today again.
- Alberto Callaspo and Mike trout are each batting over .350 vs. Yu Darvish. The rest of the team has a .221 BAA.
- Mitch Moreland, Craig Gentry, and Elvis Andrus have hit Weaver well in the past. Ian Kinsler has 3 HRs vs. him. Do not get cute though. This looks like a low scoring game.