From Stats Perform: A Look A Series That Begin on Tuesday

RED SOX (25-17) at BLUE JAYS (22-17)

● In 40 games this year, J.D. Martinez has 52 hits, 33 runs and 33 RBI. He is the first American Leaguer since Miguel Cabrera in 2013 with 50+ hits, 30+ runs and 30+ RBI through 40 games, and is only the second such Red Sox hitter since 2000, joining Kevin Youkilis (2009).

● After splitting 10 games last season, these teams split a two-game series in Boston last month. The Blue Jays are 9-21 when hosting the Red Sox since 2017 and have dropped eight of their 10 home series against Boston in that time.

● The Red Sox took two of three against the Angels over the weekend, giving them 25 wins on the year, surpassing their total from a season ago when they went 24-36. Boston, which was 14-28 at this point last year, is the only team thus far to match or exceed its 2020 win total.

● In its last 11 games, Toronto is 8-3 and is scoring 6.1 runs per game, the second-best mark in MLB since May 5 (Houston – 6.3). Since falling to 7-10 after a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox on April 20, the Blue Jays have the second-best record in the majors at 15-7 (White Sox, 16-6).

● Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has homered in three straight games for the first time in his career, ranks second in MLB among qualified hitters with a 1.049 OPS (Mike Trout – 1.090). J.D. Martinez (1.025) and Xander Bogaerts (1.013) rank third and seventh, respectively.

● Eduardo Rodriguez had a season-high nine strikeouts on Wednesday against the A’s but suffered his first loss of 2021 with four runs allowed over 6.0 innings. He is 4-1 with a 3.43 ERA in seven starts against Toronto since 2018, limiting the Jays to a .195 batting average.

RAYS (23-19) at ORIOLES (17-23)

● The Rays posted a winning record against the Orioles in each of the previous four seasons but are 19-19 in their 38 games in Baltimore during that span. These teams split their eight contests at Camden Yards in 2020, with each scoring 27 runs.

● Tampa Bay is coming off a three-game sweep of the Mets in which it yielded only eight runs. The Rays have limited opponents to five runs or fewer in 14 of their 15 games this month, during which time they lead the majors in ERA (2.56) and opponent batting average (.195).

● Baltimore dropped two of three at home to the Yankees over the weekend, falling to an MLBworst 6-15 at home. The Orioles have yet to win any of their six series at Camden Yards this year, their longest drought to open a season at home since 1991 (seven).

● Yandy Diaz has reached base in all but one of his 14 games this month and has a .456 OBP in May, a figure that ranks fifth in MLB and third in the AL (min. 50 PA). He has a .417 OBP since the start of 2020, the fourth-best mark in the majors during that span (min. 200 PA).

● Trey Mancini’s 32 RBI this season are tied with Shohei Ohtani for the fourth most in the AL, while his 15 in the month of May are tied with Yuli Gurriel for the most in MLB. Mancini is batting .388 with runners in scoring position this year, compared to .194 otherwise.

● On Wednesday, in his first career start against the Mets, Matt Harvey allowed seven runs over 4.1 innings. Hitters are batting .317 against him since the start of last year, the second highest average allowed by any pitcher in that span (min. 50 IP; Tommy Milone – .323).

MARLINS (18-22) at PHILLIES (21-20)

● The Marlins went 7-3 against the Phillies last season, their best record in any of the 28 seasons in which they have faced each other.

● The Phillies have struck out more frequently than any other National League team (one every 3.6 plate appearances) and the Marlins have struck out second most often (one every 3.7 PA).

● The Phillies’ winning percentage is 320 points higher at home (13-6, .684) than on the road (8-14, .364) this season. The only major-league teams with a larger home/road split in winning percentage are the Rockies (+.402 at home) and Mets (+.333 at home).

● Bryce Harper and Miguel Rojas have the two largest home/road splits in on-base percentage in favor of home games this season: Harper has a .566 OBP at home and .356 on the road, while Rojas has a .471 mark at home and .280 on the road.

● Alec Bohm has grounded into 10 double plays, the highest total in the majors this season, with four of those coming in his last five games.

● Zack Wheeler allowed three home runs to the Giants on April 20 but he has allowed only four home runs in his 18 other starts for the Phillies, and he has not allowed a homer since that date.

RED SOX (25-17) at BLUE JAYS (22-17)

PIRATES (17-23) at CARDINALS (23-18)

● The Cardinals have won the last seven games in this series and they are 19-5 against the Pirates since July 17, 2019.

● The Pirates rank last in the major leagues in home runs (26) and slugging average (.347). Pittsburgh has hit only six home runs over its last 16 games, with no more than one homer in any of those games.

● The Cardinals have allowed only 28 home runs this season, second fewest by any majorleague team (Mets, 23). St. Louis has allowed only four homers over its last 10 games, and three of those came on Saturday in San Diego.

● Tommy Edman has gone from first to third on eight singles, the highest total in the major leagues this season.

● Adam Frazier has gone 8-for-14 over his last three games, lifting his batting average to .323, fourth highest in the National League. That’s Frazier’s third-most hits over a span of three games in his career.

● JT Brubaker has held opponents to a .155 batting average with runners on base and a .097 mark with runners in scoring position this season. John Gant has allowed one home run in 34.1 innings this season, tied for the third-best rate in the major leagues (0.26 per 9 IP; minimum: 30 IP).

BREWERS (21-20) at ROYALS (18-22)

● The Brewers swept a three-game series from the Royals last September and are 6-1 against Kansas City since 2017, with a 39-18 run differential in those seven games.

● Brewers pitchers have averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest rate in the major leagues this season.

● The Royals have allowed two runs per game more at home (5.9) than on the road (3.9), the largest difference for any MLB team this season.

● Omar Narvaez has eight multi-hit games in 26 appearances this season, twice as many as he had last season in 40 games played.

● Carlos Santana has had an RBI in each of his last five games, tying the longest streak of his career (previously done in 2012 and spanning 2016-17).

● Brandon Woodruff has allowed the lowest slugging average among MLB ERA qualifiers this season (.216) and he stands third in opponent batting average (.144) and opponent OBP (.209). Kris Bubic went 1-6 in 10 starts last season although he did not get more than four runs of support in any of those outings, with an average of 1.8 per game.

ASTROS (24-17) at ATHLETICS (25-17)

● The Astros scored at least eight runs in each game of their season-opening four-game sweep in Oakland. Before that, Houston had not scored as many as eight runs in any of its previous 16 games in Oakland spanning the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

● The Astros are the only major league team that has not allowed 10 runs in a game this season.

● The Athletics are 10-4 (.714) in one-run games. That’s the most wins and highest winning percentage in the majors in those games this season.

● Matt Chapman had three RBI on Sunday, more than he had from April 30 to May 15 (two, in 15 games).

● Yuli Gurriel and Trey Mancini are tied for the MLB lead in RBI this month, with 15 apiece.

● Cristian Javier has allowed a .182 batting average over the last two seasons, seventh best in the majors (minimum 75 IP). But 25.4 percent of the hits he has allowed have been home runs, the third-highest rate among that group. Sean Manaea lasted only two innings in his last start, tying the second-shortest outing of his MLB career.

Tracy RingolsbyMay 18, 2021Comment