Stats Perform: Rockies Looking To Regain Command Against Padres
PADRES (52-54) at ROCKIES (41-64)
● San Diego has won four of the seven meetings with Colorado this season, including two of three at Coors Field from June 9-11. The Padres have won each of their last two series there after dropping 13 of the previous 14 games there from May 2021 through July 2022.
● The Padres swept a three-game series against the Rangers, the club’s third series sweep this season – all at home. San Diego struck first in all three games and is 42-18 (.700) this season when scoring the first run compared to 10-36 (.217) when allowing the first run – the largest difference in MLB.
● Ha-Seong Kim notched a hit in all six games of the Padres’ homestand and is slashing .341/.451/.553 in 23 July games – his .451 on-base percentage ranks third in MLB this month (min. 50 PA) behind Willson Contreras (.547) and Edouard Julien (.461).
● Seth Lugo took the loss Wednesday against Pittsburgh despite a season-high eight strikeouts and allowing just two runs over seven innings. The righty has a 3.12 ERA and four quality starts in his seven outings since returning from the IL on June 20.
● Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Oakland on Sunday for the club’s fifth shutout of the season. The Rockies are 6-19 (.240) against NL West foes in 2023, the second-worst divisional record in MLB – Oakland is 5-26 (.161) against the AL West.
● Austin Gomber has recorded a quality start in four of his last five starts, including six innings with one unearned run in Washington last Tuesday. He has a 2.90 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over that span compared to a 7.01 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his first 16 starts this season.
RED SOX (56-49) at MARINERS (54-51)
● Boston took two of three from Seattle at Fenway from May 15-17, with each team winning a game by nine runs in the series. The Red Sox have won eight of the 10 meetings with the Mariners since the start of last season.
● Boston lost two games in a low-scoring three-game series in San Francisco over the weekend, with both teams scoring four runs or fewer in each game. The Red Sox are 11-42 (.208) when held to four runs or fewer this season – sixth-worst in MLB – compared to 45-7 (.865) when scoring five or more, third in MLB behind the Braves (.883) and Marlins (.878).
● Triston Casas is slashing .349/.446/.778 in 20 games this month – his .778 slugging percentage leads the majors (min. 50 PA). That is the highest mark by a Red Sox batter in a single month (min. 50 PA) since Mookie Betts slugged .797 in April 2018.
● Nick Pivetta has earned the win in three of his last four starts; the other was a no-decision after one scoreless inning. The Victoria, British Columbia native has a 6.30 ERA this season in eight starts but a 1.98 ERA over 17 appearances since moving to the bullpen on May 21.
● Seattle picked up its fourth shutout of the month and 10th this season with a 4-0 win in Arizona on Sunday – the club’s 10 shutouts are tied for fourth in MLB behind Milwaukee (12), Cleveland (11), and Toronto (11). The Mariners enter the final day of July with a 16-9 (.640) record this month, tied with Baltimore for second in MLB behind the Red Sox (.682).
● George Kirby has allowed five or more runs in two of his last three starts, including five runs on seven hits in four innings in Minnesota on Tuesday. He has a 6.19 ERA in his three second-half starts after posting a 3.09 mark before the break.
PHILLIES (56-49) at MARLINS (57-49)
● The Marlins have won their two series against the Phillies this year despite losing the first game in each series: April 10-12 in Philadelphia (won two of three) and July 7-9 in Miami (won two of three). The Marlins lost five of their six series against the Phillies last season.
● The Phillies had 10 or more hits in each of four consecutive games from July 15-18 (they won all four games) but they haven’t reached double-figures in hits in any of their 11 games since then (won four, lost seven). It’s the Phillies’ longest streak of games with nine or fewer hits since Aug. 5-21, 2021 (15 games).
● Alec Bohm was 3-for-5 in the Phillies’ loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday. It was his eighth game with three or more hits this season, second most on the team, behind Nick Castellanos (11).
● Taijuan Walker is 23-9 (.719) in his 50 starts over the last two seasons (12-5 in 29 starts for the Mets in 2022, 11-4 in 21 starts for the Phillies this year). Walker is tied with Zac Gallen (also 23-9) for the highest winning percentage in the majors over the last two seasons (minimum: 50 starts). Gerrit Cole (22-10, .688) is third.
● The Marlins beat the Tigers, 8-6, yesterday, after trailing 4-0. It was the fifth time Miami won a game in which it trailed by four runs this season (tied for second most in the majors). The Marlins had only four wins in games in which they trailed by four runs over the previous three seasons combined (one in 2020, none in 2021, three in 2022).
● Edward Cabrera is 5-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his six home games this season (he’s won his last five games at loanDepot park) and 0-6 with a 6.28 ERA in his 10 road games this year. The only other MLB pitcher with six or more decisions this season who is unbeaten at home and winless on the road is Cabrera’s teammate, Huascar Brazoban (4-0 at home, 0-2 on road)
BREWERS (57-49) at NATIONALS (44-62)
● The Brewers have hit at least one home run in each of their last 10 games against the Nationals (18 total home runs). It’s Milwaukee’s longest current home-run streak versus one team and the Brewers’ second longest homer streak against the Expos/Nationals. They homered in 13 consecutive games versus the Nationals from August 2008 to April 2010.
● Milwaukee lost the three games in its series in Atlanta over the weekend by scores of 10-7, 11-5 and 8-6. It was the first time the Brewers lost three consecutive games despite scoring at least five runs in each game since Aug. 13-15, 2012, at Colorado (lost 9-6, 8-6 and 7-6).
● Christian Yelich leads the Brewers in both home runs (seven) and runs batted in (22) this month. Yelich’s July home-run total is his highest for one calendar month since August 2020 (also seven homers), and his July RBI total is his best since April 2019 (26 runs batted in).
● Corbin Burnes is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA over his last three road starts. Burnes allowed only five hits in the 21 innings he pitched in those three games. Since 2003, only two other pitchers allowed no more than five hits while pitching at least 21 innings over a span of three road games within one season: Erik Bedard in July 2007 and Yu Darvish in September 2022.
● The Nationals have won their last three series in Washington, beating the Rangers (2-1), Giants (3-0) and Rockies (2-1). It’s the Nationals’ longest streak of home series wins since they won four in a row in June 2021.
● Jake Irvin, who made his major-league debut on May 3, allowed only four home runs in 42 innings over his first nine starts for the Nationals but he has given up nine homers in 32.1 innings in his six starts since then (with at least one home run allowed in each game).
RAYS (64-44) at YANKEES (55-50)
● Six of the seven games between the Rays and Yankees this season have been decided by a one-run margin, with each team posting three one-run wins. The only Rays-Yankees game this season that wasn’t a one-run game is Tampa Bay’s 8-2 victory in the Bronx on May 11.
● The Rays had 12 hits in their 8-2 win at Houston yesterday. It was their highest hit total in a game this month. Tampa Bay’s .215 team batting average in July is the second lowest in the major leagues (San Francisco, .212).
● Tyler Glasnow leads all American League pitchers with 88 strikeouts since May 27, when he made his 2023 season debut after being sidelined by an injury suffered in spring training. Two National League pitchers have more strikeouts since that date than Glasnow: Blake Snell (102) and Spencer Strider (102).
● The Yankees are 14-19 in intradivision games this season and they’ve lost 11 of their last 15 games against their American League East rivals.
● Aaron Judge has hit 20 home runs this season but only one was off a left-handed pitcher (May 13 vs. the Rays’ Shane McClanahan at Yankee Stadium). Fourteen of Judge’s 62 home runs last season were hit against left-handed pitchers.
● Domingo German is 0-2 with a 5.64 ERA in his four starts in July, but his average of 12.9 strikeouts per inning this month (32 SO in 22.1 IP) is the fifth highest in the majors among pitchers who have made at least four July starts. The top four are Joe Ryan (15.3), Spencer Strider (15.2), Freddy Peralta (13.7) and Brennan Bernardino (13.5).
ANGELS (55-51) at BRAVES (67-36)
● No team has ever swept a series between the Angels and Braves with all six previous series having at least one win for both sides. Each team is 9-9 in the matchup with the Braves taking two-of-three at home in their series last season.
● Since beating the Rockies 25-1 on June 24, the Angels have lost six consecutive road games against National League opponents. That is tied for the longest such losing streak in a single season for Los Angeles, who also lost six straight at NL teams last season.
● Hunter Renfroe hit a home run in the 10th inning of the Angels’ 3-2 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday. Renfroe joins Shohei Ohtani as the only AL players this season with at least one home run in each of the nine regulation innings and in extra innings.
● After shutting out the White Sox on July 14, the Braves have surrendered five or more runs in their last eight home games. Atlanta has not done so in nine straight home games since a nine-game streak in the 2000 season.
● After two home runs and five RBI on Sunday, Matt Olson sits at 35 home runs and 88 RBI in 2023. Olson needs two RBI on Monday to become the first NL player with at least 35 homers and 90 RBI entering August since Luis Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa each did so in 2001.
● Atlanta needs to hit one homer on Monday to join the 2019 Minnesota Twins as the only teams in MLB history to reach 200 or more home runs prior to August in a single season.
REDS (58-49) at CUBS (53-52)
● The Reds are 4-1 this season against the Cubs, most recently sweeping them in Chicago in late May. Cincinnati had 45 hits against the Cubs in that series, its most in a three-game span against the Cubs since 1976.
● Cincinnati has an MLB best 126 RBI and 154 runs scored from rookies this season. Spencer Steer leads Reds’ rookies with 56 RBI and 50 runs scored, being one of two NL rookies with at least 50 RBI and 50 runs, joining Arizona’s Corbin Carroll (57 RBI, 76 runs).
● Since making his major league debut on June 5, Andrew Abbott’s 1.90 ERA is the second lowest in MLB among qualifying pitchers (Blake Snell - 0.71). In his last start on July 25 at Milwaukee, Abbott threw 113 pitches, the most in any of his ten starts.
● Cody Bellinger’s batting average of .406 this July leads MLB among qualifying players. It is the highest batting average in any month of Bellinger’s career (min. 50 PA) since April 2019, when he batted .416.
● Ian Happ has set a career high for walks in a season with 73 so far in 2023, third most in MLB. A Cubs player hasn’t finished top three in the majors in walks since Sammy Sosa in 2001 (finished third with 116 walks).
● The Cubs had their eight-game winning streak end with a 3-0 loss to St. Louis on Sunday. It was the Cubs’ longest winning streak since they won 11 in a row from July 31-August 12, 2016. Eight wins in a row is tied for the fifth longest winning streak in MLB this year.
GUARDIANS (53-53) at ASTROS (59-47)
● Cleveland has won four of the last five meetings against Houston – all in Cleveland – dating back to last August. However, Houston had won 14 of the previous 17 matchups, including six of the last eight at Minute Maid Park dating back to April 2019.
● The Guardians notched a 5-0 victory in Chicago on Sunday to force a four-game split with the White Sox – the team’s 11th shutout this season, second in MLB (Brewers, 12). It was also the Guardians’ fifth shutout in July, tied with the Tigers and Brewers for most in MLB.
● Noah Syndergaard is expected to make his Cleveland debut after being traded from the Dodgers in exchange for Amed Rosario on Wednesday. The Mansfield, Texas native has played for three teams (excluding Cleveland) since the start of last season, posting an 11-14 record and a 4.88 ERA in 36 starts in that span.
● Houston dropped two of three at home against Tampa Bay but scored a season-high 17 runs in Saturday’s win. The Astros are averaging 5.93 runs per game in the second half, best in the AL and third in MLB behind the Cubs (6.50) and Braves (6.00).
● Jose Altuve had six hits – including a triple and a homer – in the three games against Tampa Bay after returning from the IL for Wednesday’s finale against the Rangers (0-for-3). The homer was his 199th; he looks to become the fifth Astro to hit 200+ homers, joining Jeff Bagwell (449 HR), Lance Berkman (326), Craig Biggio (291), and Jimmy Wynn (223).
● J.P. France allowed just one unearned run on five hits over seven innings on Tuesday against the Rangers, his second straight start of seven innings and one run conceded. He is the first Astros rookie to pitch seven innings and allow one run or fewer in consecutive outings since Collin McHugh did so in September 2014.
DIAMONDBACKS (56-50) at GIANTS (58-48)
● Arizona has taken four of the seven meetings with San Francisco this season, but the Giants took two-of-three at Oracle Park from June 23-25, coming from behind in both wins. The Diamondbacks are 6-23 in San Francisco since 2020, with four of those wins coming since last August.
● Arizona lost two games of a three-game series against Seattle and has dropped eight of its last 10 to fall to four games out of the NL West and one game out of the NL Wild Card. The pitching staff has a 6.28 ERA in that span, including a 7.59 mark from the bullpen.
● Ryne Nelson is 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA and .223 opponents’ average in 11 starts away from home this season, compared to an 8.01 ERA and .356 AVG in his 10 starts in Arizona. He leads all rookies with 21 starts and 112.1 innings pitched this season.
● San Francisco has won four of its five games on this homestand after dropping each of the last six games on the road and now holds the top NL Wild Card spot by a game while trailing the Dodgers by two games in the division. The Giants have a 3.71 ERA at home – third-best in the NL (Padres, 3.29; Phillies, 3.51) compared to a 4.13 mark away from Oracle Park.
● Wilmer Flores is slashing .378/.422/.683 since returning from the IL on June 29; he was slashing .258/.324/.452 in his 53 games before then. He is hitting .300 in 2023 after batting .229 last season – that 71-point increase is fifth-largest in MLB (min. 250 PA each season).
● Ross Stripling is seeking his first win of 2023, having made 10 starts and six relief appearances and going 0-4 in those games while getting just 3.05 runs of support per nine innings. However, he has a 3.86 ERA in four appearances since the All-Star break compared to a 6.37 mark in 12 outings entering the break.