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Friday brings a full slate of MLB games and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all of them, offering many chances to play and win.
A look at some of the notable starting pitchers for Friday’s games:
- Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (7.41 ERA), Baltimore’s Matt Harvey (6.31 ERA), and Washington’s Jon Lester (5.33 ERA) are among the more vulnerable starters on the mound Friday.
- Cincinnati’s Vladimir Gutierrez and Cleveland’s Eli Morgan are set to make their major league debuts Friday.
- The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole (1.81 ERA), the Mets’ Taijuan Walker (2.05 ERA), the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (2.37 ERA), the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler (2.74 ERA), and the Braves’ Ian Anderson (2.82 ERA) have been most effective among Friday’s starters.
- The best pitching matchup of the day, then, would seem to be Atlanta sending Ian Anderson to the mound at the Mets’ Taijuan Walker.
Here are some angles to consider when playing Friday’s MLB schedule on Monkey Knife Fight.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Gerrit Cole MORE THAN 9.5 STRIKEOUTS
This is a big number to cover and Cole has recorded double-digit strikeouts in half of his 10 starts this season. He did put up 12 against the Detroit Tigers at home earlier in the season and the Tigers do have the fourth-highest home strikeout rate (27.7%) in MLB.
Ian Anderson LESS THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
It may be a tad optimistic to expect at least seven strikeouts out of the Braves rookie considering that he has seven or more strikeouts in three of his nine starts this season. He is facing a Mets lineup that is about average in terms of home strikeout rate (24.1%).
Hyun Jin Ryu MORE THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
Cleveland’s home strikeout rate (23.7%) is a little lower than average but Ryu has had at least six strikeouts in six of his nine starts including each of the past four. He may not cruise past this number but he can get to six.
Freddie Freeman MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
Despite a slow start to the season, Freeman has a .389 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching and a .362 OBP on the road heading into Friday’s matchup at the Mets, with Taijuan Walker on the mound. Freeman has also been heating up, reaching base multiple times in eight of his past 11 games.
Fernando Tatis Jr. MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
Tatis is an all-purpose baseball weapon. He is slugging .583 against left-handed pitchers and has an absurd .765 OBP on the road going into Friday’s matchup at Houston, with Framber Valdez making his first start of the season for the Astros.
STAR SHOOTOUT - LATE GAMES
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Shohei Ohtani MORE THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
Ohtani is facing an Oakland A’s lineup that has a home strikeout rate (23.8%) that is very slightly better than average, which does not seem like the kind of team that should make great contact against a pitcher who had at least seven strikeouts in each of his first five starts this season before recording five in 4 2/3 innings in his last outing.
Madison Bumgarner LESS THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
Arizona’s veteran left-hander had improved his strikeout rate after a slow start but has fallen off in his past couple of starts so he has at least six strikeouts in five of his 10 starts which does not seem like much of an advantage going into a matchup with a St. Louis Cardinals lineup that has a slightly-higher-than-average road strikeout rate (24.4%).
Yoan Moncada MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
While the White Sox third baseman has some inconsistencies when it comes to his production, he is reliable getting on base. That includes a .412 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching and a .400 OBP at home heading into Friday’s game against Baltimore, with Matt Harvey pitching for the Orioles.
Nick Madrigal MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
Generally, Madrigal does a fine job getting on base, too, but his .325 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching is not as dangerous. He does, however, have a .375 OBP at home so, against subpar pitching, Madrigal may still have a shot.
STAR SHOOTOUT - NIGHT GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Walker Buehler MORE THAN 7.5 STRIKEOUTS
Although the Dodgers right-hander has recorded at least eight strikeouts in four of his nine starts this season, he has reached that threshold in four of six home starts and is facing a San Francisco Giants lineup that has the fourth highest road strikeout rate (27.2%) in MLB.
Mark Canha MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
The splits play in Canha’s favor with Friday’s home game against the Angels and Shohei Ohtani. Canha has a .411 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching and a .409 OBP at home, both leaning towards him reaching base multiple times.
Will Smith LESS THAN 1.5 RUNS + RBI
While Smith is one of the better hitting catchers in baseball, he also has 18 runs plus RBI in 17 home games (14 starts) this season. Even if San Francisco starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is due for some regression, he has been effective to this point so it does not seem like a game in which Smith should pile up numbers.
Justus Sheffield LESS THAN 17.5 PITCHING OUTS
Can Sheffield go a full six innings? He has done so three times in eight starts this season and he got hit hard against Texas a couple of weeks ago, so it is probably safer to expect less than 18 outs for Sheffield on Friday.
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