Tito Teams Times Two
The Battle of Ohio commences tonight as the Guardians and Reds start a three-game series.
The Guardians are 25-18 with a -14 run differential, 16th in team wRC+ at 97, 24th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at -1.8, 7th in Defense at 0.5, 25th in starting pitcher SIERA, and 10th in bullpen SIERA at 3.53. The Reds are 21-24 with a +24 run differential, 22nd in team wRC+ at 92, 11th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at 1, 22nd in Defense at -9.6, fourth in starting pitcher SIERA at 3.72, and 24th in bullpen SIERA at 4.10.
Put the ball in play, get into the bullpen as soon as possible and get solid starting pitching. There’s your keys to this series!
Matchups:
Friday, 6:40PM EDT – Tanner Bibee, RHP 4.73 SIERA vs. Brady Singer, RHP 4.12 SIERA
Saturday, 6:40PM EDT- Projected: Slade Cecconi, RHP 2.43 FIP in Columbus vs. Chase Petty, RHP 6.54 SIERA
Sunday, 1:40PM EDT – Projected: Luis Ortiz, RHP 3.95 SIERA vs. Andrew Abbott, LHP 3.42 SIERA
The Reds are led in offensive categories by Austin Wynns 197 wRC+, Will Benson 153 wRC+, Austin Hays 144 wRC+, Noelvi Marte 130 wRC+, Jose Trevino 129 wRC+, Connor Joe 121 wRC+, Gavin Lux 117 wRC+, and Elly De La Cruz at 102 wRC+. The Guardians run producers are Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan both at 142 wRC+, Daniel Schneemann 135 wRC+, Kyle Manzardo 126 wRC+, Angel Martinez 107 wRC+ and Gabriel Arias at 105 wRC+. Again, I think we’ll need to see some increased production from Bo Naylor, Carlos Santana and Nolan Jones to win this series.
Enjoy the battle of Ohio and the bandbox ballpark, Guardians fans! By the way, Tito’s Bryan Shaw this year is a familiar face – Scott Barlow with 21 appearances and a 4.91 ERA!