Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Cole v Lynn, Lineup, Odds & Ends...

Gerrit Cole (7-4, 3.69) continues his comeback tour against Lance Lynn (14-8, 2.78) as he looks to even the series against the Rdbirds.

Cole was on the DL between 7/9 and 8/19 with right lat soreness, and has one MLB start under his belt since then, a good performance against the Braves (seven innings, two runs) that netted him a no-decision (with the injury, he hasn't won since July 4th). The good news is his arms woes seem over; he kept his velocity throughout the late innings and woke up the next day without any undue soreness.

The Cole Train has faced the Cardinals four times. He's 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two regular season starts this year, and 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts against St. Louis during the 2013 NLDS.

Lynn often spent time in Mike Matheny's doghouse last season, but this year he's picked it up a notch. His peripherals aren't a lot different than in the past except in three key areas - he's learned to deal with left handed sticks (he actually has a slight reverse split this season), his HR rate has dropped dramatically and he's turned his temper toward the hitters rather than imploding.

The righty held Cincinnati to four hits over seven scoreless innings for a win Wednesday and is 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA in four starts this month. He's split two meetings with Pittsburgh earlier this season, winning at home and losing at PNC Park. Lifetime, Lynn is 5-3/4.88 against the Pirates

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Travis Snider RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Russ Martin C, Pedro 1B, Starling Marte LF, Clint Barmes SS and Cole P. Jordy gets a day off; his recent 4-for-21 isn't horrendous, but he may be getting a blow for his forearm tonight.

The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.
  • Bradenton did good this year: OF Josh Bell was named the Florida State League Player of the Year while RHP Tyler Glasnow was named the FSL Pitcher of the Year.
  • Ex Bucs & Elias Sports Stats: AJ Burnett whiffed a dozen last night to become the first pitcher in MLB history to have a 12-K game for 5 different teams: PHI, FLA, TOR, PIT & NYY.

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