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Wednesday’s schedule is not quite as busy as usual, with a couple of games postponed already, but there are still 10 games on the schedule and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all of them, offering tons of chances to play and win.
- Tuesday’s schedule had quite a few top starting pitchers on the mound. That is not the case for Wednesday.
- Wednesday’s starting pitchers include Baltimore’s Matt Harvey (6.84 ERA), Atlanta’s Drew Smyly (5.95 ERA), Texas’ Jordan Lyles (5.79 ERA), and Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner (5.15 ERA) if you’re looking to target hitters going against some of the more vulnerable starters.
- The best of the starting pitchers on Wednesday include the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler (2.66 ERA) and Miami’s Pablo Lopez (2.71 ERA).
- Maybe the more interesting starting pitchers are the recent call-ups, Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan and Toronto’s Alek Manoah, as well as recently activated Houston starter Framber Valdez.
- The best pitching matchup of the day looks like it goes in Buffalo, where Toronto has Alek Manoah on the mound against the Marlins’ Pablo Lopez.
Here are some possibilities to consider when playing Wednesday’s MLB schedule on Monkey Knife Fight.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Drew Smyly LESS THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
The Braves southpaw has struggled to find consistency and has managed six or more strikeouts twice in eight starts. He is facing a Washington Nationals lineup that has a lower-than-average road strikeout rate of 23.0% so it does not seem like a great time to expect Smyly to put up big strikeout totals.
Alek Manoah MORE THAN 5.5 STRIKEOUTS
Toronto’s prized pitching prospect whiffed seven in six innings in his major league debut and gets to go against a Miami Marlins lineup that has the second highest road strikeout rate (28.5%) in MLB. Buffalo may not offer an especially pitcher-friendly park but this is the kind of matchup that should allow Manoah to continue his 2021 success.
Pablo Lopez MORE THAN 4.5 STRIKEOUTS
Lopez is a low-key ace, with a 2.71 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, and while he doesn’t have overpowering strikeout totals, he has recorded at least five strikeouts in seven of his 11 starts so far this season. The challenge he faces is that the Toronto Blue Jays have a low home strikeout rate (22.1%), though those home numbers have mostly been accumulated in Dunedin as opposed to Buffalo. Totally normal season for the Blue Jays.
Ronald Acuna Jr. MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
The splits are very favorable for the Braves star, who is slugging .765 against left-handed pitching and .729 at home going into Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals, who have veteran southpaw Jon Lester on the mound.
STAR SHOOTOUT - LATE GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Framber Valdez LESS THAN 17.5 PITCHING OUTS
When Valdez was injured in the spring, it was initially thought that he might miss most or all of the season, but the outlook improved and he ended up making his debut less than two months into the season. In that debut, he threw 72 pitches in four innings and while he was reasonably effective, it does seem like a significant jump to go up to six innings in his second start.
Kyle Tucker MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
The Astros left fielder has multiple total bases in five of the past seven games and is slugging .509 against right-handed pitchers as well as .578 at home going into Wednesday’s matchup against the Boston Red Sox and Nick Pivetta.
Charlie Blackmon LESS THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
In a normal season, this might be easy for Blackmon, with a home game against mediocre pitching, facing the Rangers’ Jordan Lyles, but Blackmon has reached base multiple times twice in his past nine games and he has a .343 on-base percentage against right-handers to go with a .325 OBP at home, neither of which is up to Blackmon’s usual standards.
STAR SHOOTOUT - NIGHT GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Walker Buehler LESS THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
It has already been a season of peaks and valleys when it comes strikeouts for Buehler. He started with four strikeouts in each of his first three games. Then piled up 42 in his next five starts before managing eight strikeouts in his past two starts (both against San Francisco). He faces a St. Louis Cardinals lineup that has an average road strikeout rate (24.3%) so that does not offer much of an advantage.
Sean Manaea LESS THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
The Seattle Mariners have the third highest home strikeout rate (28.0%) in MLB and it is still asking quite a bit for Manaea to count on at least seven, a threshold that he has crossed four times in 11 starts this season.
Mark Canha MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
The A’s outfielder has been a steady contributor at the top of the batting order, posting a .395 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers and a .383 OBP on the road heading into Wednesday’s game at Seattle, with the Mariners sending Chris Flexen to the mound.
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